Copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Agkistrodon, Species: A. contortrix
Found across a large portion of the eastern and central United States, ranging from southern New York and Massachusetts down to northern Florida, and westward to eastern Texas and Nebraska.
Look up Copperhead in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Agkistrodon, Species: A. contortrix
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Populations are generally stable across their range, though they face localized threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing by humans.
Physical Description
Features a light tan, pinkish, or reddish-brown body marked with distinctive hourglass- or dumbbell-shaped crossbands that are broader at the sides and narrower along the spine. The head is typically coppery-red, wider than the neck, and triangular. Juveniles have a bright sulfur-yellow or greenish-yellow tip on the tail.
Size & Dimensions
The pictured specimen appears to be a juvenile, roughly 10-15 inches long. Adults typically range from 20 to 36 inches (50 to 90 cm) in total length, with maximum recorded lengths reaching around 53 inches.
Habitat
Occurs in a variety of habitats including deciduous forests, mixed woodlands, rocky outcrops, swamp edges, and suburban areas bordering wooded patches. Prefers areas with abundant ground cover such as fallen logs, leaf litter, and rock piles.
Diet & Feeding
Diet consists primarily of small rodents, lizards, amphibians, large insects (such as cicadas), and occasionally small birds. They are sit-and-wait ambush predators, often remaining motionless in leaf litter to surprise passing prey.
Reproduction
Ovoviviparous (giving live birth). Mating occurs primarily in late summer or autumn, sometimes in spring. Females give birth to litters averaging 3 to 10 young, typically in late summer or early autumn.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Populations are generally stable across their range, though they face localized threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing by humans.
Cultural Significance
Plays an important ecological role in controlling rodent and insect populations. In North American folklore, they are well known but frequently misunderstood, leading to human-wildlife conflicts when they inhabit suburban forest edges.
Notable Features
Juveniles exhibit a bright yellowish-green tail tip which they wiggle in a worm-like motion (caudal luring) to attract prey such as lizards and frogs. They also possess heat-sensing facial pits located between the eye and nostril.