Pygmy Rattlesnake
Sistrurus miliarius • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Sistrurus, Species: S. miliarius
Southeastern and Midwestern United States, ranging from eastern North Carolina south to Florida, and west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma.
Look up Pygmy Rattlesnake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Sistrurus, Species: S. miliarius
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, though local populations face threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing.
Physical Description
Light gray to brownish-gray background coloration with a distinctive dorsal row of dark rounded spots or blotches, often interspersed with a reddish-orange vertebral stripe. Smaller dark spots run along the flanks. The head is distinct from the neck, and the tail terminates in a very small rattle.
Size & Dimensions
Specimens typically range from 40 to 80 cm (15 to 31 inches) in total length, with adults averaging around 50 to 60 cm. This individual appears to be an adult of moderate size.
Habitat
Found in a variety of habitats including flatwoods, sandhills, mixed forests, floodplains, and around the edges of lakes and marshes. They utilize dense ground cover, palmetto thickets, and pine straw for shelter.
Diet & Feeding
Preys primarily on small mammals such as mice and shrews, as well as lizards, frogs, and occasionally other snakes. They are sit-and-wait ambush predators.
Reproduction
Viviparous (giving birth to live young), producing litters typically ranging from 2 to 9 young, usually born in late summer or early autumn.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, though local populations face threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing.
Cultural Significance
Plays an important ecological role as a predator of small rodents and other small vertebrates, helping to regulate prey populations within its native ecosystems.
Notable Features
Features a very small, inconspicuous rattle that often produces a sound resembling an insect buzz rather than a loud buzzing rattle of larger species.