Water Moccasin
The water moccasin, also known as moccasin snake, and cottonmouth (called this because when it is threatened it throws back its head and shows its white-lined mouth as a warning signal), swamp adder, gapper, trap jaw, water moccasin, and low land moccasin. Trap jaw, water moccasin, and cottonmouth are the more common names for it. Belonging to the family Viperidae, it is Agkistrodon piscivorus, phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Crotalidae lives in the southeastern United States of a line running from Cape Charles, Virginia, to the middle of the Alabama-Georgia border, then to southern Illinois, and from there to where the Pecos River and the Rio Grande meet in Texas.The specific epithet piscivorus means, "fish eater" but water
moccasins are also fond of frogs, mammals and other snakes, it eats both cold blooded and warm blooded animals. The water moccasin is aquatic and is at home near or in the water. Its relative, the Copperhead, is most often found away from water and in woodland habitats. Although it may be commonly seen in lakes and ponds, areas where human are, few human deaths are recorded. Baby water moccasins often look a lot different than their parents, because they have a pattern of black cross bands over a tan/gray background. These babies also have a bright yellow tail, used for luring small prey within striking distance; this color is lost as the snakes mature. The young are born live in late summer and early fall. The number per litter averages five snakes, with the snakes measuring sex to eleven
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 534
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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