Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma (Western Cottonmouth). Diet.

Cottonmouths are opportunistic predators and scavengers that consume a variety of vertebrate prey (Gloyd and Conant 1990. Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex: A Monographic Review. SSAR. Oxford, Ohio. 614 pp, and references therein). Watersnakes (Nerodia spp.) are considered a common component of the cottonmouth diet, but few studies have reported which species of Nerodia are consumed (Burkett 1966. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 17:435-491; Gloyd and Conant, op. cit.). Here, we report Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma attempting to prey upon Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster.