Ad
Featured
Meet 10 rattlesnakes that call New Mexico home
Published
Modified
Venomous, heat-sensing and musically inclined. The Western diamondback rattlesnake may be the most infamous snake to call New Mexico home, but the Land of Enchantment boasts almost 50 snake species, including 10 rattlesnake species.
Regardless of the species, someone bitten by a rattlesnake should get immediate medical attention.
For humans, the risk of being bitten is not high unless the snake is provoked, according to a New Mexico Wildlife article, and people who have consumed alcohol have the highest risk of being bitten.
Here is a look at New Mexico’s rattlers:
1. A Southwest icon: the Western diamondback rattlesnake
Along with being iconic, Western diamondback rattlesnakes are also very common, living in all but five counties in New Mexico, according to a University of Florida paper on the venomous snakes and lizards of New Mexico available on the New Mexico Game and Fish website.
It is also the largest venomous snake in the state and venom from the western diamondback is hemotoxic, so it attacks blood vessels, arteries and the heart. A diamondback bite could be a life-or-death situation.
The snakes typically eat rodents and small mammals but are opportunists that will eat lizards or small birds given the chance.
According to the University of Florida paper, six of the 10 rattlesnake species in the state dine regularly on rodents, giving them an important job: limiting the spread of hantavirus and bubonic plague, which can both be spread by rodents.
2. A pre-owned home connoisseur: the Prairie Rattlesnake
Ad
Prairie rattlesnakes sometimes move-in to a pre-existing shelter like a prairie dog tunnel.
The species is common in New Mexico and can be found in all 33 counties. Prairie rattlesnakes can grow five feet long, according to a National Park Service article.
Prairie rattlesnakes are often mistaken for diamondbacks, according to the University of Florida paper. One way to tell the two apart is the diamondback’s black and white tail banding.
3. A green rattler: the Eastern Black-Tailed Rattlesnake
Eastern black-tailed rattlesnakes live in rocky, wooded uplands. University of Florida researchers recommend that Burqueños and Las Cruces residents learn to recognize the species, as it is likely the most common rattler in the Organ Mountains and the Sandia foothills. The snakes typically avoid urban environments.
The species varies in color and can be dressed in brown, tan, gray or greenish-gray, with brown or black blotches and solid black tails.
Eastern black-tailed rattlesnakes have been known to share dens with rock rattlesnakes and western diamondbacks.
4. A doppelganger: the Northern Black-Tailed Rattlesnake
With a black tail and gray coloration, the northern black-tailed rattlesnake looks identical to the eastern black-tailed rattlesnake to anyone who is not a snake expert, according to the University of Florida paper.
But the snake lives in a smaller area of the state: four western counties — Cibola, Catron, Grant and Hidalgo.
5. An elusive serpent: the New Mexico Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake
The New Mexico ridge-nosed rattlesnake is a rare but distinctive sight. The snake has a ridge on the tip of its nose — the only rattlesnake subspecies in the state with that feature. The New Mexico ridge-nosed rattlesnake lives in the Peloncillo Mountains and the Animas Mountains in Hidalgo County, according to the University of Florida paper.
The species is on the federal and state endangered and threatened species list. Some of the threats to the New Mexico ridge-nosed rattlesnake are overcollection and habitat loss, according to the Biota Information System of New Mexico.
Rattlesnakes are a Southwest icon
6. An impressive show: the Mojave Rattlesnake
According to the University of Florida paper, the Mojave rattlesnake puts on a show when threatened, standing up in an ‘S’ pose.
The Mojave rattlesnake is only common in two New Mexico counties: Hildalgo and Otero, according to the University of Florida paper. The snake is more common in other Southwest states like California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas, according to a New Mexico State University guide on snake information for New Mexico homeowners.
7. A camouflage master: the Rock Rattlesnake
The banded rock rattlesnake is one of two subspecies of rock rattlesnake in New Mexico. Banded rock rattlesnakes are petite, averaging 22 inches long, and live in southwestern New Mexico, according to the University of Florida paper.
Its gray and black banding makes it easy for the banded rock rattlesnake to hide in rocks. The snake's favorite dinner is lizard, and its venom is a mix of hemotoxin and neurotoxin.
New Mexico’s other rock rattlesnake subspecies, the mottled rock rattlesnake, lives in Otero and Eddy counties, according to the University of Florida paper. The mottled rock rattlesnake is on New Mexico’s endangered and threatened species list.
A few harmless snakes can be misidentified with the rock rattlesnakes, including lyre snakes, gray-banded kingsnakes and night snakes.
Other snakes, like bull snakes, sometimes imitate rattlesnakes by vibrating their tails and flattening their heads.
8. A rare find: a Tiger Rattlesnake
Most people probably won’t run in to a tiger rattlesnake in the Land of Enchantment. According to the University of Florida paper, only a few tiger snakes have been confirmed in New Mexico, all in the Peloncillo Mountains. The snake is more common in Arizona and Mexico.
Tiger rattlesnakes have small heads and bulky bodies and are covered in repeating gray stripes. The species also has one of the most toxic venoms of any rattlesnake, according to the University of Florida paper. The venom includes a neurotoxin, which affects the nervous system, and a myotoxin, which can cause muscle necrosis.
9. A Gila resident: the Arizona Black Rattlesnake
Arizona black rattlesnakes are only found in two New Mexico counties: Grant and Catron, according to the University of Florida paper. The snakes hang out in and around the Gila National Forest.
Climate change is considered the greatest threat to the Arizona Black Rattlesnake, according to the Biota Information System of New Mexico.
10. A petite species: the Western Massasauga
A smaller species, the western massasauga can be found in most of southern and central New Mexico. The species grows 14 to 32 inches long, according to the University of Florida paper. Although smaller, the snake has similar patterns and coloring to a prairie rattlesnake.
