Moccasin

The genus Agkistrodon includes two poisonous aquatic New World snakes of the Viperidae family: the water moccasin animal (Agkistrodon piscivorus) and the Mexican moccasin animal (Agkistrodon mexicanus) (the A. Bilineatus). Both are classified as pit vipers (subfamily Crotalinae), so named because of the sensory pit between each nostril and eye.

The water moccasin animal inhabits the marshy lowlands of the Southeastern United States. Also, it is called the cottonmouth because it threatens with the mouth open, depicting the white interior. It measures around 1.5 metres (5 feet) in length and brown, either with darker crossbands or completely black. It is a dangerous snake having a potentially lethal bite; the cottonmouth tends to stand its ground or to move slowly away when alarmed. It almost eats any small animal, including fish, turtles, birds, frogs and more related ones. Some examples of moccasins are given as copperhead water moccasin, cottonmouth water moccasin, water moccasin bite, water moccasin snake and more.

Characteristics of Water Moccasins

Let us look at the characteristics of Water Moccasins in brief.

The water moccasin attains an average size of up to 31.5 inches long, including its tail. However, certain specimens and subspecies have been reported to grow up to 71 inches long and weigh as much as 10 pounds.

Members of the Viperidae family, cottonmouths, are pit vipers. Like the other members of this specific family, including copperhead snakes and rattlesnakes, water moccasins have heat-sensing facial pits between the nostrils and eyes. These pits are more sensitive and can detect even the tiniest differences in temperature by allowing pit vipers like the water moccasin animal to strike accurately at prey. Indeed, the “pit” in the “pit viper” directly references these specialized facial features that are also an excellent way to differentiate these venomous snakes from their harmless counterparts.

Thanks to the large venom glands, cottonmouth snakes hold large jowls along with their thick, muscular bodies that average between 2 to 4 feet in length. Their large and triangular heads are a distinctive feature and are made even more prominent by the narrower neck of the snake. The thin neck is the other distinct feature because several snake species have no distinctive neck at all. Water moccasins contain vertical “cat-eye” pupils, and dark stripes extend out near every nostril. The snout looks pale in comparison with the rest of the head.

As shown in the below figure, Cottonmouth snakes contain thin necks, triangular heads, and “cat-eye” pupils.

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Another feature that the water moccasin is well-known for also lends it to its other common name called cottonmouth. This is because the inside of the mouth of the snake is bright white like cotton. When this snake feels threatened, it rears up and opens its mouth wide, forming an unique S-like appearance. The bright and white inside of the snake's mouth serves as both a diversion and a warning message, as it contrasts sharply with the rest of the snake. Indeed, when feeling threatened, it could be said that the water moccasin “waves a white flag.”

Physical Characteristics

The Mexican moccasin, or the cantil, can be found in lowland regions from the Rio Grande to Nicaragua. It is said to be a dangerous snake, and it is either black or brown with narrow irregular whitish bars on its sides and back. Usually, it is up to 1 metre (3.3 feet) long. Moccasins are live-bearers (i.e., viviparous) rather than egg layers.

Below the figure is a Water moccasin animal (called Agkistrodon piscivorus) which is in a threatening posture.

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Description

Cottonmouth snakes, often known as "water moccasins," are poisonous semi-aquatic snakes. Due to their venom glands, they have big and triangular heads with a black line through the eye, elliptical pupils, and venom glands. They are very large, typically 24 - 48 in (61 - 122 cm), and occasionally larger, heavy-bodied and keeled-scaled snakes.

Their colour varies greatly: dark crossbands might be seen on a yellow and brown ground colour, or they can be entirely black or brown. The older adults are usually black and solid-coloured, but the youngsters have vividly patterned tail tips that they wiggle to attract prey. Typically, the belly has brownish-yellow and dark blotches, with the underside of the tail being black. As the pit-vipers, they have facial pits that sense heat and they are used to detect predators and prey. Male cottonmouths are larger compared to females.

Range and Habitat

Cottonmouths usually range throughout the Southeast, north to southeastern Virginia. Cottonmouths are typically confined to the Coastal Plain in certain places, however they may be found in a few Piedmont locales, such as west of Atlanta, Georgia. They can be found in nearly all freshwater habitats, but they are much common in river floodplains, cypress swamps, and heavily vegetated wetlands. Cottonmouths will venture overland and are at times found far from permanent water. Often, cottonmouths congregate around drying pools in wetlands to feed on amphibians and trapped fish.

