Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Finds from a few nights ago in Lancaster:

DOR mojave
AOR long nosed snake (newborn)
AOR mojave
DOR southern pacific
AOR pacific gopher
DOR cali king (newborn)
DOR mojave (newborn)
AOR cali king (newborn)

A lot of DOR that night, and a lot of really small snakes that Im assuming are newborns as we havent seen such small snakes on the road since March. Also, the souther pacific rattlesnake was a remarkable find in the desert. There are some hills not too far where they are common but Ive never seen one this far into the desert. We tried one road which comes off of the one we found the so pac on that goes up into the hills and we have found them there before from about halfway up and beyond. But this one was quite far from its natural habitat. It was really sad that it was dead, I really would have liked to see that one alive (so far we have only seen one alive and several roadkills for this species)
Happy hunting!

Could you tell me more detail about this Southern Pacific Rattler find? How did you distinguish it from the similiar looking Mojave Rattler? Did it appear to be a cross-breed in anyway with the Mojave X Southern Pacific Rattler? How far into the desert was it? What habitat was it the Western rattler discovered in? And more percisely where was it discovered?

Its hard to say how far into the desert it was, at least a few miles. Sorry no pic. I could tell by the tail rings. There was no color fade in the rear end of the snake like in a mojave and the tail rings were not well defined. Also, mojaves have wider white rings than black, this one did not. It also had a yellowish tinge right before the rattle, which I have noticed in other helleris. It was also not green, but the mojaves in the area are very green. There are green helleris too, which can make them hard to tell apart, but I have yet to come across a mojave with this kind of brownish coloration. The head was more triangular than a typical mojave; they have more elongated skinnier heads than most rattlers. It was only about a foot and half to two feet long, so it wasnt very dark yet, as they darken with age. Im aware of them intergrading, this is the area where intergrades are supposed to happen, because they come out of the hills into the mojave territory. I know someone else who says he has found them in the same area too but I never believed him because I never saw one for myself, but now I do. Do you know where the california poppy reserve is? He said he found helleris and mojaves there, and we werent far from there. Email me if you want the exact location.

The second road I told you about that goes into the hills had one very interesting roadkill once. The snake was green and very thick. Unfortunatly, the head was smashed, as mojaves have thiner heads than the helleris. The tail rings were very faint and just up the road we found a helleri. I couldnt be sure as to what the first snake was but we dubbed it mojave since it was green and had the typical color fade near the tail, but it may have had helleri influence, it was difficult to tell. This was about a month ago that I found that one. I dont have any roadkill pics but I wish now that I took them of this strange one a month ago, and the helleri from the other night.

Its understood that the Western Rattler can be found in the desert, especially about the grassy fields of west Lancaster and California Poppy Reserve. You very well may have found the Southern Pacific Rattler, however, you were more likely to have found the Northern Pacific Rattler (Stebbins 2003). If you come across another, snap a picture and post it here, I’m sure everyone would like to see a picture.

btw watch the rostrals.

Northern pacific in Lancaster? From what I know we only have southern pacifics in the area of Lancaster.

According to the Audubon Society field guide, the northern ranges south to Kern county, which is to our north. The southern ranges in kern county south to baja, so I would say we are in perfect helleri country (except for the deserts). The Peterson field guide goes on to say that helleris hybridize with mojaves in the western antelope valley, which is where we are herping.

Here is a pic of a helleri we found on the road leading up into the hills to the angeles forest, much better helleri habitat. Once again, a mojave was not too far away, as a short distance seems to house both species well. As far as I know, mojaves dont venture up into helleri habitat; its only the helleris that travel to those grassy fields every now and then as I found last week. This particular helleri was dying on road. I though it was a roadkill and began to move it when it came alive. It moved very slowly and didnt rattle and could not seem to get its tongue all the way out. I couldnt see if he was hit or not, so I dont know if he was sick or injured by a car. I saw no signs of injury, but he sure was acting funny.