INTRODUCTION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SYSTEMATIC RELATIONSHIPS AND DISTRIBUTION
DESCRIPTION
Color and Pattern
Scutellation
Dentition
HABITAT AND LIMITING FACTORS
REPRODUCTION
Courtship and Mating
Reproductive Cycles
Embryonic Development
Birth of Young
Number of Young per Litter
Population Composition
Reproductive Potential
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Size at Birth and Early Growth
The Umbilical Scar
Later Growth and Bodily Proportions
SHEDDING
The Shedding Operation
Frequency of Shedding
FOOD HABITS
Methods of Obtaining Prey
Food and Food Preferences
MORTALITY FACTORS
Natural Enemies and Predators
Parasites and Diseases
Miscellaneous Causes of Death
BEHAVIOR
Annual and Diel Cycles of Activity
Basking
Coiling
Locomotion
Disposition
Defense and Escape
"Head Bobbing"
Combat Dance
THE VENOM
Properties of the Venom
Venom Yield and Toxicity
Susceptibility of Snakes
THE BITE
Effects of the Bite
Treatment
Case History of a Bite
Snakebite in the United States
SUMMARY
LITERATURE CITED
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
