Baja California’s Rattlesnake Islands

Got Rattlesnakes? Baja California definitely does. The sea of this desert peninsula was once called by Jacques Cousteau “the world’s aquarium”. The marine ecosystems are definitely unique, but so its the desert fauna that inhabits the mainland and the many island in the Sea of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez).

In the spring of 2013, I joined Dr. Jesse Meik and Dr. Sarah Shaack on one of their many trips to study the rattlesnakes of Baja California. We spend several fun-filled days in a few island in the Bahia de Los Angeles, as well as an anxious night on Isla El Muerto (dead man island).

The data gathered during this trip was useful for Jesse and Sarah for describing two new species of rattlesnakes, Crotalus polisi and C. thalassoporus. You can check out their paper by clinking here.