‹ Compare two snakes
Mohave Rattlesnake vs Sidewinder
Tap a part to see it on both. Tap it again to turn it off.
(c) Jeremiah Degenhardt, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Mohave Rattlesnake
Crotalus scutulatus
Venomous(c) Matt Berger, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Sidewinder
Crotalus cerastes
VenomousThe quick way to tell
Look above the eyes. The Sidewinder has a raised, horn-like scale over each eye. The Mohave has no horns, and its body shows clean diamonds rather than faint blotches.
Head ★ This settles it
Triangle; two big scales between the eyes, cheek stripe passes behind the mouth.
Triangular head with a raised horn-like scale above each eye.
Pattern
Clean pale-edged diamonds on gray-green to brown.
Sandy cream to pink with faint darker blotches.
Eyes
Vertical slit pupil; heat-sensing pit between eye and nostril.
Vertical slit pupil under the raised horn; 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
White bands usually wider than the black ones, ahead of the rattle.
Short, with a small rattle.
What it does
Rattles and holds ground; often found on roads at night.
Buries in sand beside a bush; moves in a sideways loop.
Where it lives
Southwest: southeastern California, southern Nevada, extreme southwestern Utah, Arizona, southern New Mexico and west Texas, south into central Mexico.
Deserts of southeastern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, western Arizona and northwestern Mexico.