Sidewinder
Related Category: Vertebrate Zoology
common name for a rattlesnake, Crotalus cerastes, found in the deserts of the SW United States. This 2-ft (60-cm), pale yellow and pink snake is named for its curious method of locomotion.
Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes)
No photo of the Sidewinder available.
The Sidewinder is from the order Squamata. Species from this order are amphisbaenians, lizards or snakes.
Sidewinder Species Profile
Widely known because of the erect scales over its eyes and distinctive sidewinding movement across loose sand, this little rattlesnake can be difficult to adapt to the terrarium.
Sonoran Sidewinder (C.c. cercobombus) has the bottom segment of its rattle black. It ranges from south-central Arizona into Sonora, Mexico.
Sidewinders are mostly nocturnal, so we were lucky to encounter this feisty little guy at about 9:30 AM. My friend Don MacCubbin was looking for a slightly shady spot amongst the creosote bushes to change the film in his camera.
Sidewinders can travel in the serpentine mode (the usual snaky method) if they have to, for example, to turn a sharp corner.
Conservation Status ...
About Sidewinder
The sidewinder lives in sandy places. To move through the sand they throw their bodies sideways across the sand. Which is called sidewinding. They also have a pair of horns over their eyes that work like visors.
Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes)
Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Western diamond-backed rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
Santa Catalina Island rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinensis)
Mexican palm viper (Bothriechis rowleyi) ...
Sidewinder (C. cerastes)
Baja California Rattlesnake (C. enyo)
Timber Rattlesnake (C. horridus)
Banded Rock Rattlesnake (C. lepidus klauberi)
Rock Rattlesnake (C. lepidus lepidus)
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake (C. mitchellii pyrrhus) ...
Despite their need for heat to be able to function, rattlers can function at surprisingly cold temperatures - especially the Mojave rattlers and sidewinders.
desert cottontail, domestic cat, spotted skunk, kit fox, burrowing owl, Gambel's quail, poorwill, roadrunner, desert gecko, desert iguana, desert spiny lizard, western whiptail, gopher snake, coachwhip, night snake, Mojave rattlesnake, sidewinder, ...
 See also: Snake, Rattlesnake, Gopher, Chipmunk, Manatee
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