American Snakes

[azwildcat96]

Misc. Facts:
 Scientists have identified 36 rattlesnake species.
 Rattlesnakes live only in North and South America.
 13 species and several subspecies live in Arizona, more than any other state.
 4 species in Arizona have special protection.
 Rattlesnakes use the "loreal pit," a heat-sensing organ between the nostril and eye to locate prey and potential predators.
 These snakes have glands that make venom, much like human saliva glands make saliva.
 Rattlesnakes can strike two-thirds of their body length.
 The rattle is a series of interlocking segments that are bouncing against each other, and made of keratin, the same material found in human hair and fingernails.
 The age of a rattlesnake cannot be determined by counting the segments of its rattle.
 Rattlesnake prey may include small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and centipedes.
 According to Arizona Poison Centers, less than 1% of rattlesnake bites result in human deaths.

Sorry, for over-sharing...I don't like snakes (even though at an earlier stage in my life I had two as pets), but I spend a lot of time in the Desert, and it pays to be able to identify what you just stepped on...

[gordontaos]

I might look at the range map for cottonmouths:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agkistrodon_piscivorus
It looks to be pretty accurate. When I lived in North Georgia I always had folks telling me about cottonmouths that they had seen. Well, cottonmouths do not live in that section of Georgia, it is too cold. We did have plenty of non poisonous water snakes though. Also, I have seen plenty of snakes that are terrestrial, swimming in the water. The way to tell the difference is that a terrestrial based snake will swim on top of the water, and a water snake swims under the water.
I do not believe that the Black Racer is endangered, unless things have dramatically changed lately. They are really pretty common.
You are right to feel that there are regional differences in the names of snakes. When I studied herpetology we were required to know all of the Latin as well as common names, for just that reason.
Finally, snakes can occur in "pockets". Right where I live we have mainly "bull snakes",Pituophis catenifer sayi, and I have never seen a rattler. However, the bull snakes have no problem with just coming into the house during the daytime in the fall. Two miles away, down in the Rio Grande Gorge, there are bunches of rattlers. 40 miles to the west there is a rattler under every bush in some places. Go figure. The books say that the rattlers do not come up to this elevation, but generally stay 3-500 feet lower. I just always wonder though, if the snake has read the book.

[BEEDEE]

I do not believe that the Black Racer is endangered.

They are around my place! I grew up in a country without any snakes whatsoever, so if I see one around the house, I assume it's deadly and I don't wait to check.

Brian

[Lachlan09]

Thanks all for the info and links. I'm fascinated by their variety, specialities and range of toxicity. You've given me more to go on.

My other great fascination is sharks, but like snakes, I'm never likely to attempt to go near them personally ! I'm a scaredy-cat !

Anyone with personal snake or shark stories ?

My only encounter with sharks close up was last year in the Philippines and under controlled circumstances ! We were at the new aquarium in Manila and I was watching the sharks in their large viewing tank. At the top floor level of the aquarium building, the shark tank is open and you can lean over the 1.0m high wall to look down inside. The water surface was about 300mm below the top of the wall. Some black-tipped reef sharks were at the surface, cutting the water with their fins, just as in the movies. There was a sign prohibiting putting you hand in the water or trying to touch the sharks as they were potentially dangerous. I don’t know why, but my fascination at their grace of movement and streamlined beauty got the better of me, As one big dorsal fin came slicing through the water in my direction, I leaned over and stroked its front edge. It swam on. Just then a security guard came over and gave me a row. I said sorry but it would be the only chance in my life to ever touch a shark ! He let me off with a finger-wag ! They have a toe-pool nearby where kids can interact with small fish in the pool. I asked if I could dip my toes in the shark tank but was refused (I was half-joking). When we went to Subic a few days later, they had various performance shows etc with sealions and dolphins (yawn !) but also had a display shark-feeding session. I asked the attendant if I could feed one but sadly was refused, the shark-feeding could not be done by the public. Where’s the fun in that ?

