Western cottonmouth

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Western cottonmouth
Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Agkistrodon
Species:
Subspecies:
A. p. leucostoma
Trinomial name
Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma
(Troost, 1836)
Synonyms [1]
  • Acontias leucostoma – Troost, 1836
  • [Toxicophis leucostoma] – Troost, 1836
  • Toxicophis leucostomus – Holbrook, 1842
  • Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma – Gloyd & Conant, 1943
  • Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostomus – H. M. Smith & Taylor, 1945
  • Agkistrodon piscivorus – F. T. Burbrink & T. J. Guiher. 2014

The western cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma) [2] [3] [4] was once classified as a subspecies of the cottonmouth ( Agkistrodon piscivorus ). However, DNA based studies published in 2008 and 2015, revealed no significant genetic difference between the eastern cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus) and the western cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma) and synonymized the two subspecies (with the oldest published name, A. p. piscivorus, having priority). The resulting taxonomy does not recognizes the western cottonmouth (A. p. leucostoma) as a valid taxon. [5] [6] Several subsequent reviews and species accounts have followed and supported the revised taxonomy. [7] [8] :437 p. [9] Information on this snake can be found in the Agkistrodon piscivorus article.

Contents

Description

A. p. leucostoma, juvenile Juvenile Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma.jpg
A. p. leucostoma, juvenile

Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma is a stout snake with a thick, muscular body. It is the smallest of the three subspecies of A. piscivorus. The average length of mature specimens is 27.5 inches (69.9 cm), while the maximum reported length is 62 inches (157.5 cm). [10]

Adult specimens are usually dark gray or brown with little or no markings, although a dorsal color pattern consisting of 10 to 15 dark crossbands can be seen in some specimens. [10] Like other members of the species, its color darkens with age, and very old specimens may appear entirely black. Unlike the other two subspecies ( A. p. conanti and A. p. piscivorus ), the light line that borders the dark cheek strip is usually not present in this subspecies. The dorsal scales are keeled, in rows of 25 near the midbody, and the anal scale is undivided. [11] Its broad, flat head is distinctly wider than its neck, and it has an elliptical (cat-like) pupil. By day the pupil appears as a narrow slit; at night the pupil is wide and may even look round. [12]

Behavior

The animal opens its mouth widely when startled, exposing its whitish-colored oral mucosa; this is the reason it is commonly referred to as the "cottonmouth".

Common names

Western cottonmouth, water moccasin, cottonmouth, (black) moccasin, blunt-tail moccasin, (northern) cottonmouth moccasin, stump-tail (water) moccasin, viper, western cottonmouth moccasin, [3] cotton-mouthed snake, Congo snake, trap-jaw, gapper. [10]

Geographic range

Found in the United States, from southern Alabama along coast of the Gulf of Mexico, including many offshore islands, to southeastern and central Texas and north to Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and southeastern Nebraska, and western Kentucky. [10] The type locality given is "western district of Tennessee". Schmidt (1953) proposed that this be amended to "10 miles northeast of Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tennessee". [1]

Related Research Articles

Eastern copperhead Species of reptile

The eastern copperhead, also known as the copperhead, is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper, endemic to eastern North America; it is a member of the subfamily Crotalinae in the family Viperidae.

<i>Agkistrodon piscivorus</i> Species of reptile

Agkistrodon piscivorus is a species of pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. It is one of the world's few semiaquatic vipers, and is native to the southeastern United States. As an adult, it is large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite. When threatened, it may respond by coiling its body and displaying its fangs. Individuals may bite when feeling threatened or being handled in any way. It tends to be found in or near water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes, streams, and marshes. It is a capable swimmer and, like several species of snakes, is known to occasionally enter bays and estuaries and swim between barrier islands and the mainland.

<i>Agkistrodon</i> Genus of snakes

Agkistrodon is a genus of pit vipers commonly known as American moccasins. The genus is endemic to North America, ranging from the Southern United States to northern Costa Rica. Eight species are currently recognized, all of them monotypic and closely related. Like all pit vipers, members of the genus are venomous. Common names include: cottonmouths, copperheads, and cantils.

<i>Gloydius</i> Genus of snakes

Gloydius is a genus of venomous pitvipers endemic to Asia, also known as Asian moccasins or Asian ground pit vipers. Named after American herpetologist Howard K. Gloyd, this genus is very similar to the North American genus Agkistrodon. 24 species are currently recognized.

<i>Nerodia</i> Genus of reptiles

Nerodia is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as water snakes due to their aquatic behavior. The genus includes nine species, all native to North America.

<i>Agkistrodon taylori</i> Species of snake

Agkistrodon taylori is species of venomous snake, a pitviper (Crotalinae) found only in northeastern Mexico. The standardized names are Taylor's cantil (English) and Metapil (Spanish), although it is sometimes called the ornate cantil as well as several other colloquial names. It was named in honor of American herpetologist Edward Harrison Taylor.

<i>Nerodia rhombifer</i> Species of snake

Nerodia rhombifer, commonly known as the diamondback water snake, is a species of nonvenomous natricine colubrid endemic to the central United States and northern Mexico. There are three recognized subspecies of N. rhombifer, including the nominotypical subspecies.

