The specific name, basiliscus, is derived from the Greek word for king, βασιλισκος (basiliskos), and alludes to this snake's large size and potent venom.

[6] Female rattlesnakes of the species are mature at a minimum length of 100 cm (3.3 ft) and a weight of 700 g (1.5 lb).

[4] This rattler, C. basiliscus, is found in western Mexico from southern Sonora to Michoacán,[2] where it is mostly restricted to the coastal plain.

[9] In the lowlands, C. basiliscus is primarily active during the rainy summer months, and most specimens are found crossing the roads at night.

[4] Klauber reported that the stomachs of seven specimens of C. basiliscus contained mammal hair, probably belonging to rodents.

[6] In the US, Protherics Archived 2007-02-19 at the Wayback Machine in Brentwood, Tennessee, produces an antivenin called "Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine)" containing a paraspecific antibody that protects against bites from this snake.

[2] Occasionally, one may also encounter references to another subspecies, C. b. totonacus (Gloyd & Kauffeld, 1940), found in northeastern Mexico.

It was more commonly considered to be a subspecies of C. durissus,[2] until it was elevated to a full species by Campbell and Lamar (2004): Crotalus totonacus.