# Asp viper (*Vipera aspis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/asp-viper  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The asp viper (Vipera aspis) is a snake in the family Viperidae and subfamily Viperinae, within the order Squamata of the class Reptilia. It is a small snake, with a representative adult body mass of 161 g. Its lifespan is given as 16.4 years, with values up to 25 years reported, and it reaches sexual maturity at 4 years. The IUCN Red List assesses the asp viper globally as Vulnerable (VU), a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 22.4 g |
| Length | 48 cm |
| Lifespan | 16.4 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 25 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Young per litter or clutch | 5.2 – 11.5 |
| Age at maturity | 4 years – 5 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.5 – 0.667 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Viperidae
- genus: Vipera
- species: *Vipera aspis* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Aspera aspic*, *Coluber aspis*, *Coluber charasii*, *Vipera aspis*, *Vipera aspis atra*, *Vipera aspis francisredi*, *Vipera aspis hugyi*, *Vipera aspis montecristi*, *Vipera atra*, *Vipera francisci redi*, *Vipera hugyi*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the asp viper?

The asp viper is a snake, a reptile in the family Viperidae and subfamily Viperinae.

### How heavy is the asp viper?

The asp viper has a representative adult body mass of 161 g, placing it in the small size class.

### Is the asp viper endangered?

The asp viper is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List in its global assessment, which is a threatened category.

### How long does the asp viper live?

The asp viper's lifespan is given as 16.4 years, and sources report values up to 25 years.

### At what age does the asp viper reach sexual maturity?

The asp viper reaches sexual maturity at 1,460 days, or 4 years.

### How many young does the asp viper have?

The figure given for the asp viper is 11.5 young per litter or eggs per clutch.

### Who named the asp viper?

The asp viper, Vipera aspis, carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).

### What are other names for the asp viper?

Other English names for the asp viper are Asp, Aspic viper and European asp.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Asp viper (Vipera aspis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/asp-viper