Description: A medium-sized (total length: 120 cm [4 ft]) rattlesnake with a wide, triangular-shaped head. The body’s base color is greenish or olive-green with well-defined, darker diamonds offset by yellowish edges sequentially arranged down the center of the dorsum. The tail is banded with alternating black and white rings, the white rings nearly twice the width of the black rings. A dark stripe, also edged in light yellow, runs backward and down diagonally from the rear of the eye to the rear of the jaw-line. Other species of rattlesnake lack the overall greenish cast or have less distinct markings, but definite identification, particularly in juveniles, may require inspection of the shape, arrangement and number of head scales (not recommended except by an expert).
Diet: Feeds on rodents, snakes, lizards, birds, and eggs.
Habitat: Mojave desert scrub and blackbrush habitats and up to lower mountain slopes; mostly on flats, broad valleys, and rolling hills.
Range: The species occurs from southeastern California to southwestern Texas, south through Mexico. This subspecies is the one that occurs in the U.S., and it probably is widespread in Clark County, Nevada, in the appropriate habitat.
Comments: Also called the Mohave rattlesnake or green rattlesnake.
Venomous; the venom is highly toxic and could become a serious health risk.