diamondback rattlesnake

noun

1. either of two large, highly venomous rattlesnakes of the genus Crotalus, having diamond-shaped markings on the back.

Word History and Origins

Origin of diamondback rattlesnake¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

He didn’t have time to pull back before the object, a four-and-a-half-foot diamondback rattlesnake, bit him on his wrist.

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The Western diamondback rattlesnake is a master of nonverbal communication.

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In this study, scientists experimented by moving a human-like torso closer to a western diamondback rattlesnake and recording the response.

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I grew up eating Georgia Rattlesnake watermelons — that's really what they're called, because the dark green stripes resemble a diamondback rattlesnake.

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For generations, serpent-handling Pentecostals have captured their own snakes—mostly timber and canebrake rattlesnakes, plus the occasional diamondback rattlesnake, cottonmouth, or copperhead that inhabit the Southeast.

Read more on National Geographic