<i>Agkistrodon bilineatus</i> Species of snake

Agkistrodon bilineatus is a highly venomous pit viper species found in Mexico and Central America as far south as Honduras.

Florida cottonmouth Species of snake

The Florida cottonmouth is a species of venomous snake, a pitviper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the United States, where it occurs in southern Georgia and the Florida peninsula in nearly every type of wetlands in the region, including brackish water and offshore islands. However, it is not entirely dependent on water and is occasionally encountered as far as a mile from surface water. Agkistrodon conanti venom is very hemolytic and known to cause relatively extensive necrosis compared to many snake venoms, and can sometimes be lethal with a 17% mortality rate. It is often confused with harmless watersnakes (Nerodia) and other semi-aquatic species with which it shares its habitat.

<i>Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster</i> Subspecies of snake

Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster was formerly a venomous pit viper subspecies found in the Trans-Pecos region of the United States in western Texas, and northeastern Mexico. However, recent taxonomic changes do not recognizes the Trans-Pecos copperhead as a valid taxon.

<i>Agkistrodon laticinctus</i> Species of snake

Agkistrodon laticinctus is a venomous pit viper species, formerly considered a subspecies of Agkistrodon contortrix, which is found in the southern United States, from Kansas, through Oklahoma and throughout central Texas.

<i>Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii</i> Subspecies of snake

Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii is a subspecies of venomous pit viper in the family Viperidae. The subspecies is endemic to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. In places, its range overlaps that of S. c. tergeminus, and intergrading of the two subspecies is known.

Howard Kay Gloyd was an American herpetologist who is credited with describing several new species and subspecies of reptiles, such as the Florida cottonmouth, Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti.

<i>Sistrurus miliarius streckeri</i> Subspecies of snake

Sistrurus miliarius streckeri is a venomous pit viper subspecies found in the southcentral United States.

<i>Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus</i> Subspecies of snake

Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus was formerly a venomous pitviper, one of three subspecies of Agkistrodon piscivorus, with different geographic distributions, found in the southeastern United States. However, recent taxonomic changes do not recognizes any subspecies of cottonmouth as a valid taxa.

<i>Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen</i> Subspecies of snake

Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen was formerly a venomous pit viper subspecies found in the eastern United States. However, recent taxonomic changes do not recognize the northern copperhead as a valid taxon.

<i>Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster</i> Subspecies of snake

Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster was formerly a venomous pit viper subspecies found in the central region of the United States. However, recent taxonomic changes do not recognizes the Osage copperhead as a valid taxon.

Agkistrodon howardgloydi is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper (Crotalinae), that is endemic to Central America. It is most commonly called castellana,but it has also been called the southern cantil, Gloyd's moccasin, and a number of other colloquial names. It is a rare species with a relatively small geographic distribution in the tropical dry forest on the Pacific coast of Honduras, Nicaragua, and extreme northwest Costa Rica. Agkistrodon howardgloydi is a stout, medium-sized snake with a maximum length of 96 cm. It is a viviparous species, with female giving birth in the rainy season from May to August. No clinical reports on envenomation had been published, but laboratory texts and analysis indicate the venom is highly toxic and similar to its close relative Agkistrodon bilineatus, and potentially lethal.

Agkistrodon russeolus, commonly called the Yucatecan cantil, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and northern Belize.

Gloydius shedaoensis is a venomous pitviper species found only on Shedao Island in China. Although very small, this island is home to an extraordinarily large population of these snakes. No subspecies are currently recognized.

References

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  2. Conant R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Second Edition. First published in 1958. Houghton Mifflin Company Boston. 429 pp. 48 plates. ISBN   0-395-19979-4 (hc), ISBN   0-395-19977-8 (pb).
  3. 1 2 Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. ISBN   0-8014-0463-0.
  4. "Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  5. Guiher TJ, Burbrink FT (2008). Demographic and phylogeographic histories of two venomous North American snakes of the genus Agkistrodon. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 48: 543–553.
  6. Burbrink, Frank T. and Timothy J. Guiher. 2014. Considering gene flow when using coalescent methods to delimit lineages of North American pitvipers of the genus Agkistrodon. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 173: 505–526.
  7. Crother, B. I. ( editor). 2017. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 8th. edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43, 1–102 pp. (page 59) ISBN   978-1-946681-00-3
  8. Powell, Robert, Roger Conant, and Joseph T. Collins. 2016. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. New York. 494 pp. ISBN   978-0-544-12997-9
  9. Uetz P, Freed P, Aguilar R, Hošek J (editors) (2021). The Reptile Database, Agkistrodon piscivorus (accessed 6 August 2021)
  10. 1 2 3 4 Gloyd HK, Conant R. 1990. Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex: A Monographic Review. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 614 pp. 52 plates. LCCN 89-50342. ISBN   0-916984-20-6.
  11. Travis LaDuc; David Cannatella (2019). "Cottonmouth". Herps of Texas. Austin, Texas. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  12. "Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)". Wildlife Fact Sheets. Austin, Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-04.

Further reading