Cottonmouth

Description:

Cottonmouths are distinctive looking snakes that normally range between two and three feet in length. Cottonmouths posses a flat and broad head, upturned snout, a heat sensing pit between the eye and nostril, vertically oriented pupils (cat-like eyes), a thick body and slender tail. Adults have a base coloration of buff to dark brown with irregular darker cross-bands across the back that may vary from brown to black. A pale stripe extends from behind the eye to the back of the head. This later becomes suffused with the rest of the coloration of the body as the snake matures. A second white stripe extends from beneath the eye to the corner of the jaws. The ventral surface is somewhat variable with a yellowish base coloration and irregular brown to dark gray blotches. Closer to the tail, the dark ventral blotches become more concentrated. The scales are keeled and the anal scale is undivided.

Habitat:

Bittern Marsh Trail in Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area.