---
title: "What the sources say about the Cottonmouth | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "55 claims from the Cottonmouth profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/cottonmouth-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/cottonmouth/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Cottonmouth (*Agkistrodon piscivorus*)

> 55 claims from the Cottonmouth profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Cottonmouth](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/cottonmouth/)

## Agkistrodon piscivorus. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Agkistrodon_piscivorus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A swamp pit viper that warns with a wide-open white mouth | opening their mouth wide to present their very white mouths (note: tagline; 'swamp' from ADW wetlands/swamp habitat) |
| Wetlands | Cottonmouths prefer wetlands but are also found on land in vegetation and under logs and branches. (note: stats.habitat) |
| creeks, lakes and ditches | Cottonmouths can be found in bodies of water including bays, salt marshes, lakes, creeks, ditches, and even on river bottoms. (note: stats.habitat) |
| a wide-open white mouth shown to predators | opening their mouth wide to present their very white mouths (note: stats.superpower) |
| lives in and around water | Because cottonmouths are semiaquatic, they are most commonly found in moist habitats in close proximity to water. (note: body) |
| Its name comes from the inside of its mouth, which is bright white. | The mouth is bright white inside, which gives them their common name. (note: body) |
| It may also shake its tail in the plants to make a rattlesnake-like sound | coiling and rapidly shaking their tail in vegetation to make a rattlesnake-like sound (note: body) |
| it can spray a foul-smelling musk from a gland | Cottonmouths also use a gland to spray a foul-smelling musk up to 1.5 m away to warn potential predators. (note: body) |
| weigh 435 to 1,700 grams | Range mass
435 to 1700 g (note: body) |
| Males are typically longer and heavier than females. | Males are typically longer, heavier, and have a greater number of subcaudal scales (note: body) |
| Not much is documented about how long wild ones live | Little information has been documented on the lifespan (note: body) |
| young cottonmouths suffer high predation. | Cottonmouth young suffer high predation rates. (note: body) |
| On average, just 2 to 3 young per clutch make it to adulthood. | In each clutch, on average, just 2 to 3 young make it to adulthood. (note: body) |
| Cottonmouths turn up in lakes, creeks and ditches, and even on river bottoms. | Cottonmouths can be found in bodies of water including bays, salt marshes, lakes, creeks, ditches, and even on river bottoms. (note: body) |
| A cottonmouth can bite, poison and potentially kill a human. | cottonmouths have the ability to bite, poison, and potentially kill humans (note: body) |
| cottonmouths are generally secretive and not aggressive, so bites are rare. | cottonmouths are generally secretive and are not aggressive, so bites are rare (note: body; quote has 'and are' before 'not') |
| Cottonmouths and other pit vipers that bite in defense typically inject less venom than they would to kill prey. | cottonmouths, and other pitvipers, that bite defensively, typically inject less venom than they would if they were trying to kill a prey item (note: body) |
| A cottonmouth may shake its tail in the plants to make a rattlesnake-like sound | coiling and rapidly shaking their tail in vegetation to make a rattlesnake-like sound (note: vibe.reason) |
| dangerLevel: Deadly | As a venomous snake, cottonmouths have the ability to bite, poison, and potentially kill humans. (note: stats.dangerLevel; capability reading (#1273)) |

## AnAge entry for Agkistrodon piscivorus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Agkistrodon_piscivorus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The oldest cottonmouth on record lived 24.5 years in captivity. | Maximum longevity
24.5 years (captivity) (note: body; AnAge Maximum longevity) |
| AnAge lists a maximum longevity of 24.5 years, set in captivity. | Maximum longevity
24.5 years (captivity) (note: FAQ) |
| rates the quality of that record as acceptable | Sample size
Medium
Data quality
Acceptable (note: FAQ) |
| weightKg: 1.7 | Adult weight 1,700 g (note: battleStats.weightKg; AnAge average; ADW range 435 to 1700 g is Light throughout) |

