Moccasins are diverse North American pit vipers. They are known to wiggle their tails as lures to attrack frogs and lizards to within striking distance, at least as juveniles.
The three species of moccassin are listed below. The default given in the main table is a copperhead.
Species | Typical venom | Size | Range | Habitat | Notes | ||
Potency | Type | Typical | Maximum | ||||
Copperhead, A. contortrix | medium | hemo 5 necro 5 algesic 10 | 200 g | 1 kg | Eastern United States, from the Gulf coast to upstate New York, west to Texas and the border of the Great Plains. | Forest, rock outcrops, swamps. | Blotch-banded orange-brown in color. Give warning bites without injecting venom as their main threat display. |
Cottonmouth or watter moccasin, A. piscivorus | medium | hemo 0 necro 10 algesic 10 | 500 g | 1 kg | Southeastern United States | Creaks, streams, marshes, swamps, ponds, lakeshores, irrigation ditches, canals, rice fields, sloughs. Can tolerate brackish water. | Usually black colored, but may be brown, tan, gray, olive, or yellow, and may be blotch-banded like the copperhead (above), particularly when young. Threat display is to gape and expose the cotton-white lining of its mouth. Its reputation for aggressiveness is undeserved, possibly a result of confusion with similar appearing harmless colubrid water snakes. |
Cantil, A. bilineatus | extreme | hemo 7 necro 10 algesic 7 | 50 g | 200 g | Mexico and Central America. | Grassland, savanna, scrub, forest. Habitat bordering rivers or streams is preferred. | Nocturnal. Black with speckled white bands. Threat display is open-mouthed gaping. |