[Snakeadelic]

A perfect example of the popular serpentine hunting strategy "look like a pile of dead leaves and wait for something the right size to wander within striking range." This is a hugely successful strategy used by venomous snakes worldwide; it's amazing to look at a picture of a Gaboon viper in captivity and marvel at their intricate markings...and then see a picture of dead leaves next to an African water hole and realize there's actually a FIVE FOOT LONG viper as thick as a man's thigh in the middle of that pile of dead leaves. Luckily, copperheads don't get nearly that big.

The only other Agkistrodon snake in the US doesn't usually ambush-hunt on land. Agkistrodon piscivorus (the species name literally translates to "eater of fish") is the dreaded cottonmouth, which isn't much more dangerous venom-wise than the copperhead. All the really dangerous Agkistrodons, the cantils, are Central and South American snakes, as is my absolute favorite "pile of leaves" ambush hunter, which is not a copperhead.

My vote for 'funniest and most appropriate Latin name for a reptile' goes to Lachesis muta, the Central American bushmaster. The Latin translates to 'silent fate'! Although...don't believe everything you read about how vicious and high-strung these eight-foot-long pit vipers are supposed to be. Many years back, Reptiles Magazine received and published a field trip report from some herpers who went to Costa Rica to find bushmasters. One of the guys was a hundred yards outside camp on a well-used trail, taking pictures of an unusually dark boa constrictor, when another one told him "take two very large steps either forward or back right now."

As they were all experienced snake freaks, the photographer did as told. When he turned around to look back where he'd been standing, he could barely remember to take a photo. Not only had they found a seven-foot bushmaster, supposedly one of the most vicious and irritable snakes in the local jungles, he had been standing on its spine while photographing the boa. When he moved, it just kind of raised its head, flicked its tongue a few times, and then casually wandered off into the brush. So much for the hair-trigger temper!