Cottonmouth

Description:

Video on youtube look up champagneelder63 title "oh hell no he did not" This is the largest species of the genus Agkistrodon. Adults commonly exceed 80 cm (31.5 in) in length, females grow smaller than males. Occasionally, individuals may exceed 180 cm (71 in) in length, especially in the eastern part of the range.[7] According to Gloyd and Conant (1990), the largest recorded specimen of A. p. piscivorus was 188 cm (74 in) in length,[8] based on a specimen caught in the Dismal Swamp region and given to the Philadelphia Zoological Garden. It should be noted, however, that this snake had apparently been injured during capture, died several days later and was measured when straight and relaxed.[9] The broad head is distinct from the neck, and the snout blunt is in profile with the rim of the top of the head extending forwards slightly further than the mouth. Substantial cranial plates are present, although the parietal plates are often fragmented, especially towards the rear. A loreal scale is absent. There are six to 9 supralabials and eight to 12 infralabials. At midbody, there are 23-27 rows of dorsal scales.[7] All dorsal scale rows have keels, although those on the lowermost scale rows are weak.[9] In males/females, the ventral scales number 130-145/128-144 and the subcaudals 38-54/36-50. Many of the latter may be divided.[7] Though the majority of specimens are almost or even totally black, (with the exception of head and facial markings), the color pattern may consist of a brown, gray, tan, yellowish-olive or blackish ground color, which is overlaid with a series of 10-17 dark brown to almost black crossbands. These crossbands, which usually have black edges, are sometimes broken along the dorsal midline to form a series of staggered halfbands on either side of the body. These crossbands are visibly lighter in the center, almost matching the ground color, often contain irregular dark markings, and extend well down onto the ventral scales. The dorsal banding pattern fades with age, so older individuals are an almost uniform olive brown, grayish-brown or black. The belly is white, yellowish-white or tan, marked with dark spots, and becomes darker posteriorly. The amount of dark pigment on the belly varies from virtually nothing to almost completely black. The head is a more or less uniform brown color, especially in A. p. piscivorus. Subadult specimens may exhibit the same kind of dark, parietal spots characteristic of A. contortrix, but sometimes these are still visible in adults. Eastern populations have a broad, dark, postocular stripe, bordered with pale pigment above and below, that is faint or absent in western populations. The underside of the head is generally whitish, cream or tan.[7] Juvenile and subadult specimens generally have a more contrasting color pattern, with dark crossbands on a lighter ground color. The ground color is then tan, brown or reddish brown. The tip of the tail is usually yellowish, becoming greenish yellow or greenish in subadults, and then black in adults. On some juveniles, the banding pattern can also be seen on the tail.[7] This species is often confused with the copperhead, A. contortrix. This is especially true for juveniles, but there are differences. A. piscivorus has broad, dark stripes on the sides of its head that extend back from the eye, whereas A. contortrix has only a thin dark line that divides the pale supralabials from the somewhat darker color of the head The watersnakes of the genus Nerodia are also similar in appearance, being thick-bodied with large heads, but they have round pupils, no loreal pit, a single anal plate, subcaudal scales that are divided throughout and a distinctive overall color pattern

Habitat:

This is the most aquatic species of the genus Agkistrodon, and is usually associated with bodies of water, such as creeks, streams, marshes, swamps and the shores of ponds and lakes.[7] The U.S. Navy (1991) describes it as inhabiting swamps, shallow lakes and sluggish streams, but it is usually not found in swift, deep, cool water.[15] Behler and King (1979) list its habitats as including lowland swamps, lakes, rivers, bayheads, sloughs, irrigation ditches, canals, rice fields and small clear rocky mountain streams.[16] It is also found in brackish water habitats and is sometimes seen swimming in saltwater. It has been much more successful at colonizing Atlantic and Gulf coast barrier islands than the copperhead, A. contortrix. However, even on these islands, it tends to favor freshwater marshes. A study by Dunson and Freda (1985) describes it as not being particularly salt tolerant.[7] The snake is not limited to aquatic habitats, however, as Gloyd and Conant (1990) mentioned large specimens have been found more than a mile (1.6 km) from water.[9] In various locations, the species is well-adapted to less moist environments, such as palmetto thickets, pine-palmetto forest, pine woods in East Texas, pine flatwoods in Florida, eastern deciduous dune forest, dune and beach areas, riparian forest and prairies

Notes:

Venom A. piscivorus venom is more toxic than that of A. contortrix (the copperhead), and is rich with tissue-destructive enzymes. Absent an anaphylactic reaction in a bitten individual, however, the venom does not cause systemic reactions in victims and does not contain neurotoxic components that are present in numerous rattlesnake species. Bites can be effectively treated with CroFab antivenom, as this serum is derived using venom components from four species of American pitvipers (the eastern and western diamondback rattlesnakes, the Mojave rattlesnake and the cottonmouth).