Timber Rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus
Summary 6
Crotalus horridus, commonly known as timber rattlesnake, canebrake rattlesnake or banded rattlesnake, is a species of venomous pit viper found in the eastern United States. This is the only rattlesnake species in most of the populous northeastern United States. No subspecies is currently recognized.
Morphology 7
Adult timber rattlesnakes range from 36-60 inches (90-152 cm) in length, and the record length for the species is 74.5 in. (189.2 cm). They exhibit sexual dimorphism; the males are larger, weighing around 2.0 lb. while the females weigh on an average 1.3 lb. There are several color morphs. The background color of the black morph is gray and the patterns are a rich, velvety black. The background color of the yellow morph is tan, the patterns are a sulfur yellow tinged brownish in patches. Western and southern populations have combinations of these two as well. All the snakes have transverse bands of color. The bands vary geographically; eastern, western, and southern types of timber rattlesnake are recognized. (Brown, 1993, Conant & Collins 1998)
Range mass: 500 to 1000 g.
Range length: 90 to 152 cm.
Other Physical Features: heterothermic
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger
Sources and Credits
- (c) Tad Arensmeier, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/11304433@N00/484186958
- Edward J. Wozniak D.V.M., Ph.D., no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://phil.cdc.gov/PHIL_Images/8162/8162_lores.jpg
- (c) Kenneth Bader, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Kenneth Bader
- (c) jasonsinghurst, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
- (c) Thomas Autry, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Thomas Autry
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_horridus
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31388468
