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

Speckled Rattlesnake In Perfect Ambush

A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake looking just like a chunk of granite, fallen off the overhead outcrop. As the sun gets lower in the sky, a variety of rodents, birds, and lizards do what they do in surrounding bushes and rocks, oblivious to the invisible predator. To hikers on the mountain, they’re often just as cryptic, remaining hidden as hundreds of feet pass by every Saturday on popular trails.