Timber Rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Crotalus, Species: Crotalus horridus
Eastern United States, from southern New Hampshire to northern Florida, and west to southeastern Minnesota and central Texas.
Look up Timber Rattlesnake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Crotalus, Species: Crotalus horridus
Conservation
IUCN Least Concern (though many state-level listings range from Threatened to Endangered due to habitat fragmentation and persecution).
Physical Description
Large, heavy-bodied snake with keeled scales. Features dark brown or black crossbands or 'chevrons' on a ground color of gray, tan, or yellowish-brown. The tail is solid black and capped with a keratinous rattle. The head is broad/triangular with vertical pupils.
Size & Dimensions
Specimen appears to be an adult. Typical adult range is 36–60 inches (91–152 cm), with a maximum record of approximately 74 inches (189 cm).
Habitat
Primarily deciduous forests with rocky outcrops; also found in swamps, floodplains, and pine woods. Hibernates in communal dens (hibernacula) in rocky crevices.
Diet & Feeding
Specialized ambush predator primarily targeting small mammals (squirrels, chipmunks, mice) and occasionally birds. Uses heat-sensing pits to track warm-blooded prey.
Reproduction
Ovoviviparous (gives birth to live young). Females usually breed every 2–6 years depending on climate and energy reserves, giving birth to 5–20 neonates in late summer.
Look-alikes
Eastern Diamondback (Crotalus adamanteus), which has a more distinct diamond pattern and facial stripes; and Northern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix), which lacks a rattle and has 'hourglass' patterns.
Conservation Status
IUCN Least Concern (though many state-level listings range from Threatened to Endangered due to habitat fragmentation and persecution).
Cultural Significance
Historical icon of the American Revolution (featured on the Gadsden flag); ecologically vital as a top predator in forest ecosystems and helps control rodent-borne diseases.
Notable Features
Distinctive solid black tail ('velvet tail') and the ability to maintain long-term communal denning sites used by generations of snakes.