Tag: arizona

Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake in Cochise County, Arizona

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

An Arizona Ridgnosed Rattlesnake from Cochise County, Arizona. This is a small rattlesnake that is found in a handful of mountainous areas in the southeastern corner of the state. A hiker may encounter one if they are in the Santa Rita, Patagonia, Huachuca, Canelo, or Whetstone ranges.

Interestingly, every rancher and long-term resident of those areas that I’ve personally spoken to about this species has no idea what I’m talking about. This mirrors many other instances that have taught me one thing: living in an area for a long time, even being born and raised there, does not grant any particular expertise of the animals that live there.

This snake has relatively weak venom for a rattlesnake, but it is still an emergency situation where antivenom should be sought after. It would be hard to find a situation where one would envenomate a person without actually picking it up.

Holzman, S. D., Massey, D. J., Clements, A., Boesen, K. J., & Shirazi, F. M. (2018). Arizona Ridge-nosed rattlesnake envenomation: Case report of a personal encounter with the official state reptile of Arizona, Crotalus willardi willardi. Toxicon, 151, 84–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2018.07.001

Bright Orange Speckled Rattlesnake in Central Arizona

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

A brilliantly colored Speckled Rattlesnake from central Arizona. The rock in this particular spot doesn’t look very much like the snakes, but the occasional oxidized rock breaks off from higher and tumbles to the ground. When that orange rock sits under a bush or random location against the other grey and browns, it’s just part of the landscape. This snake, though, was hard to miss.

Speckled Rattlesnake in Ambush

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake found in ambush at sunup on a hot day in Arizona. Nearby, a cave with several more has been used as an aestivation site to avoid death in the summer months.

This photograph was taken in 2014. In recent years, the site has been abandoned, most likely due to increased human activity, based on evidence and observation of similar sites in the region.

Mojave Rattlesnake in Arizona Grassland

Posted on by Bryan Hughes

I saw this Mojave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus) crossing a dirt road near the U.S./Mexican border a few years ago in mid-elevation semi-desert grassland. Several other species can be found in the same band o transitional habitat, including Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnakes, Banded Rock Rattlesnakes, Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes, and Blacktailed Rattlesnakes. I escorted it off the road before it was killed by border patrol vehicles.