crystalcutlip61 Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 How rare would it be to find a rattlensnake fossil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 Do you have a photo? Many gastropods when viewed as a cross section may seem to look like a rattlesnake tail. Snake fossils, in general, are not common. Without seeing what you think is a rattlesnake fossil, my guess is you have found something else. 1 2 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 Snake rattles would not be preserved as a fossil. Starfish ossicles do preserve, in form at least, in series that may resemble snake rattles. Show us an image. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 crotalus does not have a fossil record Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 the answer is... Incredibly rare and unlikely. Are you asking because you want to go find one or do you have something you think is a rattler fossil? As the others have mentioned, if this is the case, we can certainly help you ID what you've found, but we need pictures and info on where you found it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared C Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 2 hours ago, doushantuo said: crotalus does not have a fossil record agreed. If I recall correctly from my herping days, Crotalus seems to be the most recently evolved snake genus in the new world “Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think” -Werner Heisenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 (edited) On 5/24/2023 at 2:52 PM, doushantuo said: crotalus does not have a fossil record According to "The Fossil Vertebrates of Florida" by Richard Hulbert, Crotalus is known from the late Pleistocene of Florida (see Christman, 1977). I've seen some specimens at the Tampa Fossil Fest. Christman, S.P. 1975. The status of the extinct rattlesnake, Crotalus giganteus. Copeia. Vol..1975, No. 1: 43-47. (Feb 28, 1975) Edit: The Hulbert book has it as 1977 but when you check Copeia, it's 1975. Edited June 25, 2023 by siteseer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 On 5/24/2023 at 1:51 PM, crystalcutlip61 said: How rare would it be to find a rattlensnake fossil? The short answer would be: rare. If what you have found looks similar to a rattlesnake's rattle then (as mentioned above) this part of the snake is not made of materials that would mineralize to become a fossil. The most common thing that does fossil that would resemble a rattler's tail would be a cross-section through a gastropod snail shell. These are not uncommon at all. https://www.backyardnature.net/n/x/turritel.htm Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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