🚀 go-pugleaf

Seth Fehrs wrote:
> 
> lazm wrote:
> 
> > EHHH??  Bacteria isn't the problem with copperheads.  It's the poison.
> > It won't necessarily kill you but it will mess you up.  I've got a
> > sergeant that also has a side job that puts him in the grass and bushes.
> >  He got bit by a copperhead last year and it put him in a hurt locker.
> > Then he tried to be macho and not go to the doctor but we forced him to
> > go.  I believe there are also rattlesnakes and water moccasins in this
> > area.
> 
> Water mocs & rattlers are not in the triangle area.  I believe
> the southern part of NC is the northern limit for water mocs.
> I know the eastern diamondback is still in the southern
> Appalachians as a friend has seen them.  If I remember correctly
> they still cling to coastal marsh areas too.
> 
> BTW, there is a tiny species of scorpion in the mountains too,
> about 1/2 inch long.  Two friends have been stung; one had almost
> no effects save a small stinging at first.  The other rolled
> over onto on in bed and got stung on the neck.  The effect was
> that of a bad bee sting.
> 
> > Not sure about coral snakes.
> 
> Too far north.

water mocs (cottonmouth) are definitely in the area, and we are on the
extreme fringe area for the eastern diamondback and the eastern coral
(although it would be very rare to find one in the triangle):

J.L. Behler and F. Wayne King. _The Audubon Society Field Guide to North 
American Reptiles and Amphibians_. Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1979.

Cottonmouth

Behler and King describe the cottonmouth or water moccasin (Agkistrodon 
piscivorus) as follows:  

"Description: 20-74 inches. A dark, heavy-bodied water snake;
broad-based
head is noticeably wider than neck. Olive, brown or black above;
patternless or with serrated-edged dark crossbands. Wide light-bordered,
dark brown cheek stripe distinct, obscure, or absent. Head flat-topped;
eyes with vertical pupils (not visible from directly above as are eyes
of
harmless water snakes); facial pit between eye and nostril. Young
strongly
patterned and bear bright yellow tipped tails. Scales keeled, in 25
rows. 

Habitat: Lowland swamps, lakes, rivers, bayheads, sloughs, irrigation 
ditches, canals, rice fields, to small clear rocky mountain streams; sea 
level to ca. 1500 feet.

Range: Se. Virginia south to upper Florida Keys, west to s. Illinois, s. 
Missouri, sc. Oklahoma and c. Texas. Isolated population in nc.
Missouri.

When annoyed, the cottonmouth tends to stand its ground and may gape 
repeatedly at an intruder, exposing the light cotton lining of its
mouth. 
Also called trap jaw or water moccasin. Unlike other water snakes, it 
swims with head well out of water. Although it may be observed basking 
during the day, it is more active at night. Preys on sirens, frogs, 
fishes, snakes, and birds."

Coral Snakes

It is useful to be able to identify the dangerous species of
snakes.  However it is not always easy.  Coral snakes are probably
the easiest to properly identify, they are small (usually no more
than about 30 inches long, sometimes up to 40 inches), thin,
brightly colored, and have small heads.  They can be distinguished from 
the nonvenomous king snake and other harmless mimics by the presence 
of adjacent red and yellow bands. Milk snakes, king snakes, and the
other 
mimics have adjacent red and black bands:

   Red touch yellow - kill a fellow
   Red touch black - venom lack.

Another mnemonic is to think of a traffic light.  If red is adjacent
to yellow, stop!

Bebler and King describe the eastern coral snake (Micruroides fulvius)
as
follows: 

"Description: 22-47 inches. Body encircled by wide red adn black rings 
separated by narrow yellow rings. Head uniformly black from tip of blunt 
snout to just behind eyes. Red rings usually spotted with black. Scales 
smooth and shiny in 15 rows. Anal plate divided. 

Habitat: Moist, densely vegetated hammocks near ponds or streams in 
hardwood forests; pine flatwoods; rocky hillsides and canyons.

Range: Se. North Carolina to s. Florida and Key Largo, west to s. Texas 
and Mexico.

Usually seen under rotting logs or leaves or moving on surface in early 
morning or late afternoon. Feeds on small snakes or lizards."

Eastern Diamondback (Crotalus adamanteus)

According to Conant's Reptiles & Amphibians of Eastern/Central U.S. ,
"33-72 inches; record 96 inches [Bebler and King give the range as 36 to
96 inches]. An ominously impressive snake to meet in the field. The
diamonds, dark brown or black in color, are strongly outlined by a row
of
cream-colored or yellowish scales.  Ground color olive, brown, or almost
black.  Pattern and colors vivid in freshly shed specimens; dull and
quite
dark in those preparing to shed.  Only rattler within its range with 2
prominent light lines on face and vertical light lines on snout. 
        
At home in the palmetto flatwoods and dry pinelands of the South. 
Occasionally ventures into salt water, swimming to outlying Keys off 
the Florida coast.  Some snakes will permit close approach without 
making a sound, whereas others, completely concealed in palmettos or 
other vegetation, will rattle when dogs or persons are 20 or 30 feet 
away.  Many stand their ground, but when hard pressed they back away,
rattling vigorously but still facing the intruder.  Frequently they 
take refuge in burrows of gopher tortoises, in holes beneath stumps, 
etc.  Rabbits, rodents, and birds are eaten.
        
Range:  Coastal lowlands from se. N. Carolina to extr. E. Louisiana; 
all of Florida, including the Keys."

According to Behler and King's Audubon herpetology guide:

"Our largest rattler.  Heavy-bodied with large head sharply distinct
>from  neck.  Back patterned with dark diamonds with light centers and
prominently bordered by a row of cream to yellow scales.  Prominent 
light diagonal lines on side of head.  Vertical light lines on snout.  
Scales keeled, in 27-29 rows."

Range and habitat same as above, but get this,

"Give it a wide berth; most dangerous snake in North America! Venom
highly destructive to blood tissue. Stumpholes, gopher tortoise burrows, 
and dense patches of saw palmetto often serve as retreats.  Their 
numbers have been substantially reduced by extensive land development 
and by rattlesnake hunters. Eats rabbits, squirrels, birds" 



> 
> --
> (C) 1997 by Seth J. Fehrs      NCLP Internet          Reprints by
> FEHRS002@MC.DUKE.EDU             Outreach             permission
> Programmer Analyst, DUMC        Coordinator           only please

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