CHINESE MOCCASINS
Chinese moccasins (Deinagkistrodon acutus) are venomous snakes found in southern China and some parts of Southeast Asia. They reaches lengths of 1.55 meters (five feet) and have the most toxic bite of the Asian pit vipers. A bite causes immediate swelling, tissue damage and internal bleeding and may be fatal. There is an antivenin.
They are known by various other names including hundred-pacer, sharp-nosed viper, snorkel viper, Chinese copperhead, five-pacer, hundred-pace snake, long-nosed pit viper, sharp-nosed pit viper, and hundred-pace pit viper. The snake is the sole member of the genus Deinagkistrodon and has been an object of veneration by indigenous Taiwanese peoples. [Source: Jennifer Vicente, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=\; Wikipedia]
Chinese moccasins are found in Southeastern China in the provinces of Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hubei, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guangdong, extreme southeastern Sichuan, Yunnan, northern Vietnam, and central and southern Taiwan. They prefer moist, shaded habitats in montane forests and foothills, but are also found in agricultural areas, at elevations from 200 to 1400 meters (656 to 4593 feet). They hang out among rocks and in vegetation along valley streams. They occur near farm houses where they like to hide in dark places and hunt for rodents. Chinese moccasins have been known to enter homes in search of food and bite people.
The vemon of Chinese moccasins has been used for centuries as a traditional remedy for rheumatiod arthritis and pain in tendons and bones. More recently, the venom's anticoagulation properties have been harnessed in hemostatic and thrombolytic drugs, which are widely used to prevent harmful blood clotting in stroke victims.
On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Chinese moccasins are listed as Not Evaluated. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. China has listed this species as "vulnerable". Many populations throughout China have declined due to overhunting and habitat loss. The Chinese government has helped set up a captive breeding program.
Chinese Moccasin Characteristics
Chinese moccasins are stout snake, usually between 0.8 and 1.0 meter (2.6 and 3.3 feet) in length. The largest individual on record measured approximately 1.549 metres (5.08 ft). They are heterothermic (having a body temperature that fluctuates with the surrounding environment) and venomous. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females, with a maximum length of 1.55 meters (5.1 feet) in males and 1.41 meters (4.6 feet) in females. Males have longer tails and females have longer body lengths. [Source: Jennifer Vicente, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=\; Wikipedia]
Chinese moccasins have a distinctive protuberant, upturned snout. They are pit vipers. Pit-vipers bear a pit on each side of the face, between the nostril and the eye, which contains a temperature sensitive pit organ. The pit organ allows animals to sense thermal radiation at specific wavelengths and is believed to be play a role in hunting prey and avoiding predators. These snakes have lived in captivity up to 16 years and three months. /=\
Chinese moccasins have distinctive diamond-shaped or triangular markings. Each side of their body is patterned with a series of 15 to 23 pairs of large dark triangles, with a base color of gray or brown. The back side is whitish and speckled with conspicuous gray and black spots that vary in size and shape. Adults are darker than juveniles, which have yellowish tails until they reach adulthood. Adult coloration is remarkably similar to that of southern copperheads found in the United States. Their upturned snout, dark triangular body patterning and strongly tuberculate-keeled scales are relatively unique characteristics and make it relatively easy to distinguish them from other species.
Chinese Moccasin Behavior
Chinese moccasins are terricolous (live on the ground), fossorial (engaged in a burrowing life-style or behavior, and good at digging or burrowing), nocturnal (active at night), crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), sedentary (remain in the same area), territorial (defend an area within the home range). it. Captive individuals have been observed to remain coiled during the day, with their heads near the center of the coil.
Chinese moccasins are said to be easily annoyed and may attack without warning when agitated or provoked. During the winter, they may brumate. Brumation is a hibernation-like state that some cold-blooded animals, like reptiles and amphibians, enter when it is cold outside. At this time Chinese moccasins occupy abandoned small-mammal burrows that are dry, sheltered from wind, exposed to the sun, and with water sources nearby.
Chinese moccasins generally avoids bright sunlight, except when basking in cool weather. They are more active in cloudy and rainy weather. They most active in a temperature range between 10̊C and 32̊C, with the optimal range between 17̊C and 30̊C.
Chinese moccasins sense using vision, infrared light, heat, sound and chemicals usually detected with smelling or smelling-like senses. They communicate with vision and chemicals, employing pheromones (chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species) and vibrations. Like many other snakes and lizards, the tongue of Chinese moccasins is used for olfactory perception.
