Facts about Rattlesnakes
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes, genera Crotalus and Sistrurus. They belong to the class of venomous snakes known commonly as pit vipers. There are approximately fifty species of rattlesnake, with numerous subspecies. They receive their name for the rattle located at the tip of their tails. The rattle is used as a warning device when threatened. The scientific name Crotalus derives from a Greek word, meaning "castanet". The name Sistrurus is the Latinized form of the Greek word for "tail rattler" and shares its root with the ancient Egyptian musical instrument, the sistrum, a type of rattle. Most rattlesnakes mate in the spring. All species give live birth, rather than laying eggs. The young of rattlesnakes are self-sufficient from birth. As they do not need their mother after birth, the mother does not remain with her young. Rattlesnakes consume rodents and other small animals, such as rabbits, rats, mice, etc., subduing their prey quickly with a venomous bite as opposed to constricting. The venom stuns or kills typical rattlesnake prey immediately. A rattlesnake will follow prey that does not quickly succumb to the venom and attempts to escape. Rattlesnakes are specially known to strike at distances up to two-thirds their body length. Rattlesnakes are prey for kingsnakes, roadrunners, pigs, hawks, and eagles. They have been harvested as human food, such as at the Rattlesnake Round-Up in Sweetwater, Texas. The rattle is composed of a series of nested, hollow beads which are actually modified scales from the tail tip. Each time the snake sheds its skin, a new rattle segment is added. The rattle may break; there is little truth to the claim that one can tell a rattlesnake's age from the number of beads in its rattle. The rattlesnakes may shed their skins several times a year depending on food supply and growth rates. Newborn rattlesnakes do not have functional rattles; it isn't until after they have shed their skin for the first time that they gain an additional bead, which beats against the first bead, known as the button, to create the rattling sound If the rattle absorbs enough water in wet weather, it will not make noise. The earliest fossil found which can be definitively identified as a rattlesnake was discovered near Driftwood Creek in Hitchcock County, Nebraska, U.S.A. An exact age of the specimen is indeterminate. The fossilized remains usually consist of ribs, which makes accurate specie identification problematic, as even many species of modern rattlesnakes have nearly identical vertebral characteristics. One extinct species, of which fossils were discovered in Allen Cave in Citrus County, was given the name Croeus. Though it had many characters in common with the modern Crotalus adamanteus, it was a much larger animal, probably attaining lengths in excess of 12 feet (3.7 m). Rattlesnakes are born with fully functioning fangs capable of injecting venom and they can regulate the amount of venom they inject when biting. Generally they deliver a full dose of venom to their prey, but may deliver less venom or none at all when biting defensively. Young snakes, although incapable of delivering an amount of venom equivalent to their adult counterparts, are still potentially deadly. Most species of rattlesnakes have hemotoxic venom, destroying tissue, degenerating organs and causing coagulopathy (disrupted blood clotting). Rattlesnakes are also a popular food in some southwestern cuisines and are sometimes sold in speciality meat shops. It has a flavor that has been described as similar to chicken or frog legs and a chewy texture similar to alligator. |
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