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Project Noah Nature School
Crotalus oreganus abyssus
This is a medium to large (16" to 54") rattlesnake with dark blotches on a variety of base colors ranging from reddish, pink, yellow/green, light tan, to gray. The blotches usually become bands near the tail. The young usually have more prominent blotches and facial markings than the adults. Some adults have no body markings.
We saw several of these during our 5 days of hiking the Grand Canyon but this was the only one I managed to photograph & it is a bit difficult to see because it was dusk & it was well camouflaged in the poor light. We spotted it at one of the campsites but it didn't hang around long before disappearing into a hole in a wall. We did hear a rattle several times during the night & it sounded very close to our tent!
Spotted on Jun 7, 2010
Submitted on Sep 19, 2011
24 Comments
Almost INVISIBLE !
It certainly is Lisa!
I was amazed at how calm it was with so many people taking flash photos. It showed no signs of aggression at all, it just looked for a way to escape as soon as possible.
Wow! How perfectly camouflaged!
Rattlesnakes are pit vipers—they have heat sensing organs located in pits near the eyes. These pits allow them “see” the heat signature of prey. Even in complete darkness, the snake will be able to accurately strike at prey, because their meal is warmer than the surrounding environment. Added to NWF mission for its super senses.
Muchas gracias harsuame!
Grandiosa imagen ni la vi fantástico mimetismo .....
Thanks Frank!
When I saw the thumbnail for this picture, I thought it was just a dirt picture, but when I made it bigger I realize there was a snake in there! Talk about camouflage! Great spotting!
Yes he blended in perfectly with the dirt!
We were told they treat around half a dozen cases of snake bite a year at the Grand Canyon, without exception to the hands or face - from people (usually young guys) showing off by picking them up so they can pose with them for a photo!
Amazing camouflage!
Awesome. And dangerous...
Thanks Danielle!
Beautiful!
Yes, when I checked the thumbnails as I downloaded my photos from Grand Canyon I initially thought it was an 'accidental' photo of the ground & almost deleted it!
Thanks guys!
Juan, it's in the mission!
Great camouflage!
this is an amazing picture!. Could be a good fit to Mimetic Animals Mission
wow! Could hardly see this!
Thanks Mostly Microbe!
Wow! So hard to see, amazing. Thanks for sharing. Great shot.
:)
I'm afraid I can't take any credit for that - word got out that there was a rattlesnake in camp & this poor little guy was soon besieged by about 20 people all taking flash photos of him!
Woah I clicked on this because I didn't think there was an organism in your pic... haha, what amazing camouflage! Excellent find :)
Well camouflaged is right!