Pygmy Rattlesnake vs. Timber Rattlesnake

Both live on wooded, rocky hillsides of eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas and the Southeast; a young Timber Rattlesnake is the size of an adult Pygmy. A: Nine big plates, like a harmless snake's in the Pygmy Rattlesnake; many small scales between the eyes in the Timber Rattlesnake. B: Small, round dark blotches spaced apart, a rust-red stripe between them in the Pygmy Rattlesnake; dark V-shaped (chevron) crossbands right across the back in the Timber Rattlesnake. C: Tiny and thin, barely heard: a buzz like an insect in the Pygmy Rattlesnake; big and loud, on a black tail in the Timber Rattlesnake. Adult Pygmies are rarely over 20 in; Timbers reach 5 ft. Both are venomous: watch from a distance.

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

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