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Western diamond-backed rattlesnake

Crotalus atrox · Snakes · Reptiles

Western diamond-backed rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox): Light-coloured body with diamond-shaped spots along the back, outlined in white and black (NDOW). Alternating black and white bands on the tail (NDOW); band widths are fairly uniform, unlike the Mohave rattlesnake's broad white and narrow black tail bands (NPS Saguaro). 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.

Western diamond-backed rattlesnake coiled on rock
Photo by Jeffrey Hamilton on Unsplash
Scientific name
Crotalus atrox
Family
Viperidae
In North America
Native
Range
Southeastern California, central and southern Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas south into Mexico; in Nevada only the far southern tip (NDOW) and rare in far southeastern California (CDFW). Kansas records may be translocated animals (NatureServe).
Biology

How to identify it

Light-coloured body with diamond-shaped spots along the back, outlined in white and black (NDOW). [1][2][3][4]

Alternating black and white bands on the tail (NDOW); band widths are fairly uniform, unlike the Mohave rattlesnake's broad white and narrow black tail bands (NPS Saguaro). [1][2][3][4]

Arrow-shaped head and a rattle at the tail tip (NDOW). [1][2][3][4]

Largest rattlesnake in Nevada and in the western U.S.; total length 30-90 in (76-230 cm) (NDOW; NPS Saguaro). [1][2][3][4]

Compared with the mohave rattlesnake: Often slightly greenish, with thick white and narrower black tail bands, where the diamondback's tail bands are more uniform in width (NPS Saguaro). [1][2][3][4]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a western diamond-backed rattlesnake before you act. Compared with the mohave rattlesnake: Often slightly greenish, with thick white and narrower black tail bands, where the diamondback's tail bands are more uniform in width (NPS Saguaro).[1][2][3][4]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Arid and semiarid country from plains to mountains and from sandy flats to rocky uplands, including desert, grassland, shrubland, woodland and open pine forest (NatureServe). [1][2][3][4]

Hibernates in rock crevices or cavities, sometimes in animal burrows; southeastern Arizona populations used creosotebush flats but moved to rocky slopes in winter (NatureServe). [1][2][3][4]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Mostly crepuscular and nocturnal in summer but also active by day, especially in cooler months; in the north active mainly April to late September or early October (NatureServe). [1][2][3][4]

May congregate at winter dens; migrates up to 3.5 km between winter den and summer range (NatureServe). [1][2][3][4]

Eats mainly rabbits, squirrels, mice and rats, also lizards and birds; forages actively or ambushes prey (NatureServe). [1][2][3][4]

Often holds its ground rather than retreating when approached (NPS Saguaro). [1][2][3][4]

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

Southeastern California, central and southern Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas south into Mexico; in Nevada only the far southern tip (NDOW) and rare in far southeastern California (CDFW). Kansas records may be translocated animals (NatureServe).

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. National Park Service · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Park Service

  4. BIOLOGICALRattlesnake

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

    California Department of Fish and Wildlife