Sidewinder

The Sidewinder rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes), also known as the "Horned Rattlesnake", is a species of venomous pit viper. There are three subspecies. It is called a sidewinder because it uses sidewinding to move across sand.

Sidewinder
(Crotalus cerastes)
Crotalus cerastes mesquite springs CA-2.jpg
Conservation status
Scientific classification e
Unrecognized taxon (fix): Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Crotalus
Species:
C. cerastes
Binomial name
Crotalus cerastes
Hallowell, 1854
Crotalus cerastes distribution.png
Synonyms
tracks of a sidewinder in the sand

Description

The Sidewinder rattlesnake is a small species of snake, with adults measuring to about 43 to 76 centimetres (17 to 30 inches) long. The females are larger than the males, which is unusual for most snakes. The color of this snake is usually cream or yellowish-brown, and the belly is white colored.

Where it lives

In the southwestern United States of America it can be found in desert regions of eastern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and western Arizona. In northwestern Mexico, it can be found in western Sonora and eastern Baja California.

Behavior

The Sidewinder is nocturnal in hot months and diurnal in cooler months. The Sidewinder uses its tail to attract lizards which it eats, but when it becomes an adult it stops eating lizards and starts eating desert rodents.

Reproduction

A female Sidewinder Rattlesnake gives birth to around 5 to 18 young at a time. For 7–10 days the young stay with their mother in a burrow, they then shed for the first time and then leave the burrow. Sidewinders mature at the age of 2 or 3, then mate in April and May and sometimes in the fall. The female then has its 5-18 babies in the late summer. These babies are born 6-8 inches long. Males live a little bit longer than females, males live to about 13 years old and females about 11 years old.

Subspecies

There are three subspecies:[3]

References

  1. Frost, D.R.; Hammerson, G.A. & Gadsden, H. (2007). "Crotalus cerastes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  2. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. Crotalus cerastes (TSN 174311). Integrated Taxonomic Information System.