Adder
Vipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The adder (Vipera berus) is a snake in the family Viperidae, subfamily Viperinae, within the order Squamata of the class Reptilia. It falls in the small size class, with a representative adult body mass of 279 g.
Quick facts about the adder
Its main foods include anguis fragilis, anura, bird, caudata, egg, house mouse, mole, newt, rattus, soricidae, vole and weasel. The adder is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and its lifespan ranges from 10 to 19 years.
- Weight
- 279 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 60 cm – 90 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 10 years – 19 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Main food
- anguis fragilis, anura, bird, caudata, egg, house mouse and 6 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- 9 – 10.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Live birthsrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the adder?
Photos of the adder
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the adder live?
Not recorded
What is the adder?
Vipera berus, commonly known as the common European adder and the common European viper, is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. The species is extremely widespread, and thus can be found throughout much of Europe, and as far as East Asia. There are three recognised subspecies.
Known by a host of common names including common adder and common viper, the adder has been the subject of much folklore in Britain and other European countries. It is not regarded as especially dangerous; the snake is not aggressive and usually bites only when really provoked, stepped on, or picked up. Bites can be very painful, but are rarely fatal. The specific name, berus, is Neo-Latin and was at one time used to refer to a snake, possibly the grass snake, Natrix natrix.
The common adder is found in different terrains, habitat complexity being essential for different aspects of its behaviour. It feeds on small mammals, birds, lizards, and amphibians, and in some cases on spiders, worms, and insects. The common adder, like most other vipers, is ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young. Females breed once every two or three years and litters are usually born in late summer to early autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Litters range in size from three to 20 with young staying with their mothers for a few days. Adults grow to a total length (including tail) of 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) and a mass of 50 to 180 g (1.8 to 6.3 oz). Three subspecies are recognised, including the nominate subspecies, Vipera berus berus, described here. The snake is not considered to be threatened, though it is protected in some countries.
From the Wikipedia article “Adder” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adder&oldid=1383144315), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the adder endangered?
The adder is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the adder classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyViperidae
- genusVipera
- SpeciesVipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Berus vulgaris, Chersea vulgaris, Coluber berus, Coluber chersea, Coluber chersea var. marasso, Coluber melanis, Coluber prester, Coluber sachalinensis continentalis, Coluber sachalinensis continentalis, Coluber sachalinensis sachalinensis, Coluber vipera anglorum, Colubris cherseae var. marasso, Pelias berus, Pelias berus, Pelias berus lugubris, Pelias dorsalis, Pelias schreiberi, Pelias sudetica, Pelias tyrolensis, Vipera aspoides, Vipera aspoides annulata, Vipera barani, Vipera berus, Vipera berus bosniensis, Vipera berus f. bilineata, Vipera berus f. brunneomarcata, Vipera berus f. chersea-splendens, Vipera berus f. luteoalba, Vipera berus f. ochracea-splendens, Vipera berus f. punctata, Vipera berus f. rutila, Vipera berus ochracea, Vipera berus pseudaspis, Vipera berus rudolphi-marchica, Vipera berus sachalinensis, Vipera berus sachalinensis, Vipera berus var. montana, Vipera berus var. pseudaspis, Vipera communis, Vipera coronis aspoides, Vipera coronis coronis, Vipera coronis leopardina, Vipera coronis nigroides, Vipera coronis zamenoides, Vipera limnaea, Vipera pelias, Vipera prester var. gagatina, Vipera sachalinensis, Vipera torva, Vipera trigonocephala, Vipera trilamina, Vipera walser
Other names and names in other languages (33)
- Common viperEnglish
- Nikolsky's viper [nikolskii]English
- Northern viperEnglish
- ViperEnglish
- УсойницаBulgarian
- zmije obecnáCzech
- GwiberWelsh
- GwiberodWelsh
- HugormDanish
- KreuzotterGerman
- Piemont-ViperGerman
- Waldsteppen-Otter [nikolskii]German
- ΑστρίτηςGreek
- AstritisGreek
- kyyFinnish
- Vipère péliadeFrench
- Vipère péliade (La)French
- nathair-nimheScottish Gaelic
- nathraichean-nimheScottish Gaelic
- riđovkaCroatian
- Keresztes viperaHungarian
- marassoItalian
- vipera dei Walser [walser]Italian
- Paprastoji angisLithuanian
- ШаркаMacedonian
- BuormNorwegian Bokmål
- hoggormNorwegian Bokmål
- Обыкновенная гадюкаRussian
- mirkoguovdiNorthern Sami
- bosttagearpmašNorthern Sami
- navadni gadSlovenian
- huggormSwedish
- 极北蝰Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the adder
Other species in the same genus Vipera.
Nose-horned viper
Vipera ammodytes
Asp viper
Vipera aspis
Meadow viper
Vipera ursinii
Lataste's viper
Vipera latastei
Seoane's viper
Vipera seoanei
Darevsky's viper
Vipera darevskii
CompareAdder vs Nose-horned viperAdder vs Asp viperAdder vs Meadow viperAdder vs Lataste's viper
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the adder?
The adder is a snake, a reptile in the family Viperidae and the genus Vipera.
How heavy is an adder?
An adult adder has a representative body mass of 279 g, placing it in the small size class.
What does the adder eat?
The adder's main foods include anguis fragilis, anura, bird, caudata, egg, house mouse, mole, newt, rattus, soricidae, vole and weasel.
How long does an adder live?
The adder's lifespan ranges from 10 to 19 years, with a representative value of 10.55 years.
How many young does an adder have?
The representative value is 10.5 young per litter or eggs per clutch, and the lowest value reported is 9.
Who named the adder?
The adder, Vipera berus, carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
What other names does the adder have?
The adder is also called viper, common viper, northern viper and Nikolsky's viper.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Adder (Vipera berus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/vipera-berus
“Adder (Vipera berus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/vipera-berus.
@misc{vipera_berus_2026,
title = {Adder (Vipera berus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/vipera-berus},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}