A member of the family Crotalidae, which includes rattlesnakes, pit vipers, and related venomous snakes.
From Latin crotalum (rattle) plus the biological suffix -id (member of a group), referring to the characteristic rattles on rattlesnakes' tails.
Pit vipers were named for the heat-sensing pits along their jaws that let them hunt in complete darkness—they're some of nature's most advanced thermal cameras, all wrapped up in a family named after a child's toy!
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