A Western Diamond Back Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are part of the pit viper family, with thirty-two known species grouped in the Sistrurus and Crotalus genera. These snakes can be found throughout the Americas, from western Canada south to Argentina. Although mostly concentrated in the deserts of the American Southwest and northern Mexico, the snakes have been found at altitudes as high as 10,000 feet. In adulthood, most species reach a length of 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.3 meters.)
Like copperheads and cottonmouths, rattlesnakes have heat sensing organs called “pits” between their eyes and nostrils. These are so accurate that the snake can identify the size and distance of warm-blooded prey, allowing it to hunt in total darkness. Rattlesnakes mostly prey on rodents and small birds.
The rattle is made out of hollow segments made of keratin, the same material that makes up hair and nails. This is attached to special fast firing muscles that can shake the segments together as fast as fifty times per second. The snake will add a rattle each time it sheds its skin, but this isn’t an accurate predictor of age: Shedding is dependent on how much the snake is able to eat, and its normal for rattles to break off from time to time.
The rattlesnake is the leading cause of poisonous reptile bites in North America, and a major cause of bites in Central and South America. However, they’re known only to bite when provoked, and will use the rattle as a warning before a strike. Most bites occur when the animal is startled by a hiker, or the victim’s judgment is hampered by intoxication. The majority of species have hemotoxic venom, causing necrosis and preventing the formation of blood clots.
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