# Eastern copperhead (*Agkistrodon contortrix*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-copperhead  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The eastern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) is a snake in the family Viperidae and subfamily Crotalinae, also called the Copperhead, Northern copperhead or Southern copperhead. It is a small snake by body mass, with a representative adult body mass of 950 g. Its lifespan is given as 25.65 years, with values up to 29.8 years reported, and it reaches sexual maturity at 2 to 2.5 years. The IUCN Red List assesses the eastern copperhead as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 950 g |
| Length | up to 1.35 m |
| Lifespan | 25.7 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 29.8 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 – 20 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years – 3 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.8 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Viperidae
- genus: Agkistrodon
- species: *Agkistrodon contortrix* (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms: *Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster*, *Agkistrodon mokasen*, *Agkistrodon mokason*, *Boa contortix*, *Boa contortrix*, *Cenchris mokeson*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the eastern copperhead?

The eastern copperhead is a snake, a reptile in the family Viperidae and subfamily Crotalinae.

### How heavy is the eastern copperhead?

The eastern copperhead has a representative adult body mass of 950 g, which places it in the small size class.

### How long does the eastern copperhead live?

Its lifespan is given as 25.65 years, with values up to 29.8 years reported by sources.

### At what age does the eastern copperhead reach sexual maturity?

The eastern copperhead reaches sexual maturity at 2 years, with reported values from 2 to 2.5 years.

### How many young does the eastern copperhead have?

The figure for young per litter, or eggs per clutch, is 5.65.

### Who named the eastern copperhead?

The scientific name Agkistrodon contortrix carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1766).

## 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: Eastern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-copperhead