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The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community
The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.
John Gillespie says
I totally enjoyed Dennis Forney’s recent letter on snakes of the Delmarva. I share his love of snakes. I would like to clarify one sentence, “…almost all of them [snakes on Delmarva] – with the rare possible exceptions of copperheads and water moccasins – are not poisonous”. In fact, there are, to my knowledge, no records of Water Moccasins on the Delmarva. In their book, “Amphibians and Reptiles of Delmarva, the Whites write “…[Water Moccasin] does not occur on Delmarva.” The recently published “The Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas” does not even mention Water Moccasins. This can’t be stressed enough as many harmless Common Water Snakes are killed each year in the mistaken belief that they are Water Moccasins. On a less important note, I doubt that Black Rat Snakes eat toads as toad skin secretes a toxic substance. Our local Hognose Snake specializes in eating toads, but it has evolved special glands in its mouth that produce hormones that neutralize the toad’s poison. The bumps in the Black Snake are most likely bird eggs.