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Massasauga (rattler)
an irregular form of a river name in S.W. Ontario: Missisauga < Algonk.
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
a relatively small rattlesnake of the genus Sistrurus.
Quotations
1837
The fangs of the "Massasaugua", through which the poison distils, are two in number, one on each side.
1959
There is . . . the Massasauga, a runty type of rattlesnake whose bite is ordinarily no more dangerous than a bee sting.
1963
It was the third case in the last ten days of attacks by Massasauga rattlers.
1964
The Pacific rattler is found in parts of British Columbia, the prairie rattler in sections of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the small Massasauga in Ontario. The Massasauga is found chiefly within 20 to 30 miles of the Georgian Bay, Lake Erie and Lake Huron shorelines and is fairly common on the Bruce Peninsula. Although the Massasauga has claimed two lives since 1956, with prompt and proper treatment, this need not be the case.