(3) Water moccasins. Water moccasins (figure 1-3) are usually found in the
southern states (in Texas and eastward) in or near lakes or swampy areas. When
excited, a water moccasin coils with its head back and its mouth open, exposing the
white inside of its mouth. Because of the white interior of its mouth, the water moccasin
is also called the cottonmouth. It is usually brownish with dark bands and measures
four to five feet in length when mature.
Figure 1-3. Cottonmouth.
b. Coral Snakes. Coral snakes (figure 1-4) are not pit vipers and do not have
the distinctive triangular head. The fangs of a coral snake are much smaller than those
of a pit viper. Coral snakes have bright red, black, and yellow (or whitish) bands on its
body. Some nonpoisonous snakes closely resemble coral snakes, but their bands differ
in order. In poisonous coral snakes, the repeating sequence is: black, yellow (or
white), red, yellow (or white). The red band of a coral snake is always touching a yellow
(or whitish) band, never the black band; hence the saying, "Red on yellow, kill a fellow;
red on black, venom lack." Coral snakes are normally found from Arizona to Florida and
North Carolina. Mature coral snakes range from one to three feet in length and their
bodies are about a half-inch in diameter. Because of its limited jaw expansion, the coral
snake usually bites the casualty on a small part of the body such as a finger, hand, or
foot. Also, the venom of a coral snake is released by a "chewing" action rather than
being injected like the venom of a pit viper. Coral snakes are usually found under
loosely packed materials, such as decaying logs. They tend to avoid humans if
possible.
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