| 释义 |
massasauga|mæsəˈsɔːgə|
Also -saugua.
[Presumably American Indian.]
A small, very venomous, dark-coloured, North American rattlesnake of the genus Sistrurus, esp. S. catenatus. Also attrib.
1835C. Bradley in Ohio Archaeol. & Hist. Soc. Publ. (1906) XV. 257, I learned that my conquered enemy was the massassagua, the Michigan rattlesnake. 1842Holbrook N. Amer. Herpetol. III. 32 Dr. Kirtland..observes that this animal [Crotalophorus Kirtlandi] is commonly known under the name Massasaugua, a word of Indian origin. 1853Baird & Girard Catal. N. Amer. Reptiles i. 14 Crotalophorus tergeminus..Prairie Rattlesnake, Massasauga. Ibid. 16 Crotalophorus Kirtlandii..Black Massasauga. 1884–5Riverside Nat. Hist. (1888) III. 397 Caudisona tergemina, the black rattlesnake or massasauga, is found in Ohio and Michigan [etc.]. 1941Amer. Midland Naturalist XXV. 659 (title) Habit and habitat studies of the massasauga rattlesnake. 1954R. C. Stebbins Amphibians & Reptiles Western N. Amer. 464/1 The massasauga is usually unaggressive, but the venom is dangerous. |