March 6, 2010, Sarah Higgins, a 20-year-old American snake herper and her colleague Rachel Adams (21), who were in Catalina State Park for their expedition to find new species of snakes in Arizona, they focus on one particular new species of snake that was rumored to be found in Arizona, a large pit viper called Arizona Bushmaster (Lachesis arizonensis).
"This is a very dangerous new species just like its well-known cousin, the South American Bushmaster (Lachesis muta)." Rachel said.
"Let's try to find it here in Catalina State Park which will be the first start of our search." Sarah said.
Sarah and Rachel were now started searching in the foothills, then they spotted one snake slithered out of the grass.
"Snake!" Sarah said.
"It's quite a big one! Could be a bushmaster?" Rachel said, as the big snake slowly slithered out of the grass.
"Nah, it's just a new species of rattlesnake." Sarah said.
Oh, that's disappointing. I thought it was the bushmaster snake we have heard about." Rachel said. "What kind of rattlesnake is it?"
"Arizona Black-headed Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus Arizonensis)." Sarah said. "A close cousin of Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)."
"Wow, it looks really pretty. Is it venomous?" Rachel said.
"Of course it's venomous, almost all species of rattlesnakes are venomous, however it's not as venomous as the bushmaster." Sarah said.
Sarah and Rachel approached the snake to get a closer look.
"Wait, don't get too close. It might attack us if we get closer." Sarah said.
"I know." Rachel said. "We already have snake tongs to handle the snake. What size of this snake?"
"It looks like a pretty decent size. It's probably about 1.5 meters long." Sarah said.
"Alright, let's capture it carefully. We don't want to provoke it and get bitten." Rachel said.
The two using their snake tongs to be handling the rattlesnake very carefully.
"This snake is khaki-colored snake with black colored head and burgundy red diamond patterns all the way down to the black-and-white coon tail. The belly is cream colored." Sarah said.
""How many dorsal scales, ventral scales and subcaudal scales?" Rachel asked.
"Let me count them really quick." Sarah said.
Sarah then started to count the scales.
"The dorsal scales are 23. The ventral scales are 168. And the subcaudal scales are 40." Sarah said.
"Got it. We need to record all the details for our research." Rachel said.
They carefully recorded all the details of the Arizona Black-headed Diamondback Rattlesnake including their length, weight, colors, and scale numbers.
"Alright, we got all the data we need. Let's release it back to the wild and continue our search for the bushmaster." Sarah said.
"Agreed. We're one step closer to our goal." Rachel said.
After releasing the rattlesnake back to its habitat, Sarah and Rachel resumed their search for the Arizona Bushmaster in the Catalina State Park.
"I hope we come across the bushmaster soon. It's the one we've been wanting to find the most." Sarah said.
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Sarah Higgins: The American Snake Herper
RandomSarah Higgins is a 20-year-old American snake herper who is a young herpetologist who specialized in snakes. She is on a quest to find and document new species of snake that hasn't been described or remained undiscovered.
