Venomous look-alikes
Rattlesnakes vs. gopher snakes, bullsnakes and hognose snakes
How to tell them apart
- Superficially, gopher snakes resemble many species of rattlesnakes and are often mistaken for them. Animal Diversity Web ↗
- Non-human predators are likely to be discouraged from attacking gopher snakes when they are mimicing rattlesnakes. Animal Diversity Web ↗
- All members of the genus Pituophis have a cartilaginous keel in front of the glottis which amplifies hissing to mimic a rattlesnake. Animal Diversity Web ↗
- Eastern hognose snakes are sometimes mistaken for pygmy rattlesnakes (Sistrurus miliarius) and are often killed due to this mistaken identity. Animal Diversity Web ↗
Venomous
Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake
Crotalus atrox
Sam Kieschnick · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Prairie Rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis
Lon Brehmer · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Western Rattlesnake
Crotalus oreganus
Guillermo Roque · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Timber Rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus
no rights reserved · CC0
⚠ venomous
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus adamanteus
Scott Allen Davis · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Mojave Rattlesnake
Crotalus scutulatus
nmoorhatch · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake
Crotalus molossus
Brandon Bourassa · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Eastern Black-tailed Rattlesnake
Crotalus ornatus
Sam Kieschnick · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Sidewinder
Crotalus cerastes
Mark Pollock · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
Crotalus pyrrhus
Trevor Van Loon · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Panamint Rattlesnake
Crotalus stephensi
Dominic Gentilcore · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Red Diamond Rattlesnake
Crotalus ruber
Amy Huie · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Rock Rattlesnake
Crotalus lepidus
Jake Nitta · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Arizona Black Rattlesnake
Crotalus cerberus
no rights reserved · CC0
⚠ venomous
Tiger Rattlesnake
Crotalus tigris
Mike Ostrowski · CC BY-SA 4.0
⚠ venomous
Pygmy Rattlesnake
Sistrurus miliarius
Court Harding · CC BY 4.0
⚠ venomous
Western Massasauga
Sistrurus tergeminus
RJ Baltierra · CC BY 4.0
Harmless look-alikes
These get killed all the time because people mistake them for the snakes above. They're harmless to people.
Quotes are word for word from the linked sources. Photo credits and licenses are on each species page. If you're not certain what a snake is, leave it alone.
Questions
How do you tell the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake from harmless snakes?
Superficially, gopher snakes resemble many species of rattlesnakes and are often mistaken for them.