IDENTIFICATION
The Banded Rock Rattlesnake is similar to the Mottled Rock Rattlesnake in appearance, but has a much more clearly defined pattern and it lacks any dark blotches or secondary crossbands betwen the primary dark crossbands. There are 14 to 24 black or dark brown jagged crossbands. Overall body coloration varies from locality to locality, ranging from gray to greenish. Unlike the Mottled Rock Rattlesnake, there is not a dark stripe that runs from the back of the eye to the angle of the mouth. It has keeled scales and an undivided anal plate. The scale count at mid-body is normally 23.
SIZE
Adults measure 15 to 24 inches. Record size recorded for this species is 32 5/8 inches.
RANGE
The Banded Rock Rattlesnake ranges from extreme west Texas across southern New Mexico, into southeastern Arizona and southward into Mexico as far as Jalisco.
DISTRIBUTION IN TEXAS
In Texas, this species has been recorded only from the Franklin Mountains of El Paso County. I have seen several references made to it also occuring in adjucant Hudspeth County, Texas, but I have so far not been able to verify the validity of the Hudspeth County reports.
HABITAT
Like the Mottled Rock Rattlesnake, the Banded Rock Rattlesnake is also a rock-inhabiting, mountain-dwelling species. In the Franklin Mountains of El Paso County, Texas, this species inhabits the rock ledges and rocky canyons of the area's sparsely vegetated arid terrain. In other parts of its range, if may sometimes be found in grassy meadows located at higher elevations.
FOOD
Lizards, especially scaly lizards (Sceloporus), make up the bulk of the Banded Rock Rattlesnake's diet, but it also feeds on mice, frogs, and occasionally other smaller snakes and even insects.
BEHAVIOR
This rattlesnake is most active during early mornings or late evenings. At lower elevations where the temperatures are warmer, it will also be active at night, especially during the summer. They are frequently drawn out immediately following an afternoon thundershower. Crotalus lepidus klauberi is a somewhat timid snake and will normally retreat at the first sign of danger.
REPRODUCTION
Courtship and breeding may occur anytime between February and October. The Banded Rock Rattlesnake, like all rattlesnakes are live-bearers, giving birth to 2 to 8 young from June through August. The young measure from 6½ to 8¾ inches at birth and resemble the adults except that the tip of the tail is sulphur yellow.
REMARKS
Because of the rugged and often inaccessable terrain that this species occupies and its timid nature, it is seldom encountered by man, thus posing little threat. However, when human bites do occur, they can be very serious, as the venom unlike some other rattlesnakes, includes toxins that affect the nervous system. Research has also shown that there is considerable variation in the lethal potency of the venom depending upon the geographic region that the snake is from. E. D. Rael, J. D. Johnson, O. Molina, and H.K. McCrystal (1992) found the venom of specimens from Chihuahua, Mexico, and certain areas of Arizona and New Mexico had 3 to 100 times the lethal toxicity of those from Texas and to be about 10 times as toxic as the venom of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. Even so, J. E. Werler and J. R. Dixon (2000) were unable to find a single documented case of a human fatality resulting from a bite of either the Banded Rock Rattlesnake or the Mottled Rock Rattlesnake,
LITERATURE CITED
Brown, Bryce C. 1950. An Annotated Check List of the Reptiles and Amphibians of Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco.
Conant, R. and J.T. Collins. 1991. Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd revised edition. Houghton Mifflin, Co., Boston.
Dixon, James R. 2000. Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas, 2nd edition. Texas A & M Press, College Station.
Klauber, Laurence M. 1972. Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind, 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles.
Werler, John E., and James R. Dixon. 2000. Texas Snakes, Identification, Distribution and Natural History. University of Texas Press, Austin.
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