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RE: black snake/copperhead hybrids???
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by LarryDFishel on July 29, 2014
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(I didn't read all the replies, so all of this may have been covered.)
I suspect, but don't "know" that the story of Black Snakes (often given as a generic name, with no actual species given) and copperheads (or sometimes rattlesnakes) interbreeding goes back at least a few hundred years, probably before even scientists knew that what we call venomous and non-venomous snakes were too distantly related to breed. I'm sure there was a time, tens or hundreds of millions of years ago, shortly after one or the other first evolved, (I'm ignorant of how that went down) where there were what could be referred to as venomous and non-venomous snakes that could interbreed, but not likely today (again, I don't claim to know for sure, but I've never heard of it).
My best guess for a logical explanation of how this myth came about was that someone in an area where something like copperheads and black rats were common, saw a water moccasin. They may have even seen young moccasins, (they are often mistaken for copperheads), among adult moccasins. Maybe even observed them growing up over time and seeming to change from a typical copperhead to something that looks like a black copperhead.
On the other hand, I know from experience that people who are afraid (phobic) of snakes will believe almost any crazy story they hear about them, especially if it's scary...
I know several people mentioned an allergic reaction to a non-venomous bite, or being bitten by one snake and then seeing another. I'd also like to suggest the possibility of being bitten by something else unseen, like a spider, scorpion or even an ant (lots of people are allergic to ants).
I still have a picture sent to me by a friend of a guy who claimed to have been bitten by a moccasin, then killed it before being treated for snake bite at the local hospital. It was a DeKay's Snake. Even if they are one of the harmless snakes now known to have a very mild venom, and even if you could get one to bite you, I don't think it's teeth are long enough to penetrate the thinnest skin on the human body. That doesn't rule out an allergic reaction, but personally, I think the guy was one wrench short of a tire change...
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