A bright white and silver Speckled Rattlesnake from a desert boulder field in Baja California Norte, Mexico. This is among my personal favorite phenotypes of a very diverse species.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake from Baja
Category: pyrrhus
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake from Belmont Mountains, Arizona
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake from a mountain range near Phoenix. In this area, this species is usually this orange-cream or brown. This one was found on a rocky hillside earlier in 2025.
Cochran, C. (2019). Variation in morphology, diet, and venom composition in Crotalus pyrrhus (Cope 1867). Doctoral dissertation, Loma Linda University. https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3590&context=etd
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake in Ambush
Speckled Rattlesnakes are often seen by hikers in Phoenix, who can be surprised that wildlife can be found even on hiking trails in the middle of the city. If you’ve ever hiked Camelback, you’ve likely walked right past at least one of these beautiful pink animals. They’re very cryptic though, so not many people will ever know.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake Looking Like Its Name
An orange Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake making good on its name. While its bands are still visible, the chaotic distribution of colors can make this animal very difficult to see in context. This one lives near quite a few people with hundreds hiking right past it every weekend, but bites nobody.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
(Crotalus pyrrhus)https://rattlesnakesolutions.com/SpeckledRattlesnake
Speckled Rattlesnake from the Estrellas
Despite being incredibly easy to observe in surrounding mountain ranges, the Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnakes in the Sierra Estrella just southwest of Phoenix are harder to spot. They’re likely just as common, but the steep terrain and majority of prime geology for the species being inaccessible reservation land make it a challenge to see one. Kris Haas spotted this pretty one way up mountain.
Speckled Rattlesnake On A Hot Morning
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake resting outside its aestivation den, which it shares with several others to wait out the hottest, driest time of summer.
Speckled Rattlesnake In A Cave
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake hiding from the sun near the entrance of a shallow cave in south Phoenix. During the springtime, this species can be found even relatively far from its rocky habitat, hunting birds and lizards at the base of creosote. This caliche cave, which is also the occasional home to a Sonoran Desert Tortoise or two, is about as far from its winter and summer preferred homes as it will get in the year, nearly a quarter mile from the nearest sizable rock.
Speckled Rattlesnake Close Up
The blue-grey eyes of a Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake stand out against its red and grey body. This is a typical look for the species as they are found in rocky areas of central Phoenix. This snake carries a small passive radio transmitter that helps us learn about its life in an urban park.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake Drinking
A pregnant Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake out on a wet morning, coiled to maximize rain capture. A surprise rain got about every rattlesnake in the area on the surface for the day, in various forms of this pose. Hydrophobic scales help collect drops of rain, which the snake can then drink directly from its skin, as she is doing here.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake Crypsis
A rattlesnake that looks like a rock. This Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake was found in central Arizona in an area of rusty granite and quartz. The resulting cryptic pattern is just as colorful, including speckled grey blue eyes. Though it is brightly colored, these snakes can be very difficult to see in context.
Cochran, C. (2019). Variation in morphology, diet, and venom composition in Crotalus pyrrhus (Cope 1867) [Doctoral dissertation, Loma Linda University]. Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects. https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3590&context=etd
Crowell, H. L., Whelan, J. M., & Harmel, M. V. (2020). Rattlesnake colouration affects detection by predators. Journal of Zoology, 310(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12786
Hanscom, R. J., & Higham, T. E. (2023). Ambush hunting in snakes: Behaviour, function, and diversity. In Snakes: Ecology, behavior, and conservation (pp. 1–32). ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373257803_Ambush_Hunting_in_Snakes_Behavior_Function_and_Diversity
Hanscom, R. J. (2025). From ambush to activity: Using accelerometry to reveal cryptic behaviors of rattlesnakes and kangaroo rats [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Riverside]. eScholarship. https://escholarship.org/content/qt4ft2985w/qt4ft2985w.pdf
Teshera, M. S. (2021). Strike-induced chemosensory searching, kleptoparasitism, and the possibility of chemical crypsis in rattlesnakes [Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at El Paso]. UTEP Digital Commons. https://scholarworks.utep.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4357&context=open_etd