Agkistrodon laticinctus

Agkistrodon laticinctus, commonly known as the broad-banded copperhead, is a venomous pit viper species, formerly considered a subspecies of Agkistrodon contortrix, which is found in the central United States, from Kansas, through Oklahoma and throughout central Texas.

Etymology and nomenclature

Agkistrodon is from the Greek words ancistro which means "hook", and odon meaning "tooth" referring to the snake's fangs. The discrepancy between the spelling ancistro (correct) versus agkistro (incorrect), originates from a typographical error or misspelling in the original description of the genus published in 1799. The name laticinctus is from the Latin lati meaning "broad" or "wide", and cinctus meaning a girdle, belt, or waistcloth, in reference to the broad bands of the dorsal pattern of the species, and relative to the contorted or twisted dorsal pattern of the eastern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix).

The standardized English name of Agkistrodon laticinctus is Broad-banded copperhead. As the Latin name, the English name emphasizes the broad bands that readily distinguishes this species from the eastern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix). Colloquial names for the broad-banded copperhead include: copperhead moccasin, copperhead snake, dry-land moccasin, highland moccasin, moccasin, rattlesnake pilot, red eye, Texas copperhead and thunder snake.

Description

This form is typically a light tan in color, with darker brown, wide crossbands - which gives it its common name. The actual color varies, by locality, from a red-brown, to a gray-brown. It overlaps with the eastern copperhead (A. contortrix) in the southern reaches of its range, making specimens there difficult to distinguish, but generally A. contortrix has banding that narrows at the spine, creating hourglass shapes, whereas A. laticinctus has even bands.