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.
| 1835 C. Bradley in Ohio Archaeol. & Hist. Soc. Publ. (1906) XV. 257, I learned that my conquered enemy was the massassagua, the Michigan rattlesnake. 1842 Holbrook 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. 1853 Baird & Girard Catal. N. Amer. Reptiles i. 14 Crotalophorus tergeminus..Prairie Rattlesnake, Massasauga. Ibid. 16 Crotalophorus Kirtlandii..Black Massasauga. 1884–5 Riverside Nat. Hist. (1888) III. 397 Caudisona tergemina, the black rattlesnake or massasauga, is found in Ohio and Michigan [etc.]. 1941 Amer. Midland Naturalist XXV. 659 (title) Habit and habitat studies of the massasauga rattlesnake. 1954 R. C. Stebbins Amphibians & Reptiles Western N. Amer. 464/1 The massasauga is usually unaggressive, but the venom is dangerous. |