Western Cottonmouth

Agkistrodon piscivorous leucostoma

Venom Status:

Venomous

 

Characteristics:

Also known as the “water moccasin. This is a heavy bodied, dark colored, snake. Lengths of more than 3 ½ feet are rare today but longer examples were once common. Dorsal bands and facial markings of adults are usually indistinct. There are usually light markings on the belly. Ovoviviparous. Babies brightly banded in tans and russet but these colors fade quickly with age and growth. There are 25 scale rows. Neonates have a yellow tailtip. Note the vertical pupils and infrared sensing pit between, but lower than, the nostril and eye and dark coloration.

 

Unique Features:

Cottonmouths of all 3 subspecies often bask or forage well back from the water, to which they will usually attempt to return if startled. Their escape route may bring them directly toward the startling object—human included. They may also bask or seek road-killed animals as a food source on roadways, paved or unpaved. The name “cottonmouth” is derived from the cottony white color of the mouth interior.

 

Habitat and Diet:

Can be found in brush tangles on the banks of ponds, sloughs, lake edges, swamps, spillways, and other such aquatic habitats are home to this semi aquatic snake. Primarily feeds on fish, amphibians, small mammals, small birds; roadkills

 

Geographic Range:

AL, TN, KY, AR, IL, IN, LA, MS, MO, OK