IDENTIFICATION
Agkistrodon c. pictigaster resembles the Broadbanded Copperhead with its straight-edged, squarish crossbands. These brown or chesnut colored crossbands with dark borders usually number about 13. The color between the crossbands is a lighter brown with some darker flecking. Unlike the Broad-Banded Copperhead, the Trans-Pecos Copperhead has a dark belly which is very strongly mottled. It has a light colored inverted "U" at the base of each crossband. The scales are weakly keeled and the anal plate is undivided. The mid-body scale count ranges from 21 to 23.
SIZE
Adults measure 20 to 30 inches. The record size for the Trans-Pecos Copperhead is 32 7/8 inches.
RANGE
This species ranges across the Trans-Pecos region of west Texas from Val Verde and Crockett Counties through the Big Bend and Davis Mountains region, southward into the Mexican states of Coahuila and Chihuahua.
DISTRIBUTION IN TEXAS
This species has been recorded from the following Texas counties: Brewster, Crockett, Crane, *Edwards, Jeff Davis, Pecos, Presidio, *Reagan, Terrell, Upton, and *Val Verde.
(*) The Reagan County record, a record from Edwards County and a record from the northeastern part of Val Verde County appear to be Agkistrodon c. pictigaster x laticinctus. Other records from the western part of Val Verde County appear to be pure Agkistrodon c. pictigaster.
HABITAT
The Trans-Pecos Copperhead occurs in wooded canyons and Live Oak groves, usually near a spring, river or stream, throughout the Chihuahuan Desert. Although it is a desert dwelling species it is seldom far from a source of water, even if it is only seepage from underground streams.
FOOD
This species feeds on mice, small birds, lizards, other small snakes, amphibians and occasionally insects.
BEHAVIOR
Agkistrodon c. pictigaster appears to be a very adaptive predator with its heat-sensing facial pits, superior night vision and efficient venon system. It is a largely nocturnal species.
REPRODUCTION
Courtship and breeding occur during the spring. Trans-Pecos Copperheads are live-bearers, giving birth to 4 to 8 young during July, August and September. The young measure from 9 to 11 inches at birth and resemble the adults except for the yellowish tip of the tail.
REMARKS
This is the westernmost race of the Copperhead. Prior to 1950 this species was considered to be very rare and only about a dozen specimens had ever been collected. It is now considered to be one of the more common snakes throughout much of its range. The inaccesibility of much of their range, coupled with the mild toxicity of their venom makes them of little threat to humans. The greatest percentage of bites by this species are not life-threatening, but still require immediate medical attention. I have been unable to document any human fatalities attributed to the Trans-Pecos Copperhead.
LITERATURE CITED
Brown, Bryce C. 1950. An Annotated Check List of the Reptiles and Amphibians of Texas. Baylor University Press, Waco.
Conant, R. and J.T. Collins. 1991. Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd revised edition. Houghton Mifflin, Co., Boston.
Dixon, James R. 2000. Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas, 2nd edition. Texas A & M Press, College Station.
Gloyd, Howard K. and R. Conant. 1990. Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.
Werler, John E., and James R. Dixon. 2000. Texas Snakes, Identification, Distribution and Natural History. University of Texas Press, Austin.
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