According to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park (opens in new tab), the northern copperhead has by far the largest range, from Alabama to Massachusetts and Illinois.Īccording to Beane, copperheads are happy in "an extremely wide range of habitats," though usually "at least some semblance of woods or forest habitat is present." They are "particularly fond of ecotones," which are transition areas between two ecological communities. There are five subspecies of copperhead distributed according to geographic range: the northern, northwestern, southern and two southwestern subspecies. Scientists confirmed recently the female copperhead was the first evidence of virgin birth in a pit viper snake. But the snake hadn't had any contact with a male in five years. Young copperheads are more grayish in color than adults and possess "bright yellow or greenish yellow tail tips." According to Beane, "this color fades in about a year." HabitatĬopperheads reside "from southern New England to West Texas and northern Mexico," said Beane, advising those interested to check out range maps in a number of field guides.Ī copperhead snake, like the one pictured here, had a litter of four offspring in 2009. Their pupils are vertical, like cats' eyes, and their irises are usually orange, tan or reddish-brown. Their heads are "somewhat triangular/arrow-shaped and distinct from the neck," with a "somewhat distinct ridge separating top of head from side snout between eye and nostril," said Beane. He described copperheads' bellies as "whitish, yellowish or a light brownish, stippled or mottled, with brown, gray or blackish, often large, paired dark spots or smudges along sides of belly."Ĭopperheads have muscular, thick bodies and keeled (ridged) scales.
In contrast to its patterned body, the snake's coppery-brown head lacks such adornments, "except for a pair of tiny dark dots usually present on top of the head," said Beane. However, copperheads are the only kind of snakes with hourglass-shaped markings. Several other nonvenomous species of snakes have similar coloring, and so are frequently confused for copperheads.
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