Broad-banded Copperhead

About the Broad-banded Copperhead

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.

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... Wikipedia →