Habits

Cottonmouths can be found either during the day or night but primarily forage after dark during the hotter parts of the season. Throughout most of their range, they can be found year-round, even in the sunny days of winter. They bask on rocks, logs, or branches at the edge of the water but seldom climb high in trees (unlike several of the nonvenomous watersnakes that commonly bask on branches many feet above the water).

They employ both active and ambush foraging strategies. Cottonmouths are said to be opportunistic feeders and are known to consume a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic prey, including lizards, amphibians, snakes (including the smaller cottonmouths), baby alligators, small turtles, birds, mammals and especially fish. Cottonmouths mate in the early summer, at which time male-to-male combat takes place in the competition for females. Every 2-3 years, females produce litters of 1-20 live young.

The young ones are large (around 20-33 cm) and hold bright yellow tail tips. The cottonmouth receives its name from the whiteness of the interior of its mouth, where it exposes as a defensive display. This species is often confused with the nonvenomous watersnakes, but typically, watersnakes flee immediately if on land or in a tree, usually going underwater, whereas they frequently stand their ground and gape to deter a predator. Cottonmouths, despite their violent reputation, seldom bite unless picked up or stomped on, according to studies. When not alarmed, cottonmouths can be recognized readily when swimming because most of their body is above the surface of the water.

Conservation Status

Cottonmouths are more fairly common, and they are not listed at the federal, state, or heritage level. However, in several parts of their range, they are killed by humans. Cottonmouths move overland, and in times of drought, they will migrate across regions. Thus, they are especially vulnerable to the threats of fragmentation and habitat loss.

Distinguishing Water Moccasins and Cottonmouths from Non-Venomous Snakes

Often, most people mistake harmless snakes for cottonmouths, causing several non-venomous snakes to be needlessly killed each and every year. The Nerodia sipedon, a northern water snake, is a common victim of this phenomenon. Although it looks much like a cottonmouth, the crossbands along its back do not widen at the ends like the snakes of northern water.

If you live in a place where water moccasins can be found, it helps to know how to differentiate them from non-venomous snakes. A few ways to tell them apart include:

• Pupils – Non-venomous water snakes contain round pupils. On the other hand, water moccasins, including other venomous water snakes, have vertical pupils, which look similar to a cat’s.

• Swimming Style — Unlike the brown water snake, Nerodia taxispilota, which is also often mistaken for a water moccasin, the cottonmouth snake swims with its entire body at the surface of the water. The other water snakes, with the brown water snake, keep the majority of their bodies below the water while in motion, and only their heads will show when not moving.

• Facial Pits – Pit vipers like the water moccasin snakes contain facial pits between their nostrils and eyes. Whereas the non-venomous water snakes lack these pits, so this is one of the easy ways to tell them apart.

• Head Shape – Cottonmouth snakes contain triangular heads, while the heads of non-venomous snakes are elliptical and more slender. A word of caution: When threatened, the non-poisonous water snakes flatten their heads by making them look more triangular.

• After the anal plate, the water moccasins have a single row of scales, but the non-venomous water snakes have a double row.

Classification

There Exist Three Water Moccasin Snake Subspecies Which are Listed as Follows.

• Florida Cottonmouth – This is known by the scientific term Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti; the Florida cottonmouth is named after the famed herpetologist named Roger Conant. This subspecies, also called the green-tailed moccasin, is found in the extreme southern Georgia region and throughout Florida, including the Everglades.

• Western Cottonmouth — With an average length of roughly 27.5 inches, this subspecies, A. P. leucostoma, is the smallest of the group. Typically, moccasin colour is dark brown or grey in colour and has either little or no markings. The range of these extends from southern Alabama across the Gulf Coast and continues into central and southeast Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois, western Kentucky, and southeastern Nebraska.

• Eastern Cottonmouth – It is found mostly in southeast Virginia; A. P. Piscivorus, the eastern cottonmouth, averages in length between 20 and 48 inches. It is also found along the Atlantic coastal plain, across the lower Piedmont of the west across Georgia and Carolinas. This subspecies is found along the riverbanks, peninsulas, and even on the coastal islands.