## Agkistrodon piscivorus (Lacepede, 1789). USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=1197

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| hunts on land and in water | The foraging activity of Cottonmouths is both aquatic and terrestrial (note: tagline) |
| from southeastern Virginia | the Eastern Cottonmouth from southeastern Virginia (note: stats.habitat range) |
| to eastern Texas | the Western Cottonmouth from eastern Texas (note: stats.habitat range) |
| Fish, amphibians, snakes, turtles, baby alligators, mammals and birds | fish, amphibians, snakes, turtles, baby alligators, mammals, and birds (note: stats.diet) |
| A heat-sensing pit on each side of the face | Cottonmouths have a facial, heat-sensing pit between each nostril and eye (note: stats.superpower) |
| The cottonmouth, Agkistrodon piscivorus, is a venomous pit viper | These large, venomous pitvipers are semiaquatic snakes (note: body) |
| When threatened, it may coil its body and open its mouth as though ready to bite | When threatened, the cottonmouth may respond by coiling its body and opening its mouth as though ready to bite. (note: body) |
| flashing that white lining | The exposed white interior of the mouth is what gave rise to the common name (note: body) |
| Given the chance, though, it usually retreats. | Given the chance, the cottonmouth usually will retreat. (note: body; USGS revised 2026-03-26) |
| A mouth like a cotton ball | revealing the pale or cottony-white interior in a threat display (note: heading) |
| On its face, between each nostril and eye, sits a heat-sensing pit that is larger than the nostril. | Cottonmouths have a facial, heat-sensing pit between each nostril and eye, which is larger than the nostril. (note: body) |
| Cottonmouths measure 76 to 189 centimeters in total length | Size: 760- 1892 mm total length (note: body; USGS (revised 2026) preferred over ADW's 66 to 188 cm) |
| The cottonmouth eats fish, amphibians, snakes, turtles, baby alligators, mammals and birds. | fish, amphibians, snakes, turtles, baby alligators, mammals, and birds (note: body) |
| It often waits in ambush. | often involves remaining in wait to ambush prey (note: body) |
| Young cottonmouths lure frogs within striking range by wiggling their yellow tails. | Young lure frogs within striking range by wiggling their yellow tails (note: body) |
| The Eastern cottonmouth lives from southeastern Virginia through the Carolinas and Georgia | the Eastern Cottonmouth from southeastern Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia (note: body range) |
| the Western cottonmouth from eastern Texas and Louisiana north to extreme southern Illinois and Indiana | the Western Cottonmouth from eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas (eastern Cherokee County only), Louisiana, Arkansas, southern Missouri, western Tennessee, extreme southern Illinois and Indiana (note: body range) |
| Recent genetic studies show that the Florida cottonmouth is a separate species. | there are two species of Cottonmouth: A. conanti (Florida Cottonmouth) (note: body) |
| The US Geological Survey puts their total length at 760 to 1,892 millimeters. | Size: 760- 1892 mm total length (note: FAQ) |
| The head is thick and clearly broader than the neck. | The head is thick and distinctly broader than the neck (note: FAQ) |
| Females give birth to 5 to 11 live young in late summer or early fall. | Females give live birth to 5-11 young in late summer or early fall (note: FAQ; USGS (revised 2026) preferred over ADW's average of 5 to 9) |
| Some females stay briefly with their young and give them some parental care. | some females briefly remain with their young to provide some degree of parental care (note: FAQ) |
| young ones lure frogs within striking range by wiggling their yellow tails | Young lure frogs within striking range by wiggling their yellow tails (note: vibe.reason) |

## Booth et al. (2012). Facultative parthenogenesis discovered in wild vertebrates. Biology Letters.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0666

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In 2012, scientists reported the first cases of facultative parthenogenesis in wild-collected pregnant females | the first cases of FP in wild-collected pregnant females and their offspring of two closely related species of North American pitviper snakes-the copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) and cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) (note: blockquote; year 2012 is the reference's publication year) |
| Facultative parthenogenesis is asexual reproduction by a species that normally has two sexes. | Facultative parthenogenesis (FP)-asexual reproduction by bisexual species (note: blockquote) |
| from two species: the copperhead and the cottonmouth | two closely related species of North American pitviper snakes-the copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) and cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) (note: blockquote) |

## Vincent, Herrel & Irschick (2005). Comparisons of aquatic versus terrestrial predatory strikes in the pitviper,Agkistrodon piscivorus. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Comparative Experimental Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.a.179

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In a lab test with mice and fish, strikes on land were considerably more successful than strikes in water. | Finally, strike success differed significantly between strike types, with terrestrial strikes being considerably more successful than aquatic strikes. (note: body) |
| The researchers said the slower mouth closing underwater likely explained it. | Strike success likely differed due to the relatively slow mouth-closing velocity of aquatic strikes. (note: body) |
| Hunting in two worlds | when capturing both terrestrial (mice) and aquatic (fish) prey (note: heading: land and water prey) |

## Herr, Graham & Langkilde (2017). Stressed snakes strike first: Hormone levels and defensive behavior in free ranging cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus). General and Comparative Endocrinology.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.11.003

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| cottonmouths with higher baseline levels of a stress hormone were more likely to strike than to put on a threat display when approached | snakes with elevated levels of baseline CORT at first encounter were more likely to strike than exhibit a threat display when approached in the field (note: body; CORT is a stress hormone per the abstract) |
| a stress hormone | Here we explore the relationship between concentrations of a stress hormone and defensive behavior of a snake. (note: body; CORT is the hormone the abstract measures) |

## Hammerson (2007). Agkistrodon piscivorus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007: e.T64298A12756313.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2007.rlts.t64298a12756313.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus; GBIF copy of the Red List, taxon 64298) |