Agkistrodon contortrix

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Agkistrodon contortrix
Agkistrodon contortrix is a venomous pit viper
species found in North America. Five subspecies
are currently recognized A. c. contortrix
Southern, laticinctus Broad-banded, mokasen
Northern, phaeogaster Osage, pictigaster
Trans-pecos.
Common names include copperhead or death adder
Class Reptilia Order Squamata Suborder Serpen
tes Family Viperidae Subfamily Crotalinae Genus
Agkistrodon Species A. contortrix
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Determining Characteristics
General Description ? Coppery colored head and
neck ? Generally about 1.5 feet long ? Slender
body compared to most other pit vipers ? All
subspecies have distinctive light and dark brown
or greenish banding Distinctions Between the
Species ? A. c. mokasen, A. c. contortrix and
A. c. phaeogaster have bands that tend to
narrow dorsally, giving them an hourglass shape
? A. c. laticinctus and A. c. pictigaster
generally have bands of uniform
width ? A. c. pictigaster is known especially
for its distinctively patterned
underside, with white and black banding.
? A. c. contortrix have a pale brown to light
tan body, often with a pinkish tint. Their
yellow eyes have elliptical or cat like
pupils
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Habitat Life-History

• General habitats are terrestrial to semi-aquatic
  habitats, which include rocky-forested hillsides
  and various wetlands
• Males reach sexual maturity within two years,
  females in three.
• Copperheads feed on baby cottontails, swamp
  rabbits, rats, mice, birds, snakes, lizards, baby
  turtles, frogs, toads, and insects, especially
  grasshoppers and cicadas.
• ? Copperheads, like other pit vipers, do not lay
  eggs. Instead the eggs are kept inside the
  female's body until the eggs are ready to
  "hatch."
• Southern copperheads are diurnal in spring and
  nocturnal during the summer heat.
• ? Southern copperheads often eat one single meal
  every three weeks-even during their most active
  months.

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