Beautiful Buzztails
I went out to my friend’s house today to look at his albino rattlesnake collection. What a spectacular treat. Some of these are incredibly rare…
Northern Mojave het. albino--Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus
Albino Northern Mojave--Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus
The albino Northern Mojave, above, is 1 of only 6 in existence, including the original wild-caught female. The original albino animal was caught near Ridgecrest, CA in 2001, as a sub-adult. The above animal is one of 5 albino F2 offspring from that female produced in captivity.
Albino Prairie--Crotalus viridis viridis
Western Diamondback--Crotalus atrox
There are several different types of albino in Western Diamondbacks–
Amelanistic--"regular" albino
"Bubblegum" Albino
"Caramel" Albino
There is also a hyper-melanistic morph–
Black Diamondback
And as is par for the course in the world of reptile breeding, they have started to combine these traits-
Caramel + Black
Above is a combination of the Caramel albino gene and the Black gene. These are incredibly rare at this point, I’m told…
Oh…I also managed to get a shot or two of an ACTUAL Panmint Alligator Lizard. A little while back I mis-identified an Alligator Lizard as a panamintina but I was wrong. As luck would have it, a friend of mine caught an actual panamintina and invited me over to get a shot, since I’m likely to never have the chance again-
Panamint Alligator Lizard--Elgaria panamintina
And here it is curled next to a Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)-
panamintina on the left; multicarinata on the right
ASll in all it was a really fun afternoon. Thanks for taking the time to look!!
Pingback: Tweets that mention Beautiful Buzztails « Interrupted Thought Process -- Topsy.com
Hello! I’m a graduate student studying Panamint alligator lizards- did your friend record where he captured that animal? (I’m gathering sighting records for a more detailed range map as part of my research) Also did he keep it or re-release it? If he kept it I’d be very interested in any followup pictures of the animal to determine if the markings remain recognizable (to individual level) throughout the animal’s life. Any information you may have would be greatly appreciated! I can be reached through this comment system or preferably by email: cyasuda@mail.csuchico.edu Thanks (and great Crotalus photos!!)
September 23, 2012 at 11:25 pm
I don’t know exactly where it was found, but it was within the recognized habitat range for the species. I also know that it was released very shortly after photographing it, back where it was found.
September 24, 2012 at 6:54 am