‹ Compare two snakes
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake vs Pygmy Rattlesnake
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DJC
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus adamanteus
Venomous(c) Jolieokefenokee, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Pygmy Rattlesnake
Sistrurus miliarius
VenomousThe quick way to tell
Look at the back. The Eastern Diamondback has a row of large dark diamonds with cream borders. The Pygmy is much smaller, with a row of round dark spots and often a rusty stripe down the spine.
Pattern ★ This settles it
Sharply outlined dark diamonds, each edged in cream, on brown to olive.
Round dark spots down the back, often with a rusty stripe between them.
Head
Very broad triangular head with a bold dark cheek stripe bordered above and below by white.
Small head, only a little wider than the neck, with a dark stripe through the eye.
Eyes
Vertical slit pupil; heat-sensing pit between eye and nostril.
Vertical slit pupil; heat-sensing pit between eye and nostril.
Pits
A deep heat-sensing pit on each side of the face, between the eye and the nostril.
A deep heat-sensing pit on each side of the face, between the eye and the nostril.
Tail
Black and white bands ahead of a large rattle.
Very slender with a tiny rattle that sounds like an insect.
What it does
Rattles from a coil; will stand its ground.
Stays hidden under leaves; rattle often too faint to hear.
Where it lives
Coastal plain from South Carolina through Georgia and all of Florida, west along the Gulf to Alabama and Mississippi; now likely gone from North Carolina and Louisiana.
Southeast from eastern North Carolina through Florida and west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma, north into western Tennessee, far western Kentucky, Arkansas and southern Missouri.