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Crotalus adamanteus
The common name of my species is Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. The scientific name is Crotalus Adamanteus. Its status in South Carolina is considered rare, and vulnerable. As you can guess, it is a reptile, and part of the Viperidae family. It is a cold-blooded, crepuscular animal, meaning that it ventures in the night and early morning.
Photo credit: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/otter/htmls/project/dback.htm
The habitat of this snake is found in dry pinelands, woods, and sometimes freshwater. The location goes from southeast North Carolina, to the Keys in Florida. It is scattered in Jasper, Hampton, and Colleton counties in South Carolina as indicated on the map below. These snakes do not migrate, but they do hibernate.
The Diamondback is one of the largest snakes in North America, with a record length of eight feet! They will usually grow about 33 to 72 inches long. The head is large and it has a bulky body. Large, dark diamonds surround the body with brown centers, and cream colored borders down its back. The tail is brown or gray with dark bands, and the head has a light stripe diagonal through the eye. Both eyes are vertical, and there is a large pit between the eye and nostril. The newborn snake has a tail that ends in a button, which is the first segment of the rattle.
This snake has a life span of twenty years and older. The average age is eight to fifteen years due to unnatural causes of death. They are carnivorous, which means meat-eater. They feed on mice, rabbits, and other small mammals.
Mating season is in the late summer and fall. Pregnancy usually lasts up to seven months, and after birth, the snakes are around 15 inches long. Up to twenty-one are born live, not by eggs.
The main threat to these snakes are only when they are very young. Predators like the King Snake sneak up on the young, and have a feast. That happens only when the mother is not there with her young. This snake protects itself by the venom in the mouth. After a human is bitten, the mortality rate is 40%.
One unusual thing about the snake is the annual "Rattlesnake Roundups" held in Florida. People go around and capture the snakes, but only few let them go back into the wild. One other unusual thing is the pit between the nostril, and eye. It detects infrared heat since their vision is unlike the human's. They use it to detect their food, and predators.
- There are no type of organizations I found that are protecting this species.
- Usually, when found, the snake is killed on the instinct of a human.
- There are no controversies as of now about these snakes in South Carolina.
- There are no plans to recover the survival of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Endangered: No
Vulnerable: Yes, to people who kill the snake.
Rare: Yes, in South Carolina.
Threatened: Yes, due to "Rattlesnake Roundups" held in Florida
Commercially Threatened: No
South Carolina has several barrier islands that act as a refuge for many species. One such island is Otter Island. Otter Island is a barrier/marsh island located in lower Colleton County on the South Carolina coast. It is bounded by the Ashepoo River to the west, Fish Creek to the east, Jefford's Creek to the north, and St. Helena Sound to the south. The surrounding area is typical of the South Carolina/Georgia coast with its vast salt marshes and open estuaries. The following map shows the placement of the island in the scheme of the South Carolina coast:
Otter Island is one of the most active nesting areas in the state for the federally threatened loggerhead sea turtle, and is a roosting and feeding area for the federally endangered piping plover, peregrine falcon, wood stork, and southern bald eagle. The island also is a refuge for a number of other species typical of coastal islands in this region, such as the eastern diamondback rattlesnake. The beach and mud flats at the island's east edge are a major feeding and resting area for migrating shorebirds, and the interior ponds harbor alligators and freshwater wetland vegetation. Otter Island is an important natural area because it is one of relatively few undisturbed barrier islands where wildlife species can feed, reproduce and rest freely.
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