The name mitchelli is in honor of S. W. Mitchell, a medical doctor interested in rattlesnake venom. Many references will spell mitchelli with two ii, as in mitchellii . Speckled Rattlesnakes measure 24 to 30 inches in length. This species varies in color, often matching the earth tones of the rocks and soil it inhabits. Some occur in beautiful shades of orange or pink.
Black speckles form indistinct cross bars or dorsal blotches across the back.
Some desert specimens are colored like decomposed granite. Dark rings encircle the tail. All appear to intergrade widely. The Speckled Rattlesnake ranges from southern Nevada to the Cape region of Baja California Sur, and east to central Arizona and extreme northern Sonora, Mexico. This distribution mirrors the combined Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.