Facts About the Cottonmouth Snake
The cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) is a thick-bodied venomous pit viper that reaches lengths of more than six feet and thrives in aquatic habitats. Three subspecies of cottonmouths are found throughout the southeastern United States, all of which are similar in their ecology: Eastern cottonmouths (A. piscivorus piscivorus), Florida cottonmouths (A. piscivorus conanti) and Western cottonmouths (A. piscivorus leucostoma). Also known as water moccasins in some parts of their range, cottonmouths are named for the distinctive, cotton-white inner lining of their mouths, which they readily display during stereotypical defensive (warning) stances.
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Distribution
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The cottonmouth's range includes all of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, as well as the coastal plain portions of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Cottonmouths also inhabit central and eastern Texas, the eastern half of Oklahoma, the southeastern tip of Kansas, southern Missouri, western Tennessee, western West Virginia and parts of southern Indiana.
Habitat
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Ubiquitous within aquatic habitats, cottonmouths thrive in swamps, streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, sloughs, bayous, ditches or any other freshwater aquatic habitats. Cottonmouths are also no stranger to brackish coastal marshes and can be quite abundant on coastal islands that have few or no freshwater wetlands. Unlike other aquatic snakes, cottonmouths are fairly immune to droughts because they have less permeable skin (making them less susceptible to drying out) and, as top predators, they congregate around drying wetlands, gorging themselves on trapped aquatic prey.
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Diet
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Cottonmouths are opportunistic predators that eat a wide variety of prey, including carrion. Prey includes just about any variety of fish, frogs, salamanders, lizards, snakes, turtles, birds, mammals or insects that a cottonmouth can swallow. Cottonmouths have even been observed eating roadkill from highways.
Reproduction
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Like other pit vipers, cottonmouths give birth to live young in August and September, with some litters born as late as October. During gestation, which typically lasts 150 days (ranges from 120 to 170 days), mothers provide the embryos with some nourishment and oxygen. Most mothers give birth to litters of five to eight offspring, but litter sizes can range from one to 20.
Predators
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Large predatory birds, such as herons, egrets, storks, cranes, hawks, eagles and owls, are common predators of cottonmouths. Other frequent predators include large predacious fish, alligators, kingsnakes, indigo snakes, snapping turtles, and predacious mammals, such as raccoons, otters, bobcats, house cats and dogs. Cottonmouths also will eat members of their own species. Most depredated cottonmouths are either babies or juveniles. Adults tend to only be eaten by the largest of predators.
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References
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- Photo Credit swamp image by Marek Kosmal from Fotolia.com
