A Rattlesnake can move the rattle on its tail back and forth sixty times in just one second.

The Western Diamondback Rattlesnake can reach lengths of up to seven feet which makes it the largest of the Southwestern desert rattlesnakes. They have a triangular shaped head with two dark diagonal lines on each side of their face running from their eyes to their jaws. Their name is derived from the dark diamond-shaped patterns along their back. Their tail has black and white bands just above the rattles. This coloration is more easily visible on young snakes but is faded on older snakes. The Diamondback’s range includes the entire southwestern U.S. and northern half of Mexico.

The iconic rattle at the end of the Rattlesnake’s tail is made up of a hardened protein called “keratin” (the same protein that forms human hair and fingernails). A new segment is added to the rattle each time a Rattlesnake sheds its skin. However, due to varying rates of shedding and the fact that segments regularly break off, the size of the rattle does not reflect the snake’s age. Rattlesnakes will use their rattle to warn that they feel threatened and may be about to strike.