Diamondback Rattlesnake

It shakes its rattle before biting you

The diamond back rattlesnake which lives in America and Northern Mexico, is one of the most dangerous snakes alive. There are about thirty species of rattlesnake, whose length varies from 40 cm (16 in) to over 2 m (over 6 ft).The regrettably celebrated fer-de-lance which is found in the Antilles and in the Northern part of South America reaches a length of 2.60 m (7½ ft): it is the largest poisonous snake in the New World. All rattlesnakes are poisonous and have two long teeth curled into hooks, really syringes, for the injection of the poison, and it is these hooks which the rattler uses to inoculate the bodies of its victims. The 'rattle' of the rattlesnake is at the end of its tail, in the form of horny scales which move against each other and are curiously articulated on each other. When the snake agitates its tail these scales produce a peculiar rattling sound, audible for some distance.

The rattler uses this sound to signal that it is in an excited state. The more irritated it becomes, the more quickly the rattle is shaken and the tail reaches the vertical. Beware those who choose to ignore this warning. The venom of the diamond back rattlesnake is very powerful and bites are frequently fatal to man. The rattler's food consists of small mammals, ranging in size from mice to rabbits. Given the soeed of these animals and the impossibility of the rattlesnake being able to run them down, nature has given these snakes an ingenious heat detector system, which permits them to locate a warm-blooded animal in complete darkness and to poison it before it even suspects any danger.

Ovo-viviparous The female gives birth to between 12 and 43 young	Adult weight: max. 6 kg(13.2 lbs) Length: 1.30 to 1.80 m(51 to 60 in)	Venomous fangs are folded back, becoming erect when the snake prepares to bite Venomous from birth
Phylum: Vertebrata	Class: Reptilia	Order: Squamata	Sub-order: Ophidia	Family: Crotalidae	Genus and species: Crotalus atrox

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