Sistrurus miliarius

Pigmy Rattlesnake ( Sistrurus miliaris miliarius )

The Pigmy Rattlesnake ( Sistrurus miliarius ) is a species of the same genus of dwarf rattlesnakes ( Sistrurus ), whose range extends into the central United States of America into the southern and south-eastern coast of the country ..

Features

The Pigmy Rattlesnake reached an average body length of about 50 centimeters and is rarely sometimes up to 70 inches long. The tail with the very small tail rattle is made ​​very thin. The basic color of the snake is light gray, gray, or reddish with a drawing of small, roundish spots on the back, which are mostly dark gray. By the stains a narrow pink, orange or zimtfarbener strip can pull the springs on top of the head. There are often other, smaller spots on the flanks.

Distribution and habitat

The dwarf rattlesnake is spread in an area of ​​the central United States of America into the southern and south-eastern coast of the country, including the Florida Peninsula.

As habitat uses the snake mainly forested areas ( pine or pine - oak forests) in the vicinity of water. They often hiding on the forest floor under leaves, bark and other plant parts.

System

The dwarf rattlesnake is currently split into three subspecies:

• S. m. barbouri in Florida, southern Georgia and Alabama and the extreme southeast of the state of Mississippi; This type is characterized by a fine mottling of the body and the head
• S. m. miliaris in North and South Carolina, central Georgia and Alabama
• S. m. streckeri or Western Pigmy Rattlesnake in the westernmost part of the range to the Atlantic coast.

Snake venom

The venom of rattlesnakes dwarf corresponds in its basic composition of the rattlesnakes and is like most viper venoms hemotoxic, so it destroys blood cells and the walls of blood vessels. Hämotoxine lead mainly to destruction of tissue, internal bleeding and swelling and are very painful, compared to most neurotoxins kill but less quickly. In contrast to the venoms of rattlesnakes which the dwarf rattlesnakes are far less well researched. The Pigmy Rattlesnake produces only relatively small amounts of poison and has relatively short fangs that do not penetrate very far into the tissue. The effects consist usually of local swelling, pain, and general nausea.