An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake found in bunchgrass on a perfect, overcast day in the Arizona sky islands.
Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake in Habitat
Tag: sky islands
Baby Blacktailed Rattlesnake
A young Blacktailed Rattlesnake from the southeastern mountains of Arizona. When they are this age, they’ll often have subtle grey and black banding in the tail. This usually darkens to a solid black with age, but not always. Of the species of rattlesnakes in the state, coming across babies of this species out and about may be the least frequent for me.
The Arizona State Reptile
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake from the southeastern corner of the state. This is also our state reptile.
Quiz time: This subspecies of ridgenosed rattlesnake is only found in Arizona and Mexico. There are two other rattlesnakes that are also only found in Arizona and Mexico. What are they?
Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake In Habitat
An Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake in habitat on a humid monsoon morning in southeastern Arizona.
Banded Rock Rattlesnake Close Up
Close up with a Banded Rock Rattlesnake’s tiny face. These are small rattlesnakes that live in the madrean oak and grasslands of the southeastern corner of the state. This one may have been all of 14 inches long, as a small adult.
Interestingly, the noisy, speckled pattern shown here isn’t present in real life – it tends to appear on camera sensors, even when it’s not visible to the eye.
Twin-Spotted Rattlesnake
A Twin-Spotted Rattlesnake with a relatively drab pattern, but not atypical for an older adult. These are small snakes, rarely seen by hikers, as their range within the U.S. consists of only a handful of mountains in southeastern Arizona. In addition to rodents, these rattlesnakes also specialize in lizards, often taking the colorful Yarrows Spiny Lizards also common to rocky outcrops in high pine forests. These are among the protected species within Arizona, but a good number of them still end up being taken from the mountains each year to enter the European black market.
Prival, D. B., Goode, M. J., Swann, D. E., & Schwalbe, C. R. (2002). Natural history of a northern population of twin-spotted rattlesnakes, Crotalus pricei. Journal of Herpetology, 36(4), 598–607. https://doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511(2002)036[0598:NHOANP]2.0.CO;2
Prival, D. B., & Schroff, M. J. (2012). A 13-year study of a northern population of twin-spotted rattlesnakes (Crotalus pricei): Growth, reproduction, survival, and conservation. Herpetological Monographs, 26(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1655/HERPMONOGRAPHS-D-11-00002.1
Prival, D. B., Goode, M. J., Swann, D. E., & Schwalbe, C. R. (1999). A comparative study of hunted vs. unhunted populations of the twin-spotted rattlesnake. Unpublished report, University of Arizona. PDF link
Grabowsky, E. R., & Mackessy, S. P. (2019). Predator-prey interactions and venom composition in a high elevation lizard specialist, Crotalus pricei (Twin-spotted Rattlesnake). Toxicon, 170, 88–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2019.09.003
Grabowsky, E. (2018). Venom composition of little known mountain rattlesnakes and predator-prey interactions of Crotalus pricei pricei and its natural prey, Sceloporus jarrovii (Master’s thesis). University of Northern Colorado. https://digscholarship.unco.edu/theses/251/
Bezy, R. L. (2021). Biogeographic outliers in the Arizona herpetofauna. Sonoran Herpetologist, 34(2), 45–58. PDF
Pough, F. H. (1966). Ecological relationships of rattlesnakes in southeastern Arizona with notes on other species. Copeia, 1966(4), 649–658. https://doi.org/10.2307/1441401
Bezy, R. L., & Cole, C. J. (2014). Amphibians and reptiles of the Madrean Archipelago of Arizona and New Mexico. American Museum Novitates, 2014(3810), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1206/3810.1
Kauffeld, C. F. (1943). Field notes on some Arizona reptiles and amphibians. The American Midland Naturalist, 29(2), 342–359. https://doi.org/10.2307/2420795
Gloyd, H. K. (1937). A herpetological consideration of faunal areas in southern Arizona. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, 5(6), 79–136.
Madrean Mountain Kingsnake
A Madrean Mountain Kingsnake from the southeastern corner of the state. These colorful snakes can be surprisingly difficult to spot, despite their bright coloration. In the low, dappled light and noisy background of their woodland environment, there’s not a “snake shape” to see, and they’re easy to walk right by.
Blacktailed Rattlesnake from Southern Arizona
A Blacktailed Rattlesnake from southeastern Arizona. They are large, common rattlesnakes in the mountainous regions of much of the state, where they are often misidentified over generations as Mojave Rattlesnakes due to a misunderstanding of the color green in rattlesnakes.
Newborn Baby Banded Rock Rattlesnakes
Newborn Banded Rock Rattlesnakes resting just outside of the retreat where they were born a few days prior.
Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake
A dull Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake found out at night in madrean oak forest of southeastern Arizona. Nocturnal activity is common with this species during the humid, hot nights of monsoon season.
