Pit Viper - Pit Vipers

  The timber rattlesnake — also called the American viper, black rattlesnake, eastern rattlesnake, timber rattler and canebrake — is a large pit viper with a wide distribution across the eastern half of the U.S. Physical Description These large, heavy pit vipers vary in coloration. They are gray, sometimes with a pinkish hue and have a stripe down their back. This stripe is orange, yellow or pinkish in some timber rattlesnakes, while others have a brown or black stripe. Both morphs, or variations in color, have darker or black coloration at the tip of their tail and dark stripes that form a chevron pattern along the back and sides of the snake. This distinct pattern and coloration helps the timber rattlesnake Pit Viper camouflage among the vegetation on the ground. Loose sections of the tail made of keratin (the same substance as human hair and fingernails) form the characteristic rattles or “buttons” at the tip of the timber rattlesnake’s tail. When threatened, it props ...