[Animals] Cottonmouth snakes: Facts about water moccasins

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Discover where cottonmouth snakes live, how to identify them, and whether they are venomous and aggressive.

Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus), also called water moccasins, are venomous snakes(opens in new tab) found in the southeastern United States. They're called cottonmouths because of the white coloration on the inside of their mouths, which they display when threatened. 

Cottonmouths are semiaquatic, so they're comfortable both swimming in water (hence their other common name of water moccasin) and basking on land. They are the only venomous snake in the U.S. that spends a lot of time in the water, Live Science previously reported(opens in new tab). Other local names for cottonmouths include black moccasins, gapers, mangrove rattlers, snap jaws, stub-tail snakes, swamp lions, trap jaws, water mambas and water pilots.

Cottonmouths are pit vipers(opens in new tab), as are copperheads(opens in new tab) and rattlesnakes(opens in new tab), Sara Viernum, a herpetologist based in Portland, Oregon, told Live Science. "Like all pit vipers, [cottonmouths] have heat-sensing facial pits between their eyes and nostrils," Viernum said. These specialized pits are able to detect minute differences in temperature so that the snake can accurately strike the source of heat, which is often potential prey. Cottonmouths rarely bite humans, and usually only do so when provoked. 

Sara Viernum
Herpetologist
Sara Viernum is a senior wildlife biologist, and for the last several years has provided professional consulting services to the power transmission and distribution, renewable energy, transportation, mining, and oil and gas sectors. Viernum is a certified wildlife biologist with The Wildlife Society. Viernum has a master’s in biology and herpetology from Jacksonville State University, and a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Murray State University.

Cottonmouths are relatively large, ranging from 2 to 4 feet long (61 to 122 centimeters), according to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory(opens in new tab). They have thick, muscular bodies covered in ridged scales and blocky heads with large jowls. Their pupils are vertical, similar to cat pupils, and they have dark stripes next to each nostril. Their coloration varies from dark brown or black to olive, banded brown or yellow. 

Cottonmouths are often confused with nonvenomous water snake(opens in new tab) species from the genus Nerodia. Cottonmouths and Nerodia species have similar coloring and patterns and are all usually found near water. Even though water snakes are nonvenomous, they can still bite and are often killed by humans out of fear that they are cottonmouths. 

There are a few ways you can tell a nonvenomous water snake from a venomous water moccasin, or cottonmouth, according to the University of Florida(opens in new tab). Water snakes are slender compared with cottonmouths, which are thicker and heavier. Water snakes also have longer, thinner tails, and their heads are a similar width to their necks, whereas a cottonmouth's head is thick, blocky and noticeably wider than the snake's neck. Water snake pupils are round, not vertical and cat-like like the pupils of cottonmouths. Water snakes also lack the facial pits that are characteristic of pit vipers, such as cottonmouths.

 

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. Trying to kill a snake greatly increases the risk of being bitten by one, according to the University of Florida.

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. "They undulate the tail tip slowly back and forth to lure prey, such as frogs(opens in new tab), within striking distance," Viernum said.  The striking patterns present on the juveniles fades with age.

Cottonmouths range from southeastern Virginia to Florida, west to central Texas and north to southern Illinois and Indiana, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature(opens in new tab). They primarily live in aquatic and wetland habitats, including swamps, marshes, drainage ditches, ponds, lakes and streams. 

Cottonmouths can be seen year-round during the day and at night, but they primarily hunt after dark, especially in the summer, according to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.  They can be found basking in the sun during the day on rocks, logs and stumps, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources(opens in new tab).

There are three subspecies of cottonmouth recognized by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)(opens in new tab). These are Florida cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti), found throughout Florida; western cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma), found in Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas; and eastern cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus), found in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and southeastern Virginia.  

Identifying the different subspecies is difficult. Their markings vary considerably, and the subspecies can interbreed where their ranges overlap. 

link: https://www.livescience.com/43597-facts-about-water-moccasin-cottonmouth-snakes.html