Moccasins

Subject: Live Animal | Type: Photo | Life Stages And Gender: Adult/Sexually Mature | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Cryptic | Anatomy: Body Parts :: Eyes | Anatomy: Body Parts :: Mouth (Buccal Cavity)

#Exemplar: | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Cryptic | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Disruptive Coloration (Spots/Stripes) | Life Stages And Gender: Adult/Sexually Mature | Subject: Live Animal | Type: Photo

Subject: Live Animal | Type: Photo | Life Stages And Gender: Juvenile | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Cryptic | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Disruptive Coloration (Spots/Stripes)

Subject: Live Animal | Type: Photo | Life Stages And Gender: Adult/Sexually Mature | Behaviors: Communication :: Aggressive Display | Anatomy: Body Parts :: Mouth (Buccal Cavity) | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Disruptive Coloration (Spots/Stripes) | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Cryptic

Subject: Live Animal | Type: Photo | Life Stages And Gender: Adult/Sexually Mature | Behaviors: Communication :: Aggressive Display | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Disruptive Coloration (Spots/Stripes) | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Cryptic | Anatomy: Body Parts :: Mouth (Buccal Cavity)

Subject: Live Animal | Type: Photo | Life Stages And Gender: Adult/Sexually Mature | Behaviors: Communication :: Aggressive Display | Anatomy: Coloration/Patterning :: Cryptic | Anatomy: Body Parts :: Mouth (Buccal Cavity)

This photograph depicted a dorsal oblique view of a western cottonmouth snake Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma. The cottonmouth snakes display a distinct two-tone coloration, the spade-like shaped head, a lateral positioning of the eyes, vertically elliptical pupils, cheek stripes, and loreal pits. All of the American copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes are members of the family viperidae. The western cottonmouth is the smallest, but most widely distributed cottonmouth subspecie. The dorsal body is patterned with 10 to 15 dark cross-bands similar to the other two subspecies, but often tends to darken at an early age. The top and sides of the snout are usually uniformly dark brown to black with no visible pattern except in juveniles. When visible, the upper side of the dark cheek stripe often lacks the contrasting light borders that are characteristic of the Florida and eastern subspecies (Gloyd and Connant, 1990).Created: 2005

This 2005 image depicted a venomous Northern copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen. The northern copperhead ranges from southern Illinois, extreme northeastern Mississippi, Northern Alabama, and northern Georgia northeastward through the Appalachian Mountains to the level of southeastern New York and southern Massachusetts (Gloyd and Connant, 1990), placing it in hurricane-prone areas, which is of importance to those living in these regions, and first-responders offering aid to those affected by such a disaster. The preferred habitat of this race is characterized as open deciduous forests with rocky areas with an abundance of fallen leaves (Connat 1975).Created: 2005

This 2005 image depicted a venomous broad banded copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus, one of the most strikingly colorful copperhead subspecies.The broad banded copperhead is a southwestern subspecies that ranges throughout south-central Texas to the level of Victoria and Frio counties, northward through central Oklahoma up to the southern edge of Cowley County Kansas (Gloyd and Conant, 1990), placing it in hurricane-prone areas, which is of importance to those living in these regions, and first-responders offering aid to those affected by such a disaster. Unlike their northern cousins which are frequently found in association with rocks and talus slopes, the broad banded copperhead has a preference for areas with sandy soil that are covered with live oak trees and brush (Gloyd and Conant, 1990; Tenant, 1998). Within such regions, the underlying dead leaf litter provides nearly perfect camouflage for the snake’s sharply contrasting pattern and coloration.Created: 2005

This 2008 photograph depicted a juvenile venomous Southern copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, as it was coiled in a Decatur, Georgia basement.The adult A. contortrix pitviper grows to a length 50cm to 95cm, and is pictured in PHIL 8130 and 10841. This particular view includes all body regions of this specimen, encompassing the yellow distal tail, which disappears when the snake reaches adulthood, as well as the triangular-shaped head. Also, you’ll note the scalar coloration, consisting of a beige base color, traversed by dark-brown crossbands along its entire length, except for its head and yellow juvenile tail. The name pitviper is derived from the fact that these snakes possess two heat-sensing organs situated inside a pit on either side of its head between each ipsilateral eye and nostril, both of which are visible on the right side of this snake’s head from this anterior oblique perspective.Created: 2008

