![]() Davis & Rice (1883) spelled the genus Ancistrodon. According to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, female copperheads are. Nomenclatural History: Smith (1961) used the spelling mokeson and attributed it to Daudin, 1803, which is incorrect. Snakes Snake drawing, Drawing reference, Animal drawings Animals Reptiles. Original Name: Agkistrodon contortrix (Linnaeus, 1766) Agkistrodon mokason Palisot de Beauvois, 1799. Type Locality: “Carolina” for contortrix. Not stated for mokasen. Type Specimen: Not designated for either contortrix or mokasen. ![]() Systema Naturae per Regina tri Naturae secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Original Description: for contortrix: Linnaeus, C. Status: Although probably reduced by habitat destruction and wanton killing by people, it remains locally abundant in the Shawnee Hills and the bluffs along the southern Mississippi River.Įtymology: Agkistrodon – ankistron (Greek) meaning fishhook contortrix – conntortus (Latin) meaning twisted, intricate, complex mokasen – Native American “moccasin” mistransliterated The Massac County record, illustrated above, was inadvertently omitted from the map at left. Predators include other snakes, birds of prey, and medium-sized mammals.ĭistribution Notes: The Fulton County record is USNM 15531 collected 14 August 1889 by W.S. Three to 10 young, 20-25 cm TL, are born in late August or early September. Mates in April and May or September and October. Often seen around old, abandoned buildings where it feeds on rodents. Natural History: This shy snake is active April through October. Habitat: Wooded, rocky hillsides and forest edges, sometimes in meadows and fields during summer. The sulfur yellow tail tip of newborn darkens with maturity. Thin dark line extends from eye to angle of jaw. Belly yellow to brown with brown blotches near the edges. Back yellowish brown or rusty brown with 10-20 reddish brown hourglass-shaped, dark-margined crossbands that are narrow across the back and wider on the sides. contortrix.ĭescription: Large (up to 135 cm TL), stout-bodied venomous snake. mokasen Palisot de Beauvois, 1799 and intergrades with Southern Copperhead, A. See the Key to Illinois Snakes for help with identification. Similar Species: Cottonmouth, Foxsnake, Northern Watersnake. ![]() Key Characters: Nine large symmetrical plates on top of head elliptical pupil pit between eye and nostril back with hourglass-shaped crossbands back scales strongly keeled anal plate not divided. Like other pit vipers, they have triangular heads.VENOMOUS VENOMOUS VENOMOUS VENOMOUS VENOMOUS Copperhead, Gallatin Co., IL Copperhead, Massac Co., IL photo by C.A. This helps them hunt and find mammalian prey in the darkness, when they are most active. The animals are a type of pit viper, and have small indentations in their head, between their eyes and nostrils, which allow them to sense heat. The snakes, which reach sexual maturity at four years of age, live for around 18 years. This coloration fades when they reach about three years of age. Immature copperheads have unique, yellow-tipped tails, which they wiggle and use as a lure to attract prey. After biting their prey, the serpents often hold it in their mouth until the venom has done its job. The snakes typically feed on mice and other rodents, but will also go after small birds, lizards, and frogs. Copperhead venom is hemolytic, meaning it breaks down blood cells. Luckily, their venom is not among the most potent, and bites are rarely deadly children, the elderly, and immunocompromised people are most at risk. The North American copperhead is a common species of venomous snake found in the eastern and central United States.
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