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Southwestern speckled rattlesnake

Crotalus pyrrhus · Snakes · Reptiles

Southwestern speckled rattlesnake (Crotalus pyrrhus): Colour ranges from pale sandy gray to dark brown; the speckled pattern makes the diamond markings less distinct than on other rattlesnakes (NDOW). Alternating light and dark tail rings are prominent (NDOW). 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.

Southwestern speckled rattlesnake among rocks
Photo by EcoNaturalist.com on Unsplash
Scientific name
Crotalus pyrrhus
Family
Viperidae
In North America
Native
Range
Northern half of the Baja California Peninsula north into southern California, southern Nevada, western Arizona and southwestern Utah (NatureServe); in Nevada a small range in the southeast, overlapping the Panamint rattlesnake near Las Vegas (NDOW).
Biology

How to identify it

Colour ranges from pale sandy gray to dark brown; the speckled pattern makes the diamond markings less distinct than on other rattlesnakes (NDOW). [1][2][3]

Alternating light and dark tail rings are prominent (NDOW). [1][2][3]

Medium-sized pit viper; NatureServe gives about 92-130 cm (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Rugged, rocky terrain in the Mojave and Sonoran desert mountains; rarely on adjacent desert flats; primary habitat is rocky lower slopes and canyons, also seeps, springs and riparian areas (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Ambush predator of small mammals, lizards and birds (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Inactive through cold winter months in sheltered crevices; females give birth to live young in late summer, typically 3-11 per litter (NDOW). [1][2][3]

When inactive it shelters under rocks or bushes, in crevices, caves, abandoned mines, rodent burrows or woodrat nests (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

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

Northern half of the Baja California Peninsula north into southern California, southern Nevada, western Arizona and southwestern Utah (NatureServe); in Nevada a small range in the southeast, overlapping the Panamint rattlesnake near Las Vegas (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

  3. BIOLOGICALRattlesnake

    California Department of Fish and Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    California Department of Fish and Wildlife