Eastern cottonmouth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eastern cottonmouth |
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| A. p. piscivorus, pale and dark forms | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Viperidae |
| Genus: | Agkistrodon |
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| Subspecies: |
A. p. piscivorus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus (Lacépède, 1789)
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| Geographic variation of A. piscivorus
A. p. piscivorus Intergradation
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| Synonyms | |
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- Common names: Eastern cottonmouth, cottonmouth moccasin, water moccasin, moccasin
Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus is a venomous pitviper, one of three subspecies of Agkistrodon piscivorus, with different geographic distributions, found in the southeastern United States.
Description
This subspecies reaches 20-48 inches (51–121 cm) in length on average but has reached 74.5 inches (189 cm). The colour is mainly dark, and the body heavy. However younger specimens have red to brown crossbands, with a lighter brown background. The crossbands are spotted and speckled, and the tail sulphur coloured. The patterning darkens with time with many older adults being completely black.
The scales are keeled and dark broad stripes on the face disguise the eyes, which cannot be seen when viewed from above, and have a vertical (cat's-eye) slit like pupil. The eye is separated from the nostril by a deep facial pit.
Geographic range
The United States in southeastern Virginia, the Atlantic Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont of North and South Carolina, including the banks, peninsulas and islands along the Atlantic coast, and west across Georgia (see map).
