rattlesnake

27 species;

Overview

There are nearly thirty species of rattlesnake, with numerous subspecies.

Prey

Rattlesnakes feed on rodents and other small animals, subduing their prey by striking them quickly with a venomous bite as opposed to constricting. The venom stuns and/or kills typical rattlesnake prey immediately. A rattlesnake will follow a larger animal that does not quickly succumb to the venom and attempts to escape. Since they may shed their skins several times a year depending on food supply and growth rates and since the rattle can and does break, there is a little truth to the claim that one can tell a rattlesnake's age from the number of beads in its rattle.

Even with a useable rattle, a rattlesnake might not always give warning. Some speculate that rattlesnakes that use their rattles around humans are often killed and natural selection may favor rattlesnakes that do not give advance warning.

Paleontology

The earliest fossil found which can be definitively identified as a rattlesnake was discovered near Driftwood Creek in Hitchcock County, Nebraska, USA. The fossilized remains of rattlesnakes usually include vertebrae and ribs, which makes accurate species identification virtually impossible, as even many species of modern rattlesnakes have near identical vertebral characteristics.

Safety and identification

Different species of rattlesnake vary significantly in size, territory, markings, and temperament. Those bitten while provoking rattlesnakes have usually underestimated the range(roughly two-thirds of its total length) and speed with which a coiled snake can strike(almost literally faster than the human eye can follow).

For learning how to quickly and safely identify rattlesnakes by their markings, guides are available through booksellers, libraries, and local conservation and wildlife management agencies.

Rattlesnake bites

Rattlesnakes are born with fully functioning fangs capable of injecting venom and can regulate the amount of venom they inject when biting. Some studies contest that young snakes may be capable of injecting less venom, and the high toxicity of their bite comes from a variation in their venom which causes it to have a more potent concentration than in their adult counterparts. Any bite from a rattlesnake should be considered fully venomous and those bitten should seek medical attention immediately.

Toxicity

Most species of rattlesnakes have hemotoxic venom, destroying tissue, degenerating organs and disrupting blood clotting. Rattlesnakes have the most potent hemotoxic venom of any snake, making them one of the most dangerous snakes in the world. A few other snakes have stronger venom, but the large amounts of venom rattlers can inject makes their bites one of the worst. Thus, a rattlesnake bite is always a potentially serious, or even fatal, injury. Untreated rattlesnake bites, especially from larger species, are usually fatal. The venom of the Mojave Rattler is the most potent - its venom is 30 - 50 times as powerful as an Indian Cobra, and is drop for drop is nearly as powerful as the most virulent Australian species of snakes. Large Diamondback rattlers, while having considerably less potency by volume than other species such as the Mojave or Midget Faded rattlesnakes, possess a large enough volume of venom to kill several hundred humans. The Diamondback Rattlesnake ranks near the very top of most dangerous snakes in the world.

Some rattlesnakes, especially the tropical species, have neurotoxic venom. Bites by neurotoxic species such as the Mojave Rattlesnake should be field treated by wrapping the bitten area with an elastic bandage to impede the spread of the poison for as long as possible.

Experienced health workers typically gauge envenomation in stages ranging from 0, when there is no evident venom, to 5, when there is a life-threatening amount of venom present.

Quick medical attention is critical, and treatment typically requires antivenin/antivenom to block the tissue destruction, nerve effects, and blood-clotting disorders common with rattlesnake venom.

Rattlesnakes as food

Rattlesnakes are also a popular food in some southwestern cuisines and is sometimes sold in specialty meat shops.