This 2008 photograph depicted a juvenile venomous Southern copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, as it was coiled in a Decatur, Georgia basement.The adult A. contortrix pitviper grows to a length 50cm to 95cm, and is pictured in PHIL 8130 and 10841. The name pitviper is derived from the fact that these snakes possess two heat-sensing organs situated inside a pit on either side of its head between each ipsilateral eye and nostril, both of which are visible on the right side of this snake’s head from this anterior oblique perspective.Created: 2008

This 2008 photograph depicted a juvenile venomous Southern copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, as it was coiled in a Decatur, Georgia basement.The adult A. contortrix pitviper grows to a length 50cm to 95cm, and is pictured in PHIL 8130 and 10841. The name pitviper is derived from the fact that these snakes possess two heat-sensing organs situated inside a pit on either side of its head between each ipsilateral eye and nostril, both of which are visible on the right side of this snake’s head from this anterior oblique perspective.Created: 2008

This 2008 photograph included the head and tail regions of a juvenile venomous Southern copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, which was found coiled in a Decatur, Georgia basement.This particular image offers an excellent view of the juvenile coloration of the distal tail tip, which is a bright yellow, disappearing when the snake reaches its adult status. The adult A. contortrix pitviper grows to a length 50cm to 95cm, and is pictured in PHIL 8130 and 10841. The name pitviper is derived from the fact that these snakes possess two heat-sensing organs situated inside a pit on either side of its head between each ipsilateral eye and nostril, both of which are visible from an anterolateral perspective in PHIL 10843, 10848, and 10849.Created: 2008

This 2008 photograph revealed a detailed view of a juvenile venomous Southern copperhead snake's, Agkistrodon contortrix, skin surface, which was found coiled in a Decatur, Georgia basement.The image offers an excellent view of the juvenile coloration of the distal tail tip, which is a bright yellow, disappearing when the snake reaches its adult status. The adult A. contortrix pitviper grows to a length 50cm to 95cm, and is pictured in PHIL 8130 and 10841. The name pitviper is derived from the fact that these snakes possess two heat-sensing organs situated inside a pit on either side of its head between each ipsilateral eye and nostril, both of which are visible from an anterolateral perspective in PHIL 10843, 10848, and 10849.Created: 2008

From a closer perspective, this 2008 photograph revealed a detailed view of a juvenile venomous Southern copperhead snake's, Agkistrodon contortrix, skin surface, which was found coiled in a Decatur, Georgia basement.These scales, or scutes, act to protect the animal, help the snake maneuver through its environment by providing traction, and through their variegated patterning, help camoflouge the reptile, thereby protecting it from the eyes of preditors, while at the same time, allowing it to sneak up on its prey.The coloration includes a pale tannish brown to a pinkish brown base colo, which is overlaid by 10 to 18 darker brown crossbands, one of which is evident here. Also note the juvenile’s yellow distal tail coloration best seen in PHIL 10842, 10846, and 10847, which is a characteristic found in juveniles, but not in adults.Created: 2008

This 2008 photograph depicted a juvenile venomous Southern copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, as it was coiled in a Decatur, Georgia basement.The adult A. contortrix pitviper grows to a length 50cm to 95cm, and is pictured in PHIL 8130 and 10841. The name pitviper is derived from the fact that these snakes possess two heat-sensing organs situated inside a pit on either side of its head between each ipsilateral eye and nostril, both of which are visible on the right side of this snake’s head from an anterolateral perspective in PHIL 10843, 10848, and 10849. Note the yellow coloration of the distal tip of its tail, which is a characteristic found in juveniles, but not in adults, which is more visible in PHIL 10842, 10846, 10847. Also of note is the forked tongue, which is thought to give such reptiles a stereo sense of smells within its environment. With its tongue, the snake is really tasting the air surrounding its head.Created: 2008

This 2008 photograph depicted a juvenile venomous Southern copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, as it was coiled in a Decatur, Georgia basement.The adult A. contortrix pitviper grows to a length 50cm to 95cm, and is pictured in PHIL 8130 and 10841. The name pitviper is derived from the fact that these snakes possess two heat-sensing organs situated inside a pit on either side of its head between each ipsilateral eye and nostril, both of which are visible here, on the left side of this snake’s head from this anterolateral perspective. Also note the yellow coloration of the distal tip of its tail (see PHIL 10842, 10846, 10847), which is a characteristic found in juveniles, but not in adults.Created: 2008

