Agkistrodon is a genus of venomous pit vipers commonly known as American moccasins. The genus is endemic to North America, ranging from the Southern United States to northern Costa Rica. Eight species are currently recognized, all of them monotypic and closely related. Common names include: cottonmouths, copperheads, and cantils.
Agkistrodon bilineatus showing the large symmetrical platelike scales on the crown of the head that are characteristic of all species in the genus. The hazy blue eyes are typical of snakes that will soon shed their skin.
Image: Agkistrodon bilineatus 2
Image: Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) Flickr 2nd Peter (1)
Image: Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus
The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers, or pit adders, are a subfamily of vipers found in Asia and the Americas. Like all other vipers, they are venomous. They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on both sides of the head. Currently, 23 genera and 155 species are recognized: These are also the only viperids found in the Americas. The groups of snakes represented here include rattlesnakes, lanceheads, and Asian pit vipers. The type genus for this subfamily is Crotalus, of which the type species is the timber rattlesnake, C. horridus.
Pit viper
