Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's Note. [=X] in Table 12 represents "x bar" or "x overbar" (the mean value). Hyphenation has been standardised save for the contents of 'Literature Cited' and the 'List of Publications.' ================================= UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Vol. 17, No. 9, pp. 435-491, 7 figures in text ------------ October 27, 1966 ---------------- Natural History of Cottonmouth Moccasin, Agkistrodon piscivorus (Reptilia) BY RAY D. BURKETT UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE 1966 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS, MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch, Frank B. Cross Volume 17, No. 9, pp. 435-491, 7 figures in text Published October 27, 1966 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lawrence, Kansas PRINTED BY ROBERT R. (BOB) SANDERS, STATE PRINTER TOPEKA, KANSAS 1966 [Illustration: Printer's Logo] 31-4629 Natural History of Cottonmouth Moccasin, Agkistrodon piscivorus (Reptilia) BY RAY D. BURKETT CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 439 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 440 SYSTEMATIC RELATIONSHIPS AND DISTRIBUTION 441 DESCRIPTION 444 Color and Pattern 444 Scutellation 444 Dentition 449 HABITAT AND LIMITING FACTORS 450 REPRODUCTION 452 Courtship and Mating 452 Reproductive Cycles 452 Embryonic Development 454 Birth of Young 454 Number of Young per Litter 454 Population Composition 455 Reproductive Potential 455 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 456 Size at Birth and Early Growth 456 The Umbilical Scar 457 Later Growth and Bodily Proportions 457 SHEDDING 459 The Shedding Operation 459 Frequency of Shedding 460 FOOD HABITS 461 Methods of Obtaining Prey 461