# Massasauga (*Sistrurus catenatus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/massasauga  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) is a species in the family Viperidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 384 g and live up to 17 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 384 g |
| Length | up to 1.03 m |
| Lifespan | 17 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 20 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Young per litter or clutch | 8 – 9.3 |
| Age at maturity | 3.01 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.5 – 0.75 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Recorded prey and predators

Recorded prey: House mouse (*Mus musculus*), American red squirrel (*Tamiasciurus hudsonicus*), Redbelly snake (*Storeria occipitomaculata*), Garden snake (*Thamnophis sirtalis*). Each pair is recorded by at least two datasets compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/, CC0 1.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Viperidae
- genus: Sistrurus
- species: *Sistrurus catenatus* (Rafinesque, 1818)

Synonyms: *Crotalinus catenatus*, *Crotalinus catenatus*, *Crotalophorus consors*, *Crotalus messasaugus*, *Sistrurus catenatus catenatus*

## Common questions

### How big is the massasauga?

An adult massasauga weighs 384 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### How long does the massasauga live?

The massasauga has a recorded lifespan of 17 years.

### What kind of animal is the massasauga?

The massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) belongs to the family Viperidae in the order Squamata.

### Which animals does the massasauga eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the massasauga include house mouse, american red squirrel, redbelly snake and garden snake. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

## 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
- [Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products](https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/), CC0 1.0, 0.11. Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference.
- [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

Cite as: Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/massasauga