Northern Cottonmouth

Fascinating facts about the Northern Cottonmouth

• Adults commonly exceed 80 cm (31 in) in total length. Occasionally individuals surpass 180 cm (71 in), and a record specimen measured 189.2 cm (74.5 in). The largest measured snake was 188 cm (74 in) long, and a 180-cm individual weighed a massive 4.6 kg (10 lb). Such extreme size makes the cottonmouth the biggest in its genus.
• Cottonmouth venom is more toxic than that of its cousin the copperhead and is packed with cytotoxic compounds that melt tissue. An average dried yield is 125 mg, ranging from 80 mg to 237 mg per bite. A 152-cm (60-in) snake once produced 3.5 ml of venom on the first draw and 4.0 ml five weeks later, equaling 1.094 g of dried venom. These numbers explain why bites can scar and sometimes require amputation, even though deaths are rare.
• The cottonmouth inhabits every wet nook from the Great Dismal Swamp in southeast Virginia down the Florida peninsula and west to Arkansas, Oklahoma and southern Georgia, even reaching the Rio Grande edge of Texas. Another source notes its range stretches from the James River in Virginia to the western edge of Missouri and as far south as the Florida Keys. Such a broad distribution shows the species' ability to thrive in both fresh and brackish waters across the Southeast.
• When threatened the cottonmouth performs a dramatic threat display: it vibrates its tail, throws its head back, opens its mouth to flash a startling white interior, and often hisses while forming an S-shaped body. This behavior, which gave rise to names like "cottonmouth" and "gaper".
• Females give birth to live young after a five-month gestation, typically delivering 5 to 9 offspring, though litters as large as 16 have been recorded.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia
• Animal Diversity Web

At a glance

About the Northern Cottonmouth

In the murky, mystical waters of North America's southeastern swamplands, the Northern Cottonmouth glides with sinister elegance, its dark, scaled body undulating through the shallows with a mesmerizing fluidity. As it navigates this primordial realm, the Cottonmouth's unblinking eyes seem to hold a malevolent intensity, a testament to its reputation as a formidable and feared predator. With each deliberate, almost languid movement, this venomous serpent weaves a subtle yet potent spell, its very presence seeming to command the respect of all who share its domain.

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