The two forms are broadly overlapping. Agkistrodon contortrix is found generally north and east of the Neosho River basin, where it is scarce and occurs in scattered populations. It enters the Flint Hills along rocky riparian corridors where there has been genetic admixture at some point in the past with the Broad-banded Copperhead.
Hybrids occur primarily between the Verdigris River and Walnut River drainages in Kansas.
Additionally, genetic hybrids were identified among the westernmost populations of the Eastern Copperhead (A. contortrix) along the Kansas and Neosho River drainages (Burbrink and Guiher, 2014).
Two 'pure' Eastern Copperheads were detected in Elk County, and these outlier samples should be reexamined.
Branson (1904) reported examining a specimen from Rook County; the locality is undoubtedly in error.
Eastern Copperheads are found in open rocky woodland, woodland edge, and meadows with clumps of brush adjacent to woodland. Their pattern and color blend perfectly with forest leaf litter. This species is active from April to early November and prefers an optimal temperature near 80°F. During the cool spring and fall months, this snake is active only during the day and is normally found coiled on rocky hillsides or forest floors, awaiting the approach of prey.
In the summer, Eastern Copperheads become nocturnal and prowl for food, aided by their night vision and the two sensory pits between the eyes and nostrils. These pits detect the body heat of warm-blooded prey such as mice. Eastern Copperheads have home ranges, but males tend to wander in larger areas than females. Home ranges vary from eight to 25 acres. Because of their shy, retiring disposition and camouflage pattern, these snakes easily exist in reasonably large numbers near areas of heavy human population. Estimates indicate a population density of three or four Eastern Copperheads per acre in northeastern Kansas (Fitch, 1982). The few people bitten by these snakes each year are usually victims of accidents, not aggressive, dangerous animals. During the fall, this snake returns to the wooded hilltop rock outcrops with a southern exposure that it used in previous years and retires deep beneath the ground to avoid the cold temperatures of winter.
This snake breeds from April to August, with a peak of activity in April and May, just after spring emergence from winter inactivity. Adult male Eastern Copperheads are among those snakes that infrequently engage in combat dances. A typical combat dance involves two males facing each other with their heads and the front of their bodies raised off the ground. They come together so their bellies are firmly adpressed. Then they slowly. intertwine their necks with writhing movements, until suddenly one male hurls the other to the ground with a quick body contraction. The combat dance evidently establishes dominance between two males. Many female Eastern Copperheads bear young only every other year. Courtship and mating have not been adequately observed and are presumably nocturnal. The young are born venomous and number from one to fourteen per litter (Fitch, 1985), with an average of about five. Females give birth in August, September, and October. Species of Agkistrodon are viviparous and develop functional chorioallantoic and yolk-sac (omphalallantoic) placentae. Embryos are predominantly lecithotrophic, but placental exchange supports the exchange of respiratory gases, water, and inorganic ions. Experimental isotope work (e.g., in A. contortrix) demonstrates maternal transfer of dietary amino acids during gestation, consistent with incipient placentotrophy, although yolk remains the primary source of embryonic dry mass.
Eastern Copperheads feed on insects (particularly cicadas), frogs, toads, lizards, small birds, and other snakes. They are particularly fond of rodents. Young Eastern Copperheads may use their yellowish tails as lures to attract prey such as small frogs and toads.
Predators of Eastern Copperheads include large birds, mammals, and larger snakes, but people are its chief enemy.
First reported in Kansas by Hallowell (1857) based on specimens collected by William A. Hammond near Fort Riley, Riley County. The earliest extant specimen (MCZ R5844) was collected at "Ft Riley, Kan." and received from the United States National Museum in 1879.
Specimens are needed along the western periphery of its range in Kansas to better define its limits there. Additional specimens are also desirable from the Drift Hills in the northeast and throughout the Neosho River drainage basin.
Burt (1935) reported a specimen collected 5 miles east of Rock, Cowley County, Kansas, on 16 April 1934.
Gloyd (1969) described Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster. United States National Museum no. 165955, adult male, received from Dr. Henry S. Fitch, July 1960; locality 10 miles south of McLouth, Jefferson County, Kansas; collector not stated. He went on to define its distribution as "A. c. phaeogaster occupies the major portion of the Marais des Cygnes-Osage River drainage system in eastern Kansas and central Missouri. It intergrades with A. c. laticinctus in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma... ".
