Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus adamanteus • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Crotalus, Species: C. adamanteus
Southeastern United States, ranging from southeastern North Carolina south through peninsular Florida and west to southeastern Louisiana.
Look up Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Crotalus, Species: C. adamanteus
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, though regional populations face declines due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and direct human persecution.
Physical Description
Heavy-bodied snake with a distinctively wide, triangular head clearly demarcated from the neck. The dorsal pattern features a series of dark, diamond-shaped blotches with lighter borders set against a yellowish-brown, brownish, or olive background. Scales are heavily keeled.
Size & Dimensions
The specimen appears to be a medium-sized adult or large subadult. Average adult length is between 3 and 5 feet (90 to 150 cm), with maximum recorded lengths approaching 8 feet (240 cm).
Habitat
Found primarily in dry pine flatwoods, longleaf pine-wiregrass habitats, sandhills, coastal maritime hammocks, and swamp margins, typically utilizing gopher tortoise burrows, fallen logs, or dense palmetto thickets for shelter.
Diet & Feeding
Predominantly feeds on small mammals such as rabbits, mice, rats, and squirrels, as well as ground-dwelling birds. Employs a sit-and-wait ambush strategy.
Reproduction
Viviparous (gives live birth), typically producing litters ranging from 7 to 25 young born in late summer or autumn. Mating generally occurs in late summer or spring.
Look-alikes
Frequently confused with other large southeastern snakes such as the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius), and occasionally non-dangerous mimics like the Eastern Foxsnake or various rat snakes, though the diamond pattern and distinct rattle (if present) are key identifiers.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, though regional populations face declines due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and direct human persecution.
Cultural Significance
Holds a prominent place in American folklore and regional history, famously featured on the Gadsden flag ('Don't Tread on Me'). Ecologically, it serves as an apex predator in controlling rodent populations.
Notable Features
Possesses specialized heat-sensing pit organs located between the eye and the nostril, enabling precise detection of endothermic prey, and a prominent caudal rattle used as a defensive warning display.