Agkistrodon contortrix Eastern Copperhead
In 2014, Burbrink and Guiher split Agkistrodon laticinctus from Agkistrodon contortrix, and eliminated the other previously distinguished subspecies.
Jackson County, MissouriMay 4, 2017
Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Copperheads live across a wide swath of the southern and southeastern USA, and are not particularly rare throughout their range, but I had somehow managed to avoid seeing any in a couple of decades of herping, including several visits to their homelands. This beautiful specimen had been resting under a log before it was rudely awakened for a photo session. We found a second individual a little while later.
Jackson County, MissouriMay 5, 2017
Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
I saw my third Copperhead the next day, hiding under the same hunk of old billboard as a big fat Timber Rattlesnake.
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