Aruba Island Rattlesnake
Crotalus unicolor (van Lidth de Jeude, 1887)
Range: Aruba
Habitat: Rock Heaps, Scrub
Diet: Rodents, Birds, Lizards
Social Grouping: Solitary
Reproduction: Mating season September through January. Males compete for females by wrestling, never using venom. Female gives live birth to 5-9 young, which are independent (and venomous) from birth. Sexually mature at 4 years for males, 5 years for females
Lifespan: 15-20 Years
Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered, CITES Appendix III
- Short and stocky, body length 95 centimeters, weigh 900-1400 grams. Males tend to be slightly larger than females
- Very light coloration, sometimes appearing almost white, other times light brown or pink. (Latin name means "One-Colored Rattlesnake"). There is a slight keel to the scales, and in some individuals diamond-shaped markings, which typically don't show up well on the background color
- Nocturnal during the warmer months; during the rest of the year, it is active in early morning and late afternoon
- Finds prey using heat-sensitive pits between the eyes and nostrils; strike and kill prey using venomous bite, then swallows hole
- No predation in the wild has ever been observed, but natural predators likely include caracara, osprey, and other birds of prey. Like other rattlesnakes, they have a rattle at the end of their tail to warn potential predators to steer clear
- Previously considered a subspecies of Crotalus durissus, the Neotropical rattlesnake
- Endangered due to its very small range, much of which has been disturbed or destroyed due to resort development, deforestation, and loss of vegetation due to introduced goats
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