The tiny island of Seahorse Key on the central Gulf Coast is renowned among researchers for its teeming numbers of poisonous cottonmouth snakes.
The Cottonmouth snake(Agkistrodon piscivorus) is related to the copperhead but more dangerous. Venom is highly toxic with severe tissue destruction. Bites are fairly frequent in the southern United States. Color dark or nearly black, especially in adult of the species. There is a clear difference in the appearance of adult cottonmouths and juvenile snakes of the species
A venomous cottonmouth snake displays its white mouth.
A three-year-old cottonmouth sits on a mat of fallen palms on Seahorse Key, Florida.
University of Florida biologist Harvey Lillywhite readying for his search for snakes on the island.
A juvenile cottonmouth on Seahorse Key betrays its youth with the brown and black stripes that help camouflage it amongst the fallen leaves.
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