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 Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius barbouri)

Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake | Sistrurus miliarius-barbouri photo
Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake
Photograph by Haplochromis. Some rights reserved.  (view image details)




Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake | Sistrurus miliarius-barbouri photo
Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake
Photograph by Public Health Image Library (PHIL), a division of the CDC. License: Public Domain.  (view image details)





DUSKY PIGMY RATTLESNAKE FACTS
Description
The Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake is a thick snake with a triangular shaped head. The body is light to dark gray with a row of black or dark gray blotches along a reddish brown stripe down the middle of the back. There are dark spots on the sides in line with the blotches. The tail is thin with a small rattle that makes little sound. The underside is mottled with black and white. There is a deep pit between the nostril and the eye. Juvenile are similar to adults, but with yellowish-green tail tip.

Other Names
Florida Ground Rattlesnake, Southeastern Ground Rattlesnake, Barbour's Pigmy Rattlesnake

Size
length 35cm - 75cm. Average 53cm.

Environment
pine flatwoods, prairies, edges of lakes and ponds, freshwater marshes and swamps, banks of canals

Food
mainly small rodents and frogs

Breeding
Gives birth to 5 - 7 living young (ovoviviparous). Newborn snakes are about 16cm long.

Range
southern South Carolina, southern Georgia, Florida, southern Alabama, south eastern Mississippi.

Notes
The Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake is venomous and quite aggressive. The bite is not usually life threatening, but is extremely painful.

Classification
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata (Serpentes)
Family:Viperidae
Genus:Sistrurus
Species:miliarius barbouri
Common Name:Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake


Relatives in same Genus
  Desert Massasauga, Buzztail (S. catenatus edwardsii)
  Western Massasauga (S. catenatus tergeminus)
  Carolina Pigmy Rattlesnake (S. miliarius miliarius)
  Western Pigmy Rattlesnake (S. miliarius streckeri)







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