One thing for sure, I will never go shark-fishing or eat or use shark products. The rate of sharks being killed, often for their fins, is driving sharks slowly but surely toward extinction. Even Peter Benchley admitted to feeling somewhat guilty at what effect his book Jaws unleashed on human views on sharks.

[Jerry]

The Cottonmouth is an inhabitant of eastern Virginia also. They aren't supposed to be as far west as I live(south central Va) but I've heard people say they have seen them along the James and Appomattox rivers in this area. As for funny snake encounters, one warm September, many years ago, I was hunting Grey squirrels as they cut Hickory nuts. I was slipping quietly through the woods, trying to quietly sneak up on a big hickory from which I could hear several streams of cuttings falling. I was watching the tree for the bushy tails as I crept closer. Then I heard a buzzing sound. It was a sound I had only heard on TV or in movies, but it definitely sounded like the rattle of a rattlesnake. Now, I've read a lot about Virginia snakes and especially their ranges. There were not supposed to be rattlers east of the mountains. None the less, I heard it again. I froze and started scanning the ground around me. Then I saw him all coiled up like he was ready to strike and only 5 feet away from my feet. No, it wasn't a rattler. It was a Black snake, aka black rat snake,(close to 6 feet in length). He had his tail up in a small bush that had lots of dead leaves still on it. Every so often he would shake the bush, producing a sound that mimicked a rattler almost exactly, at least to my untrained years. I think they are getting smarted. I backed off and left him to pass his genes for intelligence on to future generations. So if you are ever walking through the firests of South Hampton county Virginia and hear a rattlesnake buzzing, don't be alarmed. It is probably just one of that snakes great grand children.

[dfmacliam]

I am with Zardoz on the Alabama Black Snake reference to male bits... and in the movie Full Metal Jacket and it being a Marine of the dark green variety, making the comment...

[Tobus]

Anyone with personal snake or shark stories ?

Way too many to count. Everyone I know in real life has snake stories. It's just something we deal with in my area of Texas. Mostly Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes. I had a step-brother growing up, who had been bitten on both shins and had scars all the way down his legs from where they had to cut him open to relieve the swelling and vent the poison from rattlesnakes. I've seen horses who got bit; it is not pretty.

The sad thing is that snakes of all kinds are on their way to becoming endangered. Human beings have a mostly illogical fear of them (as BEEDEE's post exemplifies). This is partially due to religious and cultural stigma, but it's also due to ignorance of snakes. People would just rather kill them than learn about them. In truth, though, snakes are very beneficial to have around. Obviously we don't want them in our homes, but they do serve an important role in the ecological system. And the more humans try to "tame" the land, the more they exterminate snakes.

Now I ain't sayin' I haven't shot my share of rattlesnakes. I will not tolerate them around my horses (and thankfully my horses have enough "horse sense" to stay away from them!). But I do leave portions of my land wild enough that snakes can have their place too. I think it's important to keep them around just like all the other wildlife.

[Dixiecat]

Sorry Canuck, looks like you won't get your chance to see a Timber Rattlesnake in Ontario. One hasn't been spotted since 1941 and then it was restricted to the Niagara Gorge.
http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.c...es/Cro_hor.htm


Now, the Massasauga rattlesnake on the other hand:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistrurus_catenatus

Anyone with personal snake or shark stories?

Nope, but I have a good bear story..........

[Lallans]

Sorry Canuck, looks like you won't get your chance to see a Timber Rattlesnake in Ontario. One hasn't been spotted since 1941 and then it was restricted to the Niagara Gorge.
http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.c...es/Cro_hor.htm


Now, the Massasauga rattlesnake on the other hand:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistrurus_catenatus




Nope, but I have a good bear story..........

OK, I have or had the idea that 'the Massasauga' is not the scientific name for them and 'Timber' is, but I am no expert and too wary to go ask them how they feel about it.

[Dixiecat]

Ah, no. Two different snakes. Sorry for the confusion.

Massasauga rattlesnake is a subspecies of Sistrurus catenatus. Timber rattlesnake is Crotalus horridus, see this link; http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.ph...id=102&lang=en.