Crotalus ruber

Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber)

The Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) is a species of rattlesnakes (Crotalus ), their distribution extends from southern California to the belonging to Mexico Baja California.

Features

The Red Diamond Rattlesnake is a large and powerfully built rattlesnake with an average body length of over one meter, with single individuals grow up to 1.50 meters long. The typical basic color is red-brown to brick-red, but it can also be olive green or brown (especially in the southern parts of the range, subspecies C. r. Luca sensis ). The drawing consists of large diamonds that are usually restricted white. These white edges, missing only in some island forms. The head being characterized by a broad red or brown temporal band that leads to the eyes of the mouth and may also be enclosed white. The tail has a black and white banding of narrow bands, which strongly contrasts especially with red-brown animals with the body.

Distribution and habitat

The range of the snake extends from southern California to the belonging to Mexico Baja California and thereby excludes only the driest areas in the desert. In addition, the species is found on some islands in the Gulf of California.

The habitat of the snake is characterized by dry desert areas, where the snake is found mainly in areas with stony ground or sparse vegetation.

Snake venom

The venom of this snake corresponds essentially to the Texas Rattlesnake (C. atrox ) and has accordingly especially hämotoxische components which are composed of tissue -destroying proteins. The effect is recognized according mainly from tissue damage, local painful swelling and hemorrhagic effects.

System

Currently three subspecies of the Red Diamond Rattlesnake be considered valid:

• C. r. lorenzoensis endemic to the island of San Lorenzo Sur; This subspecies is smaller than the animals on the mainland and tends to reduce the tail rattle through the loss of the last rattle segments
• C. r. luca sensis in the Cape region of Baja California south of Loreto; it is brown to olive green and is estimated to be more aggressive than the nominate
• C. r. ruber in Southern California and in most of the Baja California with the exception of the Cape.