Agkistrodon

Agkistrodon
Temporal range: Miocene - present
Eastern copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Agkistrodon
Palisot de Beauvois, 1799
Synonyms
  • Agkistrodon Palisot de Beauvois, 1799
  • Agkishodon Palisot de Beauvois, 1799
  • Scytale Latreille In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801
  • Cenchris Daudin, 1803
  • Cenchrus Link, 1807
  • Scytalus Fischer, 1813
  • Tisiphone Fitzinger, 1826
  • Ancistrodon Wagler, 1830
  • Acontias Troost, 1836
  • Toxicophis Troost, 1836

Agkistrodon is a genus of pit vipers commonly known as American moccasins. The genus is endemic to North America, ranging from the northeastern United States to northern Costa Rica. Eight species are recognized as being valid, all of them monotypic and closely related. Common names include: cottonmouths, copperheads, and cantils.