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, 6,300 ft., White/Inyo Mountains, Inyo County |
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| Adult, White/Inyo Mountains, Inyo County |
Adult, Argus Range, Inyo County |
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| Juvenile, White/Inyo Mountains, Inyo County |
Adult, Inyo County |
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| Adult, Kingston Mountains, San Bernardino County. © Keith Condon |
Adult, Inyo County © Brad Alexander |
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| Sub-adult, eastern Sierras, Inyo County. © Chris Morrison |
Juvenile, eastern Sierras, Inyo County.
© Chris Morrison |
Adult, southern Sierra Nevada,
Inyo County © David Miles |
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| Adult, Death Valley, Inyo County © Joel Lingenfelter |
Adult, Inyo County
© John Stoklosa |
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Adult, southern Sierras, southern Inyo County © Carl Brune
Some experienced herpers have looked at this photo and identified this snake as a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake, C. o. oreganus. Find more information about the controversy of identifying rattlesnakes from this region here. |
Tail and Rattle |
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| Panamint Rattlesnakes From Outside California |
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Adult, western Nevada
© Brad Alexander |
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| Habitat |
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| Habitat, 6,300 ft., Inyo County |
Habitat, 5,900 ft., White/Inyo Mountains,
Inyo County |
Habitat, Inyo County |
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| Habitat, Death Valley, Inyo County © Joel Lingenfelter |
Habitat, Inyo County |
| Sound and Video |
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| A Panamint Rattlesnake found on a road at night in Inyo County, rattles and crawls away. |
Click on the play button or the speaker to hear a rattlesnake rattling
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California State Park warning sign.
Click the picture to see more
rattlesnake signs. |
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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 are 23-52 inches in length (58-132 cm) averaging 2 - 3 feet. Young 10 inches. |
| Appearance |
A heavy-bodied, venomous pit viper, with a thin neck and a large triangular head. Pupils are elliptical. Scales are keeled.
Shows a great variety of body coloration which usually allows the snake to blend into its environment - tan, yellowish, orangish, gray, off-white, brown. The body is marked with a pattern consisting of dark speckled banded markings, which can be vague or distinct. A dark band or bands on the tail, but not usually alternating with light bands.The ground color of the tail is generally the same as the body color, not contrasting sharply with it. The last dark tail bands often seem to fuse together into one large black band just before the rattle. Compare with C. m. pyrrhus. The tail has a rattle on the end 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.
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.
An ambush hunter, it may wait 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. Prey is also found while the snake is actively moving.
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. |
| Diet |
| Eats small mammals, lizards, and birds. |
| Reproduction |
| Live-bearing; young born July and August. |
| Range |
Found in central eastern California, from approximately the Mojave River north along the east side of the Sierras into Nevada.
Sea level to 8,000 ft. (2,440 m).
"Klauber (1930, 1936) suggested that C. m. stephensi formed a zone of intergradation with C. m. pyrrhus in the Mohave Desert (i.e., the Barstow–Ivanpah–Hoover Dam line). His primary evidence was the presence of an incomplete separation of the prenasal and rostral scales in some individuals he examined from this region. This condition, however, occurs infrequently throughout the distribution of C. mitchellii (Klauber, 1936, 1949, 1963), and hence its utility as a robust morphological indicator of intergradation between C. m. stephensi and C. m. pyhrrus is unresolved." |
| Habitat |
| Associated mostly with habitats composed of rocky outcrops and boulders, but also found in creosote bush and cactus deserts and open coniferous woodlands. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| In a 2007 paper, * using molecular data, Douglas et al showed that this snake is a distinct species, not a subspecies of Crotalus mitchellii. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Viperidae |
Vipers |
| Genus |
Crotalus |
Rattlesnakes |
Species
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stephensi |
Panamint Rattlesnake |
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Original Description |
Crotalus mitchellii - (Cope, 1861) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 13, p. 293
Crotalus mitchellii stephensi - Klauber, 1930 - Trans. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. 6, No. 3, p. 108
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
mitchellii - honors Mitchell, S. Weir
stephensi - honors Stephens, Frank
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Formerly Crotalus mitchellii stephensi - Panamint Rattlesnake
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Related or Similar California Snakes |
C. m. pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
C. s. scutulatus - Northern Mohave Rattlesnake
C. c. cerastes - Mojave Desert Sidewinder
C. o. lutosus - Great Basin Rattlesnake
C. o. oreganus - Northern Pacific 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.
* Douglas, Michael E., Marlis R. Douglas, gordon W. Schuett, Louis W. Porras, and Blake L. Thomason. Genealogical Concordance between Mitochondrial and Nuclear DNAs Supports Species Recognition of the Panamint Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii stephensi). Copeia, 2007(4), pp. 920–932.
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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 animal 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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