Copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Agkistrodon, Species: A. contortrix
Eastern and central North America, ranging from southern New England down to northern Florida, and west to Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Look up Copperhead in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Agkistrodon, Species: A. contortrix
Conservation
Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List, though populations face localized threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing by humans.
Physical Description
Robust body with heavily keeled scales, a distinct triangular head, and vertical elliptical pupils. Coloration consists of a pale tan, pinkish, or light brown background overlaid with distinctive hourglass-shaped or dumbbell-shaped dark reddish-brown crossbands.
Size & Dimensions
Specimen shown is likely a subadult or adult, approximately 60 to 90 cm in length. Typical adult size ranges from 50 to 105 cm, with exceptional specimens reaching up to 135 cm.
Habitat
Deciduous forests, mixed woodlands, rocky hillsides, wetland edges, and frequently found in suburban areas with suitable cover like woodpiles, leaf litter, and stone walls.
Diet & Feeding
Diet consists primarily of small rodents, lizards, frogs, birds, and large insects such as cicadas. Uses an ambush hunting strategy, relying heavily on infrared-sensing pit organs to locate warm-blooded prey in low-light conditions.
Reproduction
Viviparous (live-bearing), giving birth to litters typically ranging from 3 to 14 young. Mating occurs primarily in late summer or autumn, with parturition taking place the following late summer.
Look-alikes
Frequently confused with other pit vipers and certain non-venomous snakes such as juvenile cottonmouths, eastern milk snakes, corn snakes, and northern water snakes. Distinguished primarily by the distinct hourglass-shaped crossbands that are narrow at the spine and wide at the sides.
Conservation Status
Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List, though populations face localized threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing by humans.
Cultural Significance
Plays an important ecological role in controlling rodent and pest populations. Appears in regional folklore throughout the eastern and southern United States.
Notable Features
Possesses specialized loreal pit organs located between the eye and nostril used for detecting thermal radiation, allowing precise striking accuracy in complete darkness.