Chinese Moccasin Diet, Hunting and Anti-Predator Adaptions
Chinese moccasins is carnivorous. They mainly feed on rodents, birds, lizards, frogs and toads. Chinese moccasins have no known predators. However, they are vulnerable to attack by members of their own species and ophiophagous (cannabalistic) snakes. Chinese moccasins prey on small birds and rodents that can be agricultural pests and may be helpful to humans in this way. [Source: Jennifer Vicente, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=\; Wikipedia]
Chinese moccasins are considered ambush predators, envenomating prey not necessarily to kill it but rather to immobilize it. According to Animal Diversity Web: Pit organs, which are found in all pit vipers, help Chinese moccasins detect specific wavelengths of infrared heat emitted by prey and potential predators. Pit organs are also thought to help in thermoregulation. Fibers innervating pit-organ receptors are completely insensitive to tactile stimuli but visual and infrared stimuli allow the snake to locate endothermic prey — whose metabolism generates heat that can be detected — such as small rodents, especially in the dark.
After large meals, they may remain motionless for days.Chinese herpetologist Zhao Ermi reported one meter-long snake that weighed 600 grams (1.3 pounds) that ate a rat almost as large as itself. The rat was 51.5 centimeters (20.3 inches) long and weighed 530 grams (1.17 pounds)/
Anti-predator adaptations include cloacal discharge where the contents of the cloaca are expelled in a fine stream or spray, sometimes ejected a considerable distance. The cloaca is a chamber near the sex organs or anus into which intestinal, urinary, and reproductive canals empty. In addition, pit-vipers assume a "body bridge" position in which a portion of the body is raised in the direction of a predator. This species' quick-strike capabilities and venomous bite likely deter potential predators and reduce predation risk. /=\
Chinese Moccasin Mating, Reproduction and Offspring
Chinese moccasins are polygynandrous (promiscuous), with both males and females having multiple partners, are oviparous, meaning that young are hatched from eggs. They engage in seasonal breeding, breeds twice a year: from March through May and again from September through December. The number of eggs that are laid ranges from five to 32, with the average number being 20. The gestation period ranges from 20 to 35 days. On average females reach sexual or reproductive maturity at 36 months. Source: Jennifer Vicente, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
During courtship males chase females and use their sense of smell to investigate various parts of the female's body. Vomeronasal sensing — using sensory organs that detects chemical signals, including pheromones — is essential for the initiation of courtship and reproduction by males and female during breeding season. Once a male has secured his mate and their heads are aligned, their tails being to wrap around each other and vibrate continuously. Mating in Chinese moccasins can last from two to six hours.
Parental care is provided by females. During incubation, mothers coil themselves around their eggs. The optimal temperature for hatching from 22.6̊C to 36.5̊C, with an average of 27.6̊C. After the eggs hatch, young emerge completely independent of parental care. Hatchlings measure about 21 centimeters in length and range in weight from six to 14.5 grams. The first molt tends to occur ten days after hatching. The number of molts per year is usually between three and four, but can be as many as five depending upon environmental conditions and food availability.
Chinese Moccasin Venom and Bites
Chinese moccasins are said to be the most toxic of Asian pit vipers. A bite causes immediate swelling, tissue damage and internal bleeding and may be fatal. Chinese moccasins is responsible for many of the snake-bite related deaths in southern China and Taiwan. Among the popular names for the snake are "hundred pacer" — a reference to the bite being so lethal a victim takes 100 steps and then dies. In some areas, it has even been called the "fifty pacer" or, even the "five-step snake." Chinese moccasins is very lethal but not that lethal and fortunately, there is an antivenom, but is only effective if taken within a few hours of the bite. [Source: Jennifer Vicente, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
The venom of Chinese moccasins contains a potent neurotoxin, which affects the nervous system and is potentially lethal to humans. According to the US Armed Forces Pest Management Board, the venom is a potent hemotoxin that affects a vctims’s blood and is strongly hemorrhagic. The snake’s large, hinged fangs allow for effective delivery of large quantities of venom. Brown (1973) mentions a venom yield of up to 214 milgrams (dried) and LD50 (toxicity) values of 0.04 mg/kg IV, 4.0 mg/kg IP and 9.2–10.0 mg/kg SC. The venom contains at least four hemorrhagins Acutolysin A, B, C and D. [Source: Wikipedia]
Immediate bite symptoms include severe localized pain and bleeding. Several proteases in the venom are responsible for local tissue damage and immediate hemorrhagic symptoms. These symptoms are followed by swelling, blistering, necrosis (tissue damage), and ulceration. Systemic symptoms, which often include heart palpitations, may occur suddenly and soon after being bit. /=\
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, CNTO (China National Tourism Administration) David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.
Last updated March 2025