Distribution—Records of this snake are rather widely scattered over the northeastern part of the state. Specimens have been collected in the following counties: Bastrop, Bowie, Burleson, Cass, Collin, Colorado, Coryell, Dallas, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Guadalupe, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Lamar, Lee, McLennan, Milam, Morris, Robertson, Smith, Somervell, and Titus. [Illustration: Distribution map] BROADBANDED COPPERHEAD _Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus_ [Illustration: BROADBANDED COPPERHEAD] Description—The very broad, straight edged crossbands of this snake easily distinguish it from other copperheads. The similar Trans-Pecos copperhead differs by the presence of a light colored inverted U at the base of each crossband. The dark brown bands of this form are slightly narrower at the middle of the back than on the sides; their nearly straight edges gives the bands a squarish appearance. The dark crossbands contrast strongly with the lighter body color, while the belly is of almost the same shade as the bands. The tail is tipped with yellowish green, more pronounced in the young. Size—Snakes of this subspecies probably reach a length of three feet but most adults are about two feet long. Young—Litters probably average five or six but little else is known about the breeding habits of this form. Distribution—Widely scattered records include the following counties: Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Bosque, Burnet, Callahan, Comal, Cooke, Crockett, Denton, Dimmit, Eastland, Fayette, Frio, Gillespie, Gonzales, Grayson, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Mason, Medina, McLennan, Parker, Palo Pinto, Real, San Saba, Tarrant, Taylor, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Uvalde, Victoria, Wilson, Wise, and Young. [Illustration: Distribution map] TRANS-PECOS COPPERHEAD _Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster_ [Illustration: TRANS-PECOS COPPERHEAD] Description—This species resembles the broadbanded copperhead by its straight edged, squarish crossbands but differs from all other copperheads by having uniformly dark or strongly mottled belly. It also differs from the broadbanded form by the presence of a light colored inverted U at the base of each crossband. The pattern consists of about 13 chestnut-brown crossbands with narrow, dark borders. The color between the bands is light hazel brown, flecked with darker brown. Size—This is the smallest of the copperheads, probably not reaching a length of two and one-half feet. Young—Nothing is known of the breeding habits of this rare snake.