The oldest water moccasin lived to Water moccasins typically range from 60 to centimeters 24 to 47 inches in length ; females are typically smaller than males. Occasionally, individuals may exceed centimeters 71 inches in length, especially in the eastern part of the range. The water moccasin has a distinctively triangular and blocky head.
Their necks are thin, and they have thick, muscular bodies. Their coloration is highly variable: they can be beautifully marked with dark crossbands on a brown and yellow ground color or completely brown or black. Older adults are often dark and solid-colored whereas the juveniles are brightly patterned with a sulphur yellow tail tip that they wiggle to attract prey.
The belly typically has dark and brownish-yellow blotches with the underside of the tail being black. Cottonmouths can be found during the day or night, but forage primarily after dark during the hotter parts of the season. During the winter, cottonmouths will hibernate , sometimes sharing dens with other venomous snakes. In consistently warm climates, the cottonmouth has been known to not hibernate at all. Cottonmouths mate in the early summer at which time male-to-male combat occurs in competition for females.
Females have litters of live young every years. The young are large cm and have bright yellow tail tips. The cottonmouth receives its name from the whiteness of the interior of its mouth that it exposes as a defensive display. This species is often confused with nonvenomous watersnakes, but watersnakes typically flee immediately if on land or in a tree, usually going underwater, whereas cottonmouths frequently stand their ground and gape to deter a predator.
Despite their aggressive reputation, research has indicated that cottonmouths will seldom bite unless stepped on or picked up. When not alarmed, cottonmouths can be readily recognized when swimming because most of their body is above the water's surface. Conservation Status: Cottonmouths are fairly common and are not listed at the state, federal, or heritage level.
However, in many parts of their range they are killed by humans. Cottonmouths travel overland and will migrate between areas in response to drought. Therefore, they are especially vulnerable to the threats of habitat loss and fragmentation.
Willson, J. Winne, M. Source: ITIS. When threatened, nonvenomous water snakes, such as northern water snakes Nerodia sipedon and southern water snakes Nerodia fasciata , often try to appear bigger than they are by flattening their bodies and heads.
This flattening makes them look more like cottonmouths. A water snake's flattened head will look more triangular in shape, but not blocky and thick, like a cottonmouth's head. A water snake's head will also still be a similar width to the neck, even when flattened. The University of Florida stated that trying to kill a snake greatly increases the risk of being bitten by one. Juvenile cottonmouths have more distinctive bands across their bodies and are lighter brown compared with adult cottonmouths.
Juveniles also have bright-yellow tail tips that they use as lure to attract prey. The striking patterns present on the juveniles fades with age.
Cottonmouths are native to the U. They primarily live in aquatic and wetland habitats, including swamps, marshes, drainage ditches, ponds, lakes and streams. The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory noted that cottonmouths can be seen year-round during the day and at night, but they primarily hunt after dark, especially in the summer. They can be found basking in the sun during the day on rocks, logs and stumps, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
Identifying the different subspecies is difficult. Their markings vary considerably, and the subspecies can interbreed where their ranges overlap. Florida cottonmouths typically have the most prominent bands and facial markings of the three subspecies, according to the U. Geological Survey.
Cottonmouths can hunt prey in water or on land. Only when Whit grasped the snake mid-body with a leather glove had the cottonmouth finally had enough. The glove, however, was not on Whit's hand but had been fitted onto the open end of a pair of "snake tongs" some three and a half feet long. About 10 percent of the snakes we've tested have bitten the boot after being stepped on, only 40 percent have struck when picked up with "the hand.
Striking is a last resort. To begin with, by challenging a much larger enemy, the snake is potentially exposing itself to a great danger. It also needs to conserve its precious venom. Composed of complex proteins that require time and energy to produce, venom is vital for capturing prey.
When cottonmouths bite people defensively, they often inject less venom than they have available. The importance of conserving venom is indicated by laboratory studies showing a high proportion of so-called dry bites, in which little or no venom is injected.
0コメント