Burbrink and Guiher (2014) recognized two species A. contortrix (eastern-most populations) and A. laticinctus (western populations) in the United States. The two species mix over eastern Texas and eastern Oklahoma. And, based on relatively extensive sampling in Kansas, they discovered that the entire range in Kansas was an admixture of the two species. Because the two species cannot be differentiated in Kansas without genetic analysis, the complex has been grouped into a single account.
Vial et al. (1977), using data from Eastern Copperheads studied in northeastern Kansas, estimated a natural longevity of up to 15 years for this snake. Based on a captive specimen, Snider and Bowler (1992) reported a maximum longevity of 29 years, 10 months, and 6 days for this species.
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Taggart, Travis W. 2008. KHS 2008 spring field trip. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (25):2-3.
Nolting, Ray. 2008. Snake hunter finds rattlesnake in Neosho. Parsons Sun 1 May 2008:1,8.
Murrow, Daniel G. 2009. KHS 2009 spring field trip. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (29):42769.
Douglas, Michael E., Marlis R. Douglas, Gordon W. Schuett, and Louis W. Porras. 2009. Climate change and evolution of the New World pitviper genus Agkistrodon (Viperidae). Journal of Biogeography 36:1164-1180.
Collins, Joseph T., Suzanne L. Collins, and Travis W. Taggart. 2010. Amphibians, Reptiles, and Turtles of Kansas. Eagle Mountain Publishing., Provo, Utah. 400 pp.
Rodriguez, Paul J. 2010. Translocation of the Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) in Nebraska. Thesis. University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska. 83 pp.
Murrow, Daniel G. 2010. Kansas Herpetological Society spring field trip. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (33):2-3.
Ernst, Carl H. and Evelyn M. Ernst. 2011. Venomous Reptiles of the United States, Canada, and Northern Mexico. Volume 1. Heloderma, Micruroides, Micrurus, Pelamis, Agkistrodon, Sistrurus. Johns hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
McMartin, David C. 2011. U. S. Army 2011 Fort Leavenworth Herpetofaunal Survey: 23 April - 09 May 2011. Privately printed, Leavenworth, Kansas. 33 pp.
Taggart, Travis W. 2011. Kansas Herpetological Society 2011 spring field trip to be held in Chautauqua County. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (37):5-7.
Taggart, Travis W. 2011. Results of the KHS Spring Field Trip to Chautauqua County. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (38):2-4.
Houck, Mike. 2011. Fort Riley Herpetofaunal Survey for 2011. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (39):9.
Rohweder, Megan R. 2012. Spatial conservation prioritization of Kansas for terrestrial vertebrates. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 151 pp.
Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. 2012. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada: Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 152 pp.
Sinclair, Tom. 2013. A four-day spring snake count across northern Kansas. Collinsorum 2(1/2):9.
Taggart, Travis W. 2013. KHS 2012 Spring Field Trip to Bourbon County State Lake. Collinsorum 2(3/4):3.
Taggart, Travis W. 2013. KHS 2012 Fall Field Trip to Atchison County State Lake. Collinsorum 2(3/4):4.
Taggart, Travis W. 2013. KHS 2013 Spring Field Trip to Schermerhorn Park, Cherokee County. Collinsorum 2(3/4):4.
Taggart, Travis W. 2013. KHS 2013 Fall Field Trip to Butler County State Lake. Collinsorum 2(3/4):6.
Mardis, Dexter and Kevin Scott. 2013. 2013 Kansas Herpetofaunal Counts. Collinsorum 2(3/4):7.
McMartin, D. Chris. 2014. Fort Leavenworth Heretofaunal Survey for 2013. Collinsorum 3(1):10.
Taggart, Travis W. 2014. Results of the 2014 KHS Fall Field Trip to Woodson County. Collinsorum 3(2-4):12.
Taggart, Travis W. 2014. Recent scientific and standard English name changes effecting the Kansas herpetofauna. Collinsorum 3(2-4):9-10.
Burbrink, Frank T. and Timothy J. Guiher. 2014. Considering gene flow when using coalescent methods to delimit lineages of North American pitvipers of the genus Agkistrodon. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 2014:1-22.
