Crotalus Adamanteus

Crotalus Adamanteus

Common name: eastern diamondback rattlesnake

Crotalus adamanteus is a venomous pit-viper species found in the southeastern United States. It is the heaviest (though not longest) venomous snake in the Americas and the largest rattlesnake.
Inhabits upland dry pine forest, pine and palmetto flat-woods, sand-hills and coastal maritime hammocks, Longleaf Pine/Turkey Oak habitats, grass-sedge marshes and swamp forest, me-sic hammocks, sandy mixed woodlands, xeric hammocks, salt marshes, as well as wet prairies during dry periods. In many areas it seems to use burrows made by gophers and gopher tortoises during the summer and winter. Eastern diamondbacks can live beyond twenty years, but life expectancy in the wild is now typically shorter because of hunting and human expansion.
This species has the reputation of being the most dangerous venomous snake in North America. While not usually aggressive, they are large and powerful. The venom contains a thrombi-like enzyme (TLE), called crotalase, that is capable of clotting fibrin, leading to the secondary activation of plasminogen from endothelial cells. Although the venom does not activate platelets, the production of fibrin strands can result in a reduced platelet count, as well as the hemolysis of red blood cells. Even with this definitional, however, clinically significant bleeding is uncommon. Nevertheless, the venom does exhibit high hemorrhagic activity. It also contains a low-molecular-weight basic peptide that impedes neuromuscular transmission and can lead to cardiac failure.