Summary ²

Crotalus adamanteus is a venomous pit viper found in the southeastern United States. It is the heaviest (though not longest) venomous snake in the Americas and the largest rattlesnake. It featured prominently in the American Revolution, specifically as the symbol of what many consider to be the first flag of the United States of America, the Gadsden flag. No subspecies is currently recognized.

Description ³

This species differs from other rattlesnakes by the following characteristics: crisp dorsal thin yellow diamonds enclosing black pigment centered with brown; densely black face with two thin oblique yellow lines on either side of the black eye (the iris and sclera are not set off from the pupil); olive-brown tail never with bold black and white "coon tail" bands.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Zack, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/87418376@N00/141054848
2. Adapted by okaloosascience from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_adamanteus
3. Adapted by okaloosascience from a work by (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28889088

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• Snake Database
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

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