Houck, Mike. 2015. 2015 Fort Riley Herpetofaunal Count final report. Collinsorum 4(1):10-11.
Burbrink, Frank T. and Timothy J. Guiher. 2015. Considering gene flow when using coalescent methods to
delimit lineages of North American pitvipers of the
genus Agkistrodon. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 173:505–526.
Pittman, Galen L., Henry S. Fitch, and W. Dean Kettle. 2016. Vertebrate animals on the Fitch Natural History Reservation (1948-2002). Kansas Biological Survey Report Number 188, Lawrence. 48 pp.
Powell, Robert, Roger Conant, and Joseph T. Collins. 2016. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. 494 pp.
Petersen, Christopher, Robert E. Lovich, and Sarah Stallings. 2016. Herpetofauna Biodiversity
On
United States Army Installations. Final Report. Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program, Arlington, Virginia. 82 pp.
Taggart, Travis W. 2016. Results of the KHS Summer field trip to Caney River, Chautauqua County, Kansas. Collinsorum 5(2-3):4-5.
Crother, Brian I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Eighth edition. Herpetological Circulars (43):1-102.
Riedle, Daren. 2018. Conservation conversations: The year of the snake. Kansas Wildlife and Parks Magazine (November/December):6.
Houck, Mike. 2018. Herp Count: Fort Riley Military Installation. Collinsorum 7(1):17.
Petersen, Christopher E., Robert E. Lovich, and Sarah Stallings. 2018. Amphibians and reptiles of United States Department of Defense installations. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 13(3):652–661.
Leao, Suelem Muniz, Eric R. Pianka, and Nicolás Pelegrin. 2018. Is there evidence for population regulation in amphibians and reptiles? Journal of Herpetology 52(1):28-33.
Pisani, George R. and J. Daren Riedle. 2018. Ontogenetic changes in tail-length and the possible relation to caudal luring in northeast Kansas Copperheads, Agkistrodon contortrix. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 121(3/4):403-410.
Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. 2019. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada. Third Edition. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 192 pp.
Daniel, Richard E. and Brian S. Edmond. 2020. Atlas of Missouri Amphibians and Reptiles for 2019. Privately printed, Columbia, Missouri. 86 pp.
Riedle, J. Daren. 2020. Revisiting Kansas Herpetological Society field trip and Herp Count data:
Distributional patterns and trend data of Kansas amphibians and reptiles. Collinsorum 9(1):7-16.
Hullinger, Allison, Zackary Cordes, Daren Riedle, and William Stark. 2020. Habitat assessment of the Broad-headed Skink (Plestiodon laticeps)
and the associated squamate community in eastern Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 123(1-2):137-150.
Taggart, Travis W and Sarah L Taggart. 2021. Herp Count: Cherokee County: KHS-2020-02. Collinsorum 9(3):11-12.
Taggart, Travis W and Sarah L Taggart. 2021. Herp Count: Cherokee County: KHS-2020-03. Collinsorum 9(3):12.
Burbrink, Frank and Sara Ruane. 2021. Contemporary philosophy and methods for studying
speciation and delimiting species. Ichthyology & Herpetology 109(3):874-894.
Holding, Matthew L., Jason L. Strickland, Rhett M. Rautsaw, Erich P. Hofmann, Andrew J. Mason, Michael P. Hogan, Gunnar S. Nystrom, Schyler A. Ellsworth, Timothy J. Colston, Miguel Borja, Gamaliel Castaneda-Gaytan, Christoph I. Grunwald, Jason M. Jones, Luciana A. Freitas-de-Sousa, Vincent Louis Viala, Mark J. Margres, Erika Hingst-Zaher, Inacio L. M. Junqueira-de-Azevedo, Ana M. Moura-da-Silvaf, Felipe G. Grazziotin, H. Lisle Gibbs, Darin R. Rokyta, and Christopher L. Parkinson. 2021. Phylogenetically diverse diets favor more complex venoms in North American pitvipers. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of the United States of America 118(17):10.
Petersen, Christopher E. and Robert E. Lovich. 2023. Department of Defense Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation: An annotated coloring book. US Navy, Norfolk, Virginia. 24 pp.