Western diamond-backed rattlesnake

Description:

The color pattern generally consists of a dusty looking gray-brown ground color, but it may also be pinkish brown, brick red, yellowish, pinkish or chalky white. This ground color is overlaid dorsally with a series of 24-25 dorsal body blotches that are dark gray-brown to brown in color. The first of these may be a pair of short stripes that extend backwards to eventually merge. Some of the first few blotches may be somewhat rectangular, but then become more hexagonal and eventually take on a distinctive diamond shape. The tail has 2-8 (usually 4-6) black bands separated by interspaces that are ash white or pale gray; this led to the nickname of "coon tail," though other species (e.g., Mojave rattlesnake) have similarly banded tails. There is a postocular stripe that is smoky gray or dark gray-brown and extends diagonally from the lower edge of the eye across the side of the head. This stripe is usually bordered below by a white stripe running from the upper preocular down to the supralabials just below and behind the eye. Its off-white belly is usually unmarked, its anal scale is undivided, and its dorsal scales are extremely keeled, often in rows of 25 to 27 near midbody.

Habitat:

Found in areas ranging from flat coastal plains to steep rocky canyons and hillsides. It is associated with many different vegetation types, including desert, sandy creosote areas, mesquite grassland, desert scrub, and pine-oak forests. Toward the southern edge of its range, this species may be found in thorn forest and tropical deciduous forest.

Notes:

This species is very similar to the Mojave rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus). The last photo in this series shows the scales between the two. The western d'back has 3 or more scales between the supraocular scales (anteriorly). See the 4th photo for an example of this. The Mojave has 2 large scales and it can be seen in this spotting: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/845... . The snake in these photos is a newborn.