Banded Watersnake vs. Northern Cottonmouth

The classic look-alike: their ranges overlap across the southeastern states (records shared). There are no cottonmouths in California. A: Narrow, not much wider than the neck; no pit in the Banded Watersnake; big, flat and wedge-shaped, much wider than the neck; a heat pit in the Northern Cottonmouth. B: A dark stripe from the eye to the corner of the jaw; dark bars on the lips in the Banded Watersnake; a dark mask through the eye, edged pale in the Northern Cottonmouth. C: Round in the Banded Watersnake; vertical, cat-like (no open close-up of the eye) in the Northern Cottonmouth. D: Wide dark crossbands with red or orange between in the Banded Watersnake; wide dark crossbands, often fading to plain dark in old adults in the Northern Cottonmouth. E: Crossbands, no bright tail tip in the Banded Watersnake; bold crossbands and a bright sulfur-yellow tail tip in the Northern Cottonmouth. The Cottonmouth is venomous; leave any heavy-bodied snake by the water alone.

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

More comparisons

• Banded Watersnake vs. Diamondback Watersnake
• Banded Watersnake vs. Plain-bellied Watersnake
• Banded Watersnake vs. Mississippi Green Watersnake
• Banded Watersnake vs. Common Watersnake
• Banded Watersnake vs. Eastern Copperhead
• Broad-banded Copperhead vs. Banded Watersnake
• Glossy Swampsnake vs. Banded Watersnake
• Saltmarsh Snake vs. Banded Watersnake
• Brown Watersnake vs. Banded Watersnake
• Florida Cottonmouth vs. Banded Watersnake
• Florida Green Watersnake vs. Banded Watersnake
• Northern Cottonmouth vs. Common Watersnake
• Northern Cottonmouth vs. Plain-bellied Watersnake
• Northern Cottonmouth vs. Diamondback Watersnake
• Northern Cottonmouth vs. Mississippi Green Watersnake
• Northern Cottonmouth vs. Eastern Copperhead
• Broad-banded Copperhead vs. Northern Cottonmouth
• Brown Watersnake vs. Northern Cottonmouth
• Florida Cottonmouth vs. Northern Cottonmouth
• Florida Green Watersnake vs. Northern Cottonmouth

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