:''Common names: ''Eastern cottonmouth'', ''cottonmouth moccasin'', ''water moccasin'', ''moccasinConant 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. (hc), (pb).Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . ''Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus'' was formerly a

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

pitviper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . crotaline snakes (from grc, κρόταλον ''krotalon'' castanet), or pit adders, are a subfa ...

, one of three

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''

Agkistrodon piscivorus ''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 (along with the Florida cottonmouth), and is native to the southeastern United States. A ...

'', with different geographic distributions, found in the southeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. However, recent taxonomic changes do not recognizes any subspecies of cottonmouth (''Agkistrodon piscivorus'') as a valid taxa.

New Taxonomy

The eastern cottonmouth (''Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus'') was once classified as a subspecies of the cottonmouth (''

''). 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. piscivorus'', having priority). The resulting taxonomy does not recognizes the eastern cottonmouth (''A. p. piscivorus'') as a valid taxon.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.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
Several subsequent reviews and species accounts have followed and supported the revised taxonomy.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) 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. Uetz P, Freed P, Aguilar R, Hošek J (editors) (2021). The Reptile Database
Agkistrodon piscivorus
(accessed 6 August 2021) Information on this snake can be found in the ''

'' article.

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 Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, the Atlantic Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, including the banks, peninsulas and islands along the Atlantic coast, and west across

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

(see map).

References

Sources

Florida Museum of Natural History: Eastern Cottonmouth
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9142120 piscivorus piscivorus Reptiles of the United States