Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I caught this pacific in agoura hills. It was enjoying the good life at a beautiful home in the hills. Thankfully the family had me remove it instead of killing it. With the crazy temps out here in so cal, I've been responding to lots of snake calls, and all the snakes have been southern pacific rattlers. An observation I've noticed is, they are all different colors. Some are light and some are dark. Some even look like they have been painted. Why is this? The color changes have been throughout a very small area of about thirty miles. Could the different locations make up for the different colors of the same species of snake?
Any input would be good.
Thanks
Jason Mc

Jason, that's a neat pic. It's not often that a picture captures the reflective nature of serpent eyes!
I can't help you much with the variation question. The only helleri I've seen (maybe 6 at best) were on east Miramar, and their coloration was very similar to the above animal.
Shane

Jason,

If you think about it, no two rattlesnakes are ever exactly the same. Between members of the same ssp. living in the same small area you can have individuals that are light or dark, highly patterned or not, etc..etc..Members of the virids and oreganus species are extreemly variable within a short distance. AZ Black Rattlesnakes (C.o.cerberus) are a great example. Look at some of Rich G's old posts and compare how different the animals are that live within inches of each other. I guess it's part of Darwin's theory of natural selection. By having liters of babies with various colors, those that best adapt to the immediate surroundings should have greater chances of surviving.
Just some thoughts and speculation anyway.