Florida Museum of Natural History’s

Comparison of Cottonmouth and Watersnake

Cottonmouth: The eyes cannot be seen from the top of the head.

Watersnake: The eyes can be seen from the top of the head.

Cottonmouth: The pupil of the eye is a catlike vertical slit, and there is a pit on the side of the head between the eye and the nostril.

Watersnake: The pupil of the eye is round, and there is no pit on the side of the head between the eye and the nostril.

Cottonmouth: The top of the head is relatively flat.

Watersnake: The top of the head is relatively rounded.

The watersnake illustrated here is the banded watersnake, Nerodia fasciata.

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