MOTTLED ROCK RATTLESNAKE
Crotalus lepidus klauberi
Description—This species and the banded rock rattlesnake look much alike. Both are small and slender, and marked with a series of widely-spaced dark crossbands along the length of the body and tail. The banded rock rattlesnake, however, has about 20 or 22 dark brown or black crossbands, which contrast strongly with its greenish-gray body color. It further differs from the banded rock rattlesnake in lacking a dark stripe from the eye to the angle of its mouth.
Size—Adults average two feet in length.
Young—A record of one brood is the only known published information concerning the young of this snake. Carl F. Kauffeld of the Staten Island Zoo mentioned a litter of four and wrote:
All were irritable from the first, promptly broke through the membranous sacs in which they were enclosed and struck violently at any passing object. All were marked and colored much like the adults except that the delicate pink along the venter of the latter was not in evidence; and the tails, which in the adults are salmon or terra cotta red (including the basal segment of the rattle) were brilliantly sulphur yellow for at least their distal half....
The newborn snakes measured about eight inches in length.
Distribution—This subspecies is found in much the same type of country as the banded rock rattlesnake, being partial to rock slides high in the mountains. The two counties in the state in which it is known, El Paso and Culberson, are both in extreme western Texas. In disposition it is said to be quite timid; however, at times, it becomes irritable without much provocation.
