### animal | vertebrate | reptile | serpent | viper:

Rattlesnake
* All rattlesnakes also molt as they grow
  - have toxic venom that affect the circulatory and nervous systems of humans
* Most rattlesnakes adapt to conditions
  - detect prey
* Most rattlesnakes eat animals
  - food
  - lizards
  - mice
  - exhibit other defensive behavior
* Most rattlesnakes have coloration
  - diamond shapes
  - origins
  - short fangs
  - tails
  - types
  - venom composed primarily of hemotoxic properties
  - kill prey
  - reside in environments
* Some rattlesnakes absorb water
  - are killed by humans
  - die during winter
  - emerge from states
* Some rattlesnakes have expectancy
  - life expectancy
  - patterns
  - kill horses
* Some rattlesnakes live in burrows
  - yards
  - occupy geographic ranges
  - reach sexual maturity
  - use heat
* account for most venomous snakebites and for almost all deaths.
  - different conditions
* add a rattle to the string each time the skin is shed
  - segment to their rattles each time they shed their skin
* also are distinguished by having rather flattened, triangular heads
  - attempt to inject more venom into birds and lizards than into mice
* also have deadly venom
  - flat and broad, or triangular-shaped heads
  - live here, so keep an eye and ear open
* are a natural part of the environment
  - set of venomous snakes belong to the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus
  - abundant but maintaine a low profile
  - active primarily at night during warmer months
  - afraid of people
  - also important prey for raptors and other animals
  - capable of adjusting the amount of venom they use
  - carnivores that eat insects and rodents
  - carnivorous species and are known to feed on small creatures
* are cold-blooded , as are all reptiles and therefore have a very slow metabolism
  - common in summer
  - common, especially the red diamond rattler
  - distinctly American serpents
  - efficient predators, but they can also be prey to larger, desert-dwelling animals
  - essential to the biodiversity and ecology of our region
  - excellent swimmers
  - highly poisonous and are common on the Texas karst
  - important to their ecosystems
  - known for their relatively heavy bodies and diamond-shaped heads
  - large, venomous snakes that are found throughout North and South America
  - misunderstood creatures
* are more common, but are usually encountered away from populated areas
  - likely to be tissue destroyers while cobras tend to inject neurotoxins
  - native to the Americas
  - natural inhabitants of some Texas cave entrances
  - often fall prey to weasels, king snakes, and hawks
  - one of the best-known of the Great Basin reptiles
  - ovoviviparous
  - part of the kingsnake's diet
  - perhaps the best known and most easily identifiable snakes in the United States
* are pit vipers, found in various parts of the United States, Canada, and Mexico
  - plentiful in the foothills around Salt Lake City
  - poisonous snakes that have a rattle on their tail
  - prey for kingsnakes, roadrunners, pigs , hawks , and eagles
  - probably the most widely known venomous snakes in North America
  - protected in many areas
* are the apex predators that are known to live in a variety of habitats
  - leading contributor to snakebite injuries in North America
* are the only poisonous snakes found in the grassland and feed on the pdogs
  - unique to the Americas
  - venomous American snakes
  - viviparous, they give birth to live young
* attack their prey by striking.
* bear live young.
* bite prey.
* breed only every two to three years.
* can be present at lower elevations
  - bite without injecting venom
  - cause serious injury to humans on rare occasions
  - grow up to six feet in length
  - inject poisonous venom
  - live for more than twenty years
  - lunge up to one half their body length
  - only strike a distance equal to half of their own length
  - perch coiled for weeks in one spot waiting for their prey
  - produce two types of neurotoxins
  - regulate the amount of venom they inject when they strike
* can sense infrared quite well with their tongues
  - warm-blooded prey in the dark
  - survive for several months without eating
* cause death
  - most snakebites and related fatalities
* coil and rattle their tail as a defensive warning to potential predators
  - up and lie motionless as winter slowly sets in
* come in a great variety of colors, depending on the species and stage of molt
  - out of hibernation
* consume prey.
* create a context for localizing their search for potential prey.
* differ in temperament depending on the species.
* display behavior.
* don t get stress, they cause it.
  - lizards, ground squirrels, small rabbits, rats, and mice
  - rodents, lizards, and other small animals
  - small, warm-blooded animals, including mice, rats, squirrels, rabbits, and birds
* exhibit behavior
* fall into the category of snakes known as pit vipers.
* feed on animals
* feed on rodents, birds, and other warm-blooded animals
  - squirrels, rabbits and other small critters
* follow prey.
* gain a new rattle each time they shed their skin
  - segment to the rattle every time they shed their skin
* give birth to live young, unlike most other snake species
* hate British people.
* have a forked tongue that they flick up and down
  - highly-efficient digestive system which takes a lot of metabolic energy
  - powerful body, thin neck and a well defined triangular or arrow shaped head
  - weird tongue with two points that stick out
* have an exceptionally keen sense of smell
  - unusual way to scare away predators
  - opportunity
  - the same kind of organs as humans
  - two organs that can discern radiation emitted from the prey
* includes brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - faces
  - nuclei
  - pedal extremities
  - plasma membranes
  - rib cages
  - sections
  - skulls
  - sterna
  - vacuoles
  - vertebrate feet
* inject their venom and swallow squirrels whole.
  - their prey with the venom in their mouths
* live for years.
* live in a variety of habitats, ranging from meadows and swamps to the desert
  - dry, frequently rocky country at lower elevations
  - plateaus
* love baby ground squirrels.
* normally blend into the forest floor, using the leaf cover as camouflage.
* often look much larger when seen live than after they have been killed
  - shed their skin more than one time per year
* only occur in the New World, and currently about thirty species are recognized.
* perform important roles
* play an important role in the ecosystem by eating small rodents.
* possess organs
  - pit organs
* reach sexually maturity at about three years of age.
* retain and accumulate the dried, shed segments of their integument on their tails.
* scare predators away with a combination of hissing and shaking their rattles.
* seek shades.
* shake tails.
* shed skin.
* slowly make their way down to the water's edge to quench a desert thirst.
* sometimes hibernate in caves during cool weather.
* spend some time in dens, which they make in rocky crevices.
* swallow prey
  - their prey whole, then digest as the food passes though the body
* tend to avoid developed areas, preferring undisturbed, natural habitats
  - hunker down and avoid human contact
  - venture out on their own
* to survive in deserts.
* typically mate in the spring after emerging from hibernation.
* use their rattle as a warning to others to stay away.
* usually return to the same den in successive years throughout their entire life.
+ Diamondback rattlesnake: Vipers :: Reptiles of North America
  * Diamondbacks are found from Florida to California. The bite from a big rattlesnake can hold enough poison to kill a person. However, if the victim gets to a doctor quickly enough, he or she can usually survive. If you spend time in regions where diamondback rattlesnakes live, you should take a few precautions. People must be especially careful around caves. Rattlesnakes sometimes hibernate in caves during cool weather. If you listen carefully for its unusual rattling noise, you can know where it is hiding.