 Range in California: Red
iPhone App
Electronic Field Guide to the
Reptiles and Amphibians of
Southern California
Available Now at the
iTunes App Store. |
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Venomous and Potentially Dangerous!
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| Adult, San Bernardino County |
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Adult, Kern County
© Todd Battey |
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| A pair of in situ adults (probably a breeding male and female) found in a field of blooming poppies and coreopsis on an early April afternoon in the Antelope Valley, Kern County © Brian Blackwelder |
Juvenile resting during daytime inside a small burrow, Kern County |
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| Ault, San Bernardino County. © Ben Smith |
Adult crossing pavement at night, Kern County |
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Adult, Cochise County, Arizona.
(Note that the rear light stripe extends beyond the corner of the mouth.) |
Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
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Adult in extreme defensive pose, Santa Cruz County, Arizona © 2004 Tim Burkhardt |
Adult, Santa Cruz County, Arizona |
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| Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
Sub-adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
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Juvenile, Pima County, Arizona |
Adult, Hidalgo County, New Mexico |
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| Adult, Los Angeles County, eating a Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel. © Erin McGuire |
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Top of the head close-up showing two
large scales between the supraoculars.
© Patrick Briggs |
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Tail |
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| Click on the play button or the speaker to hear a Mojave Rattlesnake rattling |
California Park sign.
Click the picture to see more
rattlesnake signs.
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| Habitat |
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Habitat, Inyo County |
Habitat, Kern County |
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Habitat, San Bernardino County |
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| Short Videos |
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| Several views of a Northern Mohave Rattlesnake rattling and taking a defensive posture. |
A Northern Mohave rattlesnake crawls off a road in Arizona. |
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Rattlesnakes are important members of the natural community. They will not attack, but if disturbed or cornered, they will defend themselves. Reasonable watchfulness should be sufficient to avoid snakebite. Give them distance and respect.
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Rattlesnake bites can be extremely dangerous, but unlike the popular depiction of rattlesnakes in the media and folklore, they should not be considered vicious and aggressive. The display we often see in pictures and film, with the body partly coiled, the tail rattling loudly, and the head up ready to strike, is a defensive stance, used when they feel that crawling away to safety is a danger to them. This display is a warning not to come any closer or they will strike. When given some space and the chance to escape to a safe place, they will do so quickly rather than attack.
Rattlesnakes often use their cryptic color and pattern to blend into their surroundings to hide from other animals that could threaten them. They lie still to avoid detection and do not rattle, because that would give away their location. At other times they rattle readily, sometimes from a good distance, to warn potential enemies of their presence. In both cases they are doing everything they can to avoid confrontation and to avoid striking and biting and using up their valuable supply of venom. |
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Description |
Venomous |
| The venom of this snake is potentially dangerous to humans. |
| Size |
| Adults 24 - 51 inches long (61 - 129 cm) Most snakes encountered are from 18 - 40 inches in length. Newborns are about 10.5 inches. |
| Appearance |
A heavy-bodied, dangeously venomous pit viper, with a thin neck and a large triangular head. Pupils are elliptical. Scales are keeled. Usually there are 2 or 3 large scales on the top of the head between the supraoculars. (The Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake usually has 4 or more small scales between the supraoculars.) A light stripe runs from behind the eye diagonally to the upper lip beyond the corner of the mouth, but does not cross over the lip. (The posterior light stripe of the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake extends to the upper lip in front of the corner of the mouth, crossing over the lip.)
Ground color varies from greenish gray, yellow, tan, olive green, to brown. Irregular, dark, well-defined, diamond or near diamond-shaped dorsal markings.
Black and white rings surround a thick tail. The black rings are narrower than the light rings, and often offset. A rattle on the end of the tail, consisting of loose interlocking segments. A new rattle segment is added each time the skin is shed. Newborn snakes do not have a rattle - just a single button which does not make a sound.
Similar to and easily confused with the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, though there is little range overlap in California.
