Western Leaf-nosed Snake vs. Sidewinder

Both are small, pale, blotched snakes of desert sand at night, and the harmless leaf-nosed snake is often taken for a young Sidewinder; their records overlap widely. A: Small, hardly wider than the neck; no pit in the Western Leaf-nosed Snake; broad and triangular, much wider than the thin neck; a pit between the eye and nostril in the Sidewinder. B: No horn in the Western Leaf-nosed Snake; a raised, pointed horn-like scale in the Sidewinder. The leaf-nosed snake has a big leaf-like scale over the snout and a thin tail with no rattle; the Sidewinder has a rattle. The Sidewinder is venomous: leave it alone.

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

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