Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake vs. Desert Nightsnake

The Desert Nightsnake is a small grey blotched snake with cat-like pupils, out on the same rocky slopes at night; it is often killed as a young rattlesnake. A: Broad and triangular, with a pit between the eye and the nostril in the Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake; flat and only a little wider than the neck; no pit in the Desert Nightsnake. B: A rattle (a single button on newborns) in the Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake; no rattle: a thin tapering tail in the Desert Nightsnake. C: No dark collar in the Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake; a dark collar of three blotches on the neck in the Desert Nightsnake. The Nightsnake is harmless and rarely over 2 ft. Venomous rattlesnakes: give them room.

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

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