American Snakes

[Lachlan09]

Lately, I’ve been trying to get information on some North American reptiles – snakes to be exact. I’ve had some interest in them having watched various movies where snakes were encountered.

I found a source which gives some information on FAMILY LEPTOTYPHLOPIDAE (slender blind snakes), FAMILY BOIDAE (boas and pythons), COLUBRIDAE (colubrid snakes), ELAPIDAE (cobras and coral snakes) and VIPERIDAE (vipers). I was interested to look for info on the Cottonmouth (which I believe inhabits the bayous and swamp lands of the Gulf states) and eventually I found something under VIPERIDAE - Agkistrodon piscivorus. There are still some types I can’t find mentioned. Sometime ago I heard or saw reference somewhere, maybe a movie, to an Alabama Black Snake and though I looked through library books, I couldn’t locate the species. However, it must be either a local name for the increasingly rare Coluber constrictor (Black Racer) or Elaphe Obsoleta (Black Rat Snake) found in North-East Alabama.

Can anyone shed some light on the species ?

[NewEnglander]

I used to be an assistant curator at a wildlife sanctuary and we had black rat snakes. They're a native species even up north here in Connecticut. A related species is the corn snake (Elaphe guttata) that is common in the pet trade. That snake is also known as the red rat snake. I actually have one in my classroom and it's the largest specimen I've ever seen. It's over 6' long, close to how big a black rat snake can get.

[Piper]

Lately, I’ve been trying to get information on some North American reptiles – snakes to be exact. I was interested to look for info on the Cottonmouth (which I believe inhabits the bayous and swamp lands of the Gulf states)

I'm not sure how much help I can be with snakes in general, but I know that Cottonmouths come quite a bit farther north than the Gulf states. When my son was stationed in LeJeune, in North Carolina we encountered them there. In a more extreme example, when I was a youngster the school custodian killed one on the school playground. It was positively identified by a biology teacher at the High school. This was in NJ, not very far from Philadelphia PA. May have been a pet that escaped or was released, but it was there, sunning itself on an asphalt path, just yards from a small swampy area.
Here in the Pine Barrens its' not unusual to find Black Racers in the six foot range, and the Pine Snake can get to the same length, though that size is rare.

[ScottyB]

Can't help you with the southern snakes, but here in PA I'm always on the look out for the Pennsylvania Hoop Snake. Very rare and even more deadly.

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Dreade...ake&id=1030006

http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/pa.html

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/a...comments/4347/

[Zardoz]

Lachlan,
I'm pretty sure that you will find that "Alabama Black Snake" is a cultural reference to male genitalia, rather than a particular reptile....

http://www.outdooralabama.com/watcha...ptiles/Snakes/

[EagleJCS]

The Cottonmouth ('round here in Kentucky a.k.a. the 'Water Moccasin' or 'Cottonmouth Moccasin') can actually range up into parts of Southern to Central Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. These areas also have wetlands areas where these snakes prefer to nest.

By far the most predominate viper in this part of the country is the copperhead snake (both northern and southern varieties, according to this page: http://www.kentuckysnakes.org/). There are also Timber Rattlesnakes and Eastern Diamondback rattlers.

[bmcdougal]

The cottonmouth is found in Arkansas as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agkistrodon_piscivorus

Here is a link to more snakes found in Arkansas.

http://www.agfc.com/wildlife-conserv...es/snakes.aspx

[bmcdougal]

The cottonmouth is also found in Arkansas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agkistrodon_piscivorus

Here is a link to other snakes found in Arkansas as well.

http://www.agfc.com/wildlife-conserv...es/snakes.aspx

[NewGuise]

I'm pretty sure that you will find that "Alabama Black Snake" is a cultural reference to male genitalia, rather than a particular reptile....

Likewise. The phrase was famously used in the film Full Metal Jacket but shows up in other literary/cultural sources as well as in ... uh ... conversation ...

[MacLowlife]

South Carolina is home to all 4 major groups of venomous ( i.e. poisonous ) snakes in North America:
Rattlesnakes ( Eastern Diamondback, canebrake,aka Timber) Genus Crotalus
Pygmy rattlesnakes (sistrurus miliarius)
Cottonmouths ( also known here, as above, as Water Moccasins)Agkistrodon piscivorus
Copperheads Agkistrodon contortrix
and
Coral Snakes ( Family Elapidae, kin to cobras, etc) Micrurus fulvius

I can count and know this is five listings, but I do not think many non-herpetologically inclined people note the distinction among the rattlesnakes.

Interestingly, SC is also home to all four types of barbecue sauce: Mustard, tomato, vinegar, and ketchup http://www.scbarbeque.com/History.html

On a day-to-day basis, I encounter more barbecue than venomous snakes