Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen

Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Subfamily:	Crotalinae
Genus:	Agkistrodon
Species:	A. contortrix
Subspecies:	A. c. mokasen
Trinomial name
Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen Palisot de Beauvois, 1799
Synonyms
Agkistrodon mokason Palisot de Beauvois, 1799 Agkishodon mokasen Palisot de Beauvois, 1799 Cenchris mokeson Daudin, 1803 Scytale mockeson Say, 1819 Agkistrodon mokasen Beyer, 1898 Ancistrodon mokasen Brown, 1908 Agkistrodon mokasen mokasen Gloyd & Conant, 1934 Agkistrodon mokeson mokeson Gloyd & Conant, 1943 Agkistrodon mokeson Davis & Brimley, 1944 Agkistrodon contortrix mokeson Klauber, 1948 Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen Klimstra, 1950 Ancistrodon contortrix mokeson Schmidt, 1953 Agkistrodon contortrix makasen Bonn & McCarley, 1953 Ancistrodon contortrix mokasen Petersen, 1970 Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen Harding & Welch, 1980[1]

Common names: northern copperhead,^[2] copperhead, highland moccasin,^[3] more.

Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen is a venomous pitviper subspecies^[4] found in the eastern United States.

Description

The Northern copperhead grows to an average length of 61-91 cm (24-36 in), with a maximum of 134.6 cm (52.99 in).^[5]

The dorsal scales are weakly keeled. The anal plate is single. The subcaudals are single, at least anteriorly.^[5]

The color pattern consists of an hourglass pattern that runs the length of the body. From above, a series of dark chestnut crossbands look narrow in the center and wider on the sides. Between the crossbands, small dark spots are often present. There are dark rounded spots at the sides of the belly. The head is a copper-red color. Juvenile specimens are lighter in color, have a yellow tail tip, and a narrow dark line that runs through the eye that divides the darker head from the lighter colored labial scales.^[5]

Common names

Northern copperhead,^[2] copperhead, resident copperhead, highland moccasin, beech-leaf snake, chunk head, copper (adder), copper-bell, copper belly, copperhead moccasin, copperhead viper, copper snake, copper viper, deaf adder, deaf snake, dumb rattlesnake, harlequin snake, hazel head, North American copperhead snake, northern copperhead, pilot, poplar leaf, rattlesnake pilot, rattlesnake's mate, red adder, red eye, red snake, red viper, thunder snake, upland moccasin, white oak snake,^[3] adder.^[5]

Geographic range

Found in the United States, east Texas, in southern Illinois, extreme northeastern Mississippi, northern Alabama, northern Georgia northeast to Massachusetts, New York Hudson Valley Region, the Appalachian Mountain region and associated plateaus, also southwestern Pennsylvania.^[2] No type locality was given, although [ ? ] was the area where Palisot de Beauvois made his observations.^[1]

Behavior

These snakes are generally quiet, almost lethargic, preferring to lie motionless or to make a slow retreat when encountered. When sufficiently agitated, however, they can strike vigorously and may vibrate their tails rapidly.^[5]

See also

• List of crotaline species and subspecies
• Crotalinae by common name
• Crotalinae by taxonomic synonyms
• Snakebite

References

1. ^ ^{a b} McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
2. ^ ^{a b c} 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.
3. ^ ^{a b} Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. ISBN 0-8014-0463-0.
4. ^ "Agkistrodon". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=174297. Retrieved 1 August 2007. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} 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. ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (pbk.).

External links

• Agkistrodon contortrix at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 August 2007.
• A. c. mokasen image at Glades Herp. Accessed 9 August 2007.