This 2008 photograph depicted a juvenile venomous Southern copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, as it was coiled in a Decatur, Georgia basement.The adult A. contortrix pitviper grows to a length 50cm to 95cm, and is pictured in PHIL 8130 and 10841. The name pitviper is derived from the fact that these snakes possess two heat-sensing organs situated inside a pit on either side of its head between each ipsilateral eye and nostril, both of which are visible on the right side of this snake’s head from an anterolateral perspective in PHIL 10843, 10848, and 10849. Also note the yellow coloration of the distal tip of its tail, which is a characteristic found in juveniles, but not in adults.Created: 2008

This 2008 photograph depicted an adult venomous Southern copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix, as it was coiled in its natural Costal South Carolina environment. The Southern copperhead grows to a length 50cm to 95cm. Please see PHIL 10842 through 10851, for images depicting a juvenile A. contortrix.Created: 2008

This 2008 photograph depicted a venomous Eastern cottonmouth snake (also see PHIL 8125), Agkistrodon p. piscivorus, as it was slithering through its moist Edisto, South Carolina environment. The Eastern cottonmouth is the largest member of its genus, which includes its copperhead cousin, Agkistrodon contortrix (PHIL 10841 through 10851).Created: 2008

This 2005 photograph depicted an eastern cottonmouth snake, Agkistrodon p. piscivorus, as it was coiled atop a ground cover of pine needles. Startled, this snake had taken on a defensive posture, bearing its fangs in a very aggressive manner.When one thinks about snakes indigenous to the hurricane prone areas in the southeastern United States, the cottonmouths or water moccasins are probably the first snakes to come to mind, which is of importance to those who either live in these regions, or who might be deployed to such areas as a first-responder offering aid to those affected by such a disaster. The cottonmouths are large, dark, heavy-bodied snakes, and are the largest snakes in the New World Agkistrodon species complex, and are the only members of the group that are semiaquatic (Gloyd and Conant, 1990).Created: 2005

This 2005 photograph depicted an Florida cottonmouth snake, Agkistrodon p. conanti. When one thinks about snakes indigenous to the hurricane prone areas in the eastern United States, the cottonmouth or water moccasin is probably the first species to come to mind. The cottonmouth is a large dark heavy-bodied snake that ranges throughout a large portion the southeastern United States. Cottonmouths are the largest snakes in the New World Agkistrodon species complex and are the only members of the group that are semiaquatic (Gloyd and Conant, 1990). Three distinct subspecies are currently recognized; the eastern, Florida, and western cottonmouths. The Florida cottonmouth ranges from the southeastern extreme of South Carolina through coastal and southern Georgia, south throughout the state of Florida and west along the Gulf Coast to the eastern face of Mobile Bay in Alabama (Gloyd and Conant, 1990).Created: 2005

This 2005 photograph depicted a Florida cottonmouth snake, Agkistrodon p. conanti, as it was climbing amongst foliage in its native Floridian habitat.When one thinks about snakes indigenous to the hurricane prone areas in the southeastern United States, the cottonmouths or water moccasins are probably the first snakes to come to mind, which is of importance to those who either live in these regions, or who might be deployed to such areas as a first-responder offering aid to those affected by such a disaster. The cottonmouths are large, dark, heavy-bodied snakes that are the largest snakes in the New World Agkistrodon species complex, and are the only members of the group that are semiaquatic (Gloyd and Conant, 1990). Three distinct subspecies are currently recognized; the eastern, Florida, and western cottonmouths.Created: 2005

This was a venomous southern copperhead, A. contortrix contortrix, a denizen of the pine and deciduous forests of southeastern United States, and perhaps one of the best known, and widest ranging copperhead subspecies. It ranges throughout the Gulf Coast States, up the Mississippi River Valley to the level of southern Illinois and along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from extreme southern Delaware into the Florida panhandle (Gloyd and Conant, 1990), placing it in hurricane-prone areas, which is of importance to those living in these regions, and first-responders offering aid to those affected by such a disaster. Its Floridian range includes Gadsen, Liberty and Calhoun counties near the Apalachicola river basin (Tennant, 1998b). Reports of copperheads elsewhere in Florida are usually attributable to sightings of lightly pigmented cottonmouths or reddish colored non-venomous species such as corn snakes (Pantherophis gutatta) that are mistakenly identified.Created: 2005