Heat sensing pits on the sides of the head help the snake to locate prey by their warmth. Long, hollow, movable fangs connected to venom glands inject a very toxic venom which quickly immobilize prey. The snake can control the amount of venom injected and the fangs are replaced if broken. Bites on humans are potentially dangerous without immediate medical treatment. Even a dead snake can bite and inject venom if the jaws reflexively open when they are touched. |
| Behavior |
Primarily nocturnal and crepuscular during periods of excessive daytime heat, but also active during daylight when the temperature is more moderate. Not active during cooler periods in Winter.
Prey is found while the snake is actively moving, or by ambush, where the snake waits near lizard or rodent trails, striking at and releasing passing prey. The snake then follows the trail of the envenomated animal and swallows it whole.
When alarmed, a rattlesnake shakes its tail back and forth. The movement rubs the rattle segments together producing a buzzing sound which serves as a warning. Juveniles are born with only a silent button at the end of the tail.
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| Diet |
Eats small mammals, including ground squirrels, mice, rats, rabbits and hares, and occasionally lizards, snakes, and toads.
(Adult California Ground Squirrels are immune to rattlesnake venom and will intensely confront any snake they feel to be a threat.) |
| Reproduction |
| Live-bearing; young are born July - September. Male to male combat occurs. You can see two snakes wrestling on this UTube movie. |
| Range |
| Found in southeastern California from the Colorado river roughly near the San Bernardino County line, west through the Mojave desert, north, east of the Sierras into Inyo County. Absent from the southeastern Colorado deserts, but there are unconfirmed reports of sightings west of the Colorado River in Imperial County. Ranges north into Nevada, east into west Texas, and far south into Mexico. |
| Habitat |
| Inhabits grassland, desert scrub, rocky slopes, creosote bush flats, open juniper woodland, and light chaparral. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Viperidae |
Vipers |
| Genus |
Crotalus |
Rattlesnakes |
| Species |
scutulatus |
Mohave Rattlesnake |
Subspecies
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scutulatus |
Northern Mohave Rattlesnake |
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Original Description |
Crotalus scutulatus - (Kennicott, 1861) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 13, p. 207
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Crotalus - Greek - krotalon - a rattle - refers to the rattle on the tail
scutulatus - Latin - having a shield shaped patch - refers to the dorsal pattern
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Mohave (or Mojave) Green Rattlesnake
Mohave (or Mojave) Rattlesnake
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Related or Similar California Snakes |
C. atrox - Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake
C. ruber - Red Diamond Rattlesnake
C. c. laterorepens - Colorado Desert Sidewinder
C. c. cerastes - Mohave Desert Sidewinder
C. m. pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
C. o. helleri - Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
C. o. lutosus - Great Basin Rattlesnake
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Living With Rattlesnakes
Tucson Herpetological Society: Living With Venomous Reptiles pdf
California Department of Fish and Game: Rattlesnakes in California
University of California: Rattlesnakes Management Guide
Florida Museum of Natural History: How to Get Along with Snakes
Southwestern Field Herping Associates: Venomous Snake Safety
Rattlesnake Bites
California Poison Control System (search for "rattlesnake bite")
University of Arizona:
Rattlesnakes
Justin Schwartz' Rattlesnake Bite Story and Pictures
Sean Bush MD: Venom ER - When snakes strike!
eNature - How to Avoid Snakebites and How to Treat One
When a Pet Gets Snake Bitten: The amazing story of Andy Cat, a very lucky cat who was bitten by a rattlesnake and survived, thanks to the smart actions of its owners.
Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012.
Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972.
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Bartlett, R.D. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003.
Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.
Ernst, Carl. H. Venomous Reptiles of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1999.
Hayes, William K., Kent R. Beaman, Michael D. Cardwell, and Sean P. Bush, editors. The Biology of Rattlesnakes. Loma Linda University Press, 2009.
Hubbs, Brian R., & Brendan O'Connor. A Guide to the Rattlesnakes and other Venomous Serpents of the United States. Tricolor Books, 2011.
Klauber, Laurence M. Rattlesnakes. University of California Press. (Abridged from the 1956 two volume Rattlesnakes:
Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind.) University of California Press, 1982.
Rubio, Manny. Rattlesnake - Portrait of a Predator. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998.
Walls, Jerry G. Rattlesnakes: Their Natural History and Care. T. F. H. Publications, Inc., 1996.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Wildlife |
None |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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