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Panamint rattlesnake

Crotalus stephensi · Snakes · Reptiles

Panamint rattlesnake (Crotalus stephensi). This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Crotalus stephensi
Family
Viperidae
In North America
Native
Range
Part of southern California (not the southernmost part) and adjacent southwestern Nevada (NatureServe); overlaps the southwestern speckled rattlesnake in parts of the Las Vegas Valley (NDOW).
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Canyons, foothills, buttes and erosion gullies of rocky desert; sometimes sandy arroyos or desert flats with shrubs and burrows for cover; vegetation may include pinyon-juniper (NatureServe). [1][2]

When inactive it occurs under rocks or bushes or in crevices, caves, abandoned mines or animal burrows (NatureServe). [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Generally solitary in summer; may congregate at favourable hibernation dens (NatureServe). [1][2]

Diurnal in spring and fall, active mainly at dusk and at night in summer; in the north most activity is April-October (NatureServe). [1][2]

Eats lizards, birds and mammals up to the size of woodrats and ground squirrels; lizards seem most important for juveniles (NatureServe). [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Part of southern California (not the southernmost part) and adjacent southwestern Nevada (NatureServe); overlaps the southwestern speckled rattlesnake in parts of the Las Vegas Valley (NDOW).

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Nevada Department of Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Nevada Department of Wildlife