Common Name: Eastern diamondback rattlesnake

Scientific Name: 
Crotalus adamanteus

Identification: 25-90 in. not including length of rattle. Brown body with dark brown, pale-edged, diamond shaped markings; dark band bordered by light stripes behind eyes; tail with dark rings, followed by a rattle. These snakes have a triangle shaped head with  vertically elliptic pupils and a loreal pit between each eye and nostril. A young eastern diamondback rattlesnake will have a button with few or no segments as a rattle. Scales keeled.

Habits: Diamondback rattlesnakes are found in open pinelands. They feed on rodents, birds and small rabbits.

Distribution: Upland portions of Tangipahoa, Washington and St.Tammany parishes.