IDENTIFICATION
The Mottled Rock Rattlesnake is a small dusty colored species. Body markings may vary considerably but generally the ground color is a dusty to whitish gray with small specks of dark pigment. There are 18 to 22 widely seperated dark dorsal blotches. There is indistinct secondary spotting between the dorsal blotches. Overall body coloration varies from locality to locality, ranging from gray to greenish to pink. This species has 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 23.
Mottled Rock Rattlesnake - Crotalus lepidus lepidus Photo by Terry Hibbitts
SIZE
Adults measure 18 to 24 inches. The record size recorded for this species is 30½ inches.
RANGE
The Mottled Rock Rattlesnake ranges from south-central Texas throughout the Trans-Pecos and Big Bend Regions of Texas and southward into Mexico as far as San Luis Potosi.
DISTRIBUTION IN TEXAS
This species has been recorded from the following Texas counties: Bandera, Brewster, Crockett, Culberson, Edwards, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kerr, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Real, Reeves, Sutton, Terrell, Uvalde, and Val Verde.
HABITAT
This is a rock-inhabiting, mountain-dwelling species, spending much of its time in and about the numerous limestone ledges and crevices that are common throughout much of its range.
Mottled Rock Rattlesnake - Crotalus lepidus lepidus
Photo by Terry Hibbitts
FOOD
Lizards appear to be their preferred food, but the Mottled Rock Rattlesnake also feeds on mice, frogs, salamanders, other smaller snakes and occasionally insects.
BEHAVIOR
This rattlesnake is most active during early mornings or late evenings. It can also be found about at night, especially during the summer. It is not an especially aggressive species.
REPRODUCTION
Courtship and breeeding occur both in the fall and spring. The Mottled Rock Rattlesnake, like all rattlesnakes are live-bearers, giving birth to 2 to 8 young from July to October. The young measure from 7 to 8 inches at birth and resemble the adults except that the tip of the tail may have a yellowish coloration.
REMARKS
This species poses little threat to man due to the secluded and rugged areas that it inhabits. However, a bite from this species can be very serious, as the venom, unlike some other rattlesnakes, includes toxins that affect the nervous system. There are no documented cases of human deaths resulting from bites by this species.
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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