About Crotalus adamanteus

Crotalus adamanteus, the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, can be found from the southern plains of North Carolina to the tip of Florida and as far east as Louisiana. Preferred habitats include longleaf pine woods, coastal hammock groves, maritime scrub, flatwood plains, and other flat sandy woodland types. It is found in association with the gopher tortoise (whose burrows are often used by the E. diamondback), the pine snake, and the red-cockaded woodpecker (Timmerman, 1995; Bennett, 2001). It is the largest species of rattlesnake in the world, reaching lengths between 3 and 7 feet. It preys predominantly on rodents and rabbits (Aardema et al., 2001). Click here to view a photograph of an Eastern diamondback consuming a cottontail rabbit.

Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are experiencing serious declines throughout the Southeastern United States. Until recently, this decline was not widely noticed and conservation efforts did not focus on this species (Ernst, 1992; Martin and Means, 1999-2000). Possible reasons for this decline include the popularity of Eastern diamondbacks at rattlesnake roundups, the fragmentation of their habitat by human population growth, and the loss of their habitat by flooding from dammed rivers (Ernst, 1992). Biological reserves may serve as the last safe-havens for these threatened snakes. However, so little is known about the life history characteristics of the E. diamondback that conservation actions may not adequately protect this species. To make effective decisions to protect the E. diamondback more information needs to be known about its habitat use, home ranges, and behavior (Timmerman, 1995). This study aims to analyze movement data for a South Carolina population of Crotalus adamanteus in order to contribute to the better protection of this species.

Back to Main Page

E-mail me at krgrayson@davidson.edu