COBRAS AND RATTLESNAKES 
349 
rat ran over the snake several times, and greatly- 
annoyed it. The snake endeavored to get away 
from its disreputable associate, but in vain. 
At last the rat flew at the Rattler, and bit 
him severely on the lips! This was too much 
to be endured. In a great rage the snake 
drew back, seized the body of the rat in its wide 
jaws, and held on while it drove its fangs through 
the tough skin of the rodent, and far into its 
body. After one could have counted ten, the 
rat was released; and thirteen minutes later it 
was dead. 
Species of Rattlesnakes. 
Fourteen valid species of Rattlesnakes are 
found in North America, one in South America, 
and there are none elsewhere. Our most promi- 
nent species are as follows: 
ENGLISH NAME. 
Dog-Faced Rattlesnake 
Timber Rattlesnake... 
Diamond Rattlesnake . 
Texas Rattlesnake 
Prairie Rattlesnake .... 
Pacific Rattlesnake. . . . 
Tiger Rattlesnake ..... 
Horned Rattlesnake . . . 
Green Rattlesnake 
White Rattlesnake 
Massasauga 
Edwards’ Massasauga. . 
Ground Rattlesnake . . . 
Among the Rattlesnake species are several 
striking examples of color-development, to suit 
their surroundings, or what is known in well- 
worn phrase as “protective coloration.” The 
Banded or Timber Rattlesnake is a good imita- 
tion of the color of dead leaves and damp earth. 
The color-pattern of the Diamond Rattler is 
made up of rich though quiet tones of brown and 
yellow, dark and light, like the shadows of saw- 
palmetto leaves falling upon yellow sand. The 
Texas Rattler and the Horned Rattlesnake of 
the Southwest are so pale and bleached one 
instantly associates them with naked deserts 
shimmering in fierce sunshine. 
In their habits, so far as known, the various 
species are very much alike. They bring forth 
their young alive, the normal number being be- 
tween nine and fourteen. As soon as an infant 
Rattler bursts the thin transparent sac in which 
it is born, it is ready to coil and strike. Even at 
birth it is fully equipped with poison and fangs. 
Wild or captive, the favorite food of a full-grown 
Rattler is small mammals; but what they feed 
upon in a wild state when very young, remains to 
be ascertained. From our six species of captives, 
we have learned that Rattlers climb bushes with 
almost as much ease as professional tree-climbers, 
but in a wild state it seems fairly certain that they 
rarely do so. 
The tail of the Rattlesnake is ornamented at 
the end with a rattle consisting of a number of 
joints of horny material developed out of the skin, 
one section dovetailed into another. The exact 
age of a Rattler is not indicated by the number 
LOCALITY. LATIN NAME. 
.Crotalus molossus. 
Crotalus horridus. 
Crotalus adamanteus. 
Crotalus atrox. 
Crotalus confluentus. 
Crotalus lucifer. 
Crotalus tigris. 
Crotalus cerastes. 
Crotalus lepidus. 
Crotalus mitclielli. 
, Sistrurus catenatus. 
Sistrurus edwardsi. 
. Sistrurus miliarius. 
of joints in the rattle at the rate of one for each 
year. On the contrary, under favorable cir- 
cumstances about three joints will be developed 
each year, until the snake reaches maturity. We 
have now, in the Reptile House, Rattlesnakes 
three years old which already have in their rattles 
from seven to nine joints. 
The rattles are not shed when an old skin is 
cast off, nor are they ever shed; but they are 
frequently broken off, usually about three joints 
each year after more than nine or ten joints have 
been acquired. It is very seldom that more 
than ten joints are found on a living snake. 
It is possible to lengthen a snake’s rattles, 
after they have been cut off, by joining on other 
joints of the same size, up to the number desired. 
.New Mexico 
Eastern half of United States . 
Florida and Gulf States 
The Southwest 
The Plains Region 
The Pacific States 
Extreme Southwest 
Extreme Southwest 
Mexican Boundary 
.Southern and Lower California 
Nebraska to New York 
. The Southwest 
Atlantic States South 
