The sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes) as I found it after jumping out of the way in a jolt of panic. Sahara mustard seed pods can be seen on the right side of the photo. I’ll address this terrible invasive plant in another post.
Last week while seeking wildflowers, I stopped to yank some invasive Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii) plants out from underneath a creosote bush. In the process, I surprised a sidewinder rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes). And it surprised me. My arm came to within 2 to 3 feet of the snake, which obviously I did not see, or else I would have simply left the mustards alone in that spot. Anyway, no harm done, and my little scare didn’t stop me from taking photos of it. At a safe distance with a zoom lens.
After the initial recoil the snake made thanks to my sudden disturbance of it, it stayed put and did not move, nor did it rattle.
Sidewinders are relatively small pit vipers that inhabit the lower elevations of the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts, often in sandy flats and dunes. The common name refers to the type of motion known as sidewinding, which is specialized in by several desert snake species worldwide because it is much more efficient in loose sand than typical the crawling we see in most other snakes. They are also capable of normal locomotion, but will sidewind when loose, sandy conditions prevail. If you don’t know what sidewinding looks like, videos of it are easy to find online in case you are curious. Here’s a good one from Smithsonian that describes sidewinding behavior in an adder in the Namib Desert of southern Africa:
Video credit: Smithsonian Channel, Feb 19, 2015
Detailed view of the sidewinder and the eyes with vertical pupils, plus supraocular scales.
You can see the raised supraocular scales that are over each eye, giving the snake a sort of “horned” look. These supraocular scales are thought to help enable the snake to see better when it buries its entire body in the sand aside from the top of its head and eyes. The scales help keep sand out of the eyes, and raise the eyeballs just enough to enable the snake to see its lizard or rodent prey, which they ambush. The video I linked to above shows good footage of this behavior as well.
A view of the sidewinder from a different angle.
Sidewinders are not uncommon but tend to be encountered less than many other rattlers because they live in very arid, sparsely-inhabited deserts with low human populations. They are not very large, mostly 20 to 24 inches (50 to 60 cm) in length at maturity, and their venom is less potent than that of their larger relatives. Of course being bitten by a sidewinder is still a medical emergency requiring prompt treatment, but given the snakes’ smaller size and venom composition, you will probably survive and recover, should you decide to pull Sahara mustards a bit too carelessly, like I did. 😉
Another full-scale view of the snake. I estimate that it was about 18 inches long. It never rattled or attempted to strike at me. After the photos and a short video, I just left it alone.
Detail of the scales and camouflage patterns on the sidewinder’s back. I believe that this is probably the typical form of the sidewinder, Crotalus cerastes ssp. cerastes. There are two additional different subspecies currently recognized, but both occur farther south than where I saw this one, so that is my diagnosis.
My short, and decidedly non-professional, video of the sidewinder in question. Not as good as the Smithsonian video, but it should suffice. 🙂
Many thanks for sharing photos and video. It appears to me that the snake was probably more scared than you 🙂
Bet that got the heart thumping! The rattler didn’t look too alarmed at your presence so must have been in a benevolent mood from being surrounded by all the gorgeous wildflowers. Cool experience.
It was indeed a shock to pull out the dense tumbleweed of the mustard and watch the snake recoil in its wake. I think it was not likely expecting to see its cover blown so quickly either. 😉