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Rattlesnakes-Their lifestyles and behavior
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Rattlesnakes There are approximately more than thirty species of rattlesnakes. Researchers believe that they evolved about five million years ago. They are mostly found in the deserts from Canada to Mexico and are also abundant in the southwest deserts of America. Rattlesnakes are very sensitive to atmospheric temperatures, which can affect their lifestyles drastically. During winter, rattlers live in dens where they can be hundreds in one den. Rattlesnakes can live from anywhere between nineteen to twenty-five years on an average(Fitch 1994). Rattlesnakes are amazing reptiles and have held the interest of researchers and biologists for a long time. Their habitats, lifestyles and influence on mankind have become a great area of study recently. Since the whole world of biology is divided into taxonomic groups, so are rattlesnakes. Obviously, all rattlesnakes fall under Kingdom Animalia, which is further, divided into phyla. Rattlesnakes belong to the subphylum Vertebrata which is under the phylum Chordata. Out of the many classes under the subphylum Vertebrata is the class Reptilia which includes all the reptiles, living or extinct. Under the class Reptilia is the subclass Diapsida followed by the order Squamata shared by lizards and snakes. In the suborder Serpentes, the lizards are separated from the snakes and then the snakes are divided into families. One of the families under Serpentes is Crotalidae(pit vipers). Families are further divided into genera. Finally the rattlesnakes are divided into the genus Crotalus and genus Sistrurus. These two genera are divided into many species. One of the main reasons why rattlesnakes are so amazing is because of their physical characteristics. The weight and size varies from species to species in rattlesnakes. The smallest adult can be as small as two feet and the largest can grow longer than six feet. Even the weight of the big rattlesnakes can be thirty to fifty times more than the small ones. Most rattlesnakes are thicker and bulkier than other snakes. Rattlesnakes have many different colors and patterns although a typical pattern would be a series of dark dorsal hexagons each bordered by a row of light scales.
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