"Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake"

Color Photographs: Jeff Servoss, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

"Animas Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake"

Color Photograph: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi)

Identification: Length 15 to 25 inches. Rattles present. Color gray to red-brown. Back with narrow, light crossbars edged with darker on either side. Snout with a raised ridge, usually accented with white below. Face usually with dark and light bands.

Geographical Variation:

Arizona Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake (C. w. willardi): Head with a prominent white line running from the snout to below the eye and head without white markings. Range: Mountains of southeastern Arizona.

Animas Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake (C. w. obscurus): No white line near the snout and with conspicuous dark spotting on the top of the head . Range: Animas Mountains of New Mexico only.

Range (see map below): The Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake occurs in northern Mexico extending northward into the mountains of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.

Habitat: This species occurs in montane habitats, particularly in oak-pine, and pine-fir forests.

Food: Small mammals, lizards, centipedes, and scorpions.

Behavior:  Ridge-nosed Rattlesnakes are typically found sunning themselves on rocky slopes and moving along the forest floor. This is a rare and local species and is protected by law.

Reproduction:  The female is a live-bearer and produces between 2 to 9 young per year in later summer to early fall.

Ridged-nosed Rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi)

The narrow and dark margined light bands on the back, the ridge along the snout, and the absence of significant rings around the tail easily identify this species.

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