File:Sidewinder coiled up in sand - DPLA - dbc3bfa392274049733b8ea9c63c3cc0.jpg

35 mm slide; color. Scientific Classification: Kingdom: Animalia; Phylum: Chordata; Class: Reptilia; Order: Squamata; Family: Viperidae; Genus: Crotalus; Genus species: Crotalus cerastes. Animal characteristics: Head-Body Length: 46-81 cm; Identification: The skin of the sidewinder is lightly colored with darker patches and a dark eye stripe along the sides of the head. The scales are keeled, and the head has supraocular scales that are upturned and pointed; Habitat: Deserts; Diet: Carnivore: lizards, rodents; Reproduction: Mating takes place in April and May. Five to eighteen young are born per female in the late summer/early fall; Social Structure: Sidewinders are solitary except in the winter where they may hibernate in large numbers; Behavior: Sidewinders perform combat dancing between two males for the right to breed with a female in the area. Combat dancing includes: entwining necks while raising the fore portions of their bodies, fleet darting movements, and toppling each other; Status: No special status; Interesting Facts: Sidewinders get their name from their interesting way of moving across the sand. Their body actually moves sideways in an S-shaped curve.