Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell similar species apart.
Twin-spotted Rat Snake
A small, slender rat snake from China marked with paired dark spots along its back, well suited to rocky and hilly terrain.
Two-Colored Snake
A small, slender Central American colubrid named for the sharply contrasting dark upperside and pale underside typical of the genus.
Two-striped Garter Snake
A strongly aquatic garter snake of southern California streams, notable for lacking a middorsal stripe.
Utah Milk Snake
A small tricolor milk snake subspecies with narrow red, black, and white/yellow bands found in the arid intermountain West.
Variable Kingsnake
A wide-ranging, highly variable kingsnake found from Mexico to Central America, showing diverse banding and color patterns across its range.
Variable Sand Snake
A small burrowing desert snake closely related to the banded sand snake, showing variable banding intensity across its Sonoran Desert range.
Variegated Slug-eater
A small, patterned relative of the Common Slug-eater, restricted to parts of southern Africa.
Variegated Snail-eater
A brightly banded, snail-eating colubrid of Central American rainforests, named for its variegated red, black, and cream coloration.
Variegated Wolf Snake
A larger Southeast Asian wolf snake with variable banding that changes with age, resembling kraits when young.
Vine Snake
An extremely slender, twig-like colubrid that camouflages among vines and branches, striking rapidly at lizard prey.
Viperine Snake
An aquatic colubrid from southwestern Europe and North Africa whose zigzag pattern resembles that of true vipers.
Wagler's Snake
A nocturnal, vertical-pupiled colubrid from Mexico and Central America closely related to the widespread cat-eyed snakes.
Water Snake
A heavy-bodied, aquatic colubrid frequently mistaken for cottonmouths.
West African Egg-eater
An egg-specialist snake from West and Central African forests, notable for its ability to swallow eggs many times the width of its head.
West Coast Garter Snake
A common streamside garter snake of the Pacific coast, often seen basking near rivers and creeks in California and Oregon.
Western Fox Snake
A stout, tan-and-brown blotched constrictor of the Midwest prairies, sometimes mistaken for a rattlesnake due to tail vibration.
Western Groundsnake
A small, highly variable desert snake that may be striped, banded, or plain depending on the population.
Western Hognose Snake
A stout, upturned-nosed colubrid of the North American prairies, known for its bluffing displays.
Western Lyre Snake
A slender, big-eyed nocturnal snake of desert canyons and rocky slopes, named for the lyre-shaped mark atop its head.
Western Patch-Nosed Snake
A slender, fast-moving desert snake named for the enlarged, shield-like scale covering the tip of its snout.
Western Rat Snake
A large, dark constrictor of the central U.S. that darkens with age, closely related to the eastern and gray rat snakes.
Western Ribbon Snake
A slender, fast-moving striped snake closely tied to water, ranging from the central US south through Mexico into Central America.
Western Shovel-Nosed Snake
A small, banded desert specialist with a flattened, shovel-shaped snout adapted for burrowing through loose sand.
Western Shovelnose Snake
A small, boldly banded desert colubrid with a countersunk lower jaw and flattened snout adapted for swimming through loose desert sand.
Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
A highly variable and widespread western garter snake found from mountain meadows to coastal lowlands.
Western Whip Snake
A fast, alert colubrid of southern Europe known for its bold yellow-and-black pattern.
Western Worm Snake
A small, uniformly purplish-brown burrowing snake of the central plains, closely resembling its eastern relative.
Western Yellow-bellied Sand Snake
A slender, arid-adapted sand snake of southwestern Africa distinguished by its bright yellow underside and swift diurnal foraging.
White-Bellied Mangrove Snake
A stocky, mildly aquatic mangrove-dwelling snake specialized in feeding on soft-shelled crabs.
White-lipped Keelback
A small forest-floor colubrid of Southeast Asia distinguished by its contrasting white upper lip scales.
White-spotted Cat Snake
A slender, marbled cat snake often marked with pale flecks, found in the forests of Southeast Asia.
Worm Snake
A tiny, glossy, worm-like colubrid of the eastern United States that spends nearly all its life burrowed underground in loose soil and leaf litter.
Worm Snake Eastern
A small, glossy, worm-like colubrid of eastern North American forests, spending nearly all its life burrowed in loose, moist soil.
Yaqui Black-Headed Snake
A small, secretive snake of southeastern Arizona's mountain canyons, with a tan body and dark head cap.
Yellow Rat Snake
A striking striped rat snake variant found in the Deep South, typically yellow or olive with four dark longitudinal stripes.
Yellow-bellied House Snake
A small South African house snake distinguished by its bright yellow underside contrasting with a darker back.
Yellow-bellied Liophis
A widespread South American colubrid with a bright yellow belly, often found near wetlands and grasslands.
Yellow-bellied Puffing Snake
One of South America's largest colubrid snakes, known for inflating its neck and hissing loudly when threatened, with a bright yellow underside.
Yellow-speckled Wolf Snake
A nocturnal Asian wolf snake with fine yellow speckling on a dark body, preying chiefly on lizards.
Yellow-tailed Cribo
A large, powerful South American colubrid related to indigo snakes, known for its glossy scales and impressive length.
Yellowbelly Water Snake
A plain, dark-backed water snake subspecies with a pale yellow belly, common in bottomland wetlands of the Mississippi Valley and Gulf states.
Awl-Headed Snake
A small desert colubrid with a pointed, awl-like snout used for burrowing, closely related to the crowned leaf-nosed snake and adapted to sandy habitats.
Black-Headed Dwarf Snake
A small, secretive colubrid distinguished by its dark head cap, found in rocky and arid terrain across parts of the Middle East.
Bogert's Garter Snake
A montane garter snake from the highlands of Oaxaca, named after herpetologist Charles Bogert.
Bridal Snake
A slender relative of the diadem snakes endemic to the Zagros region of western Iran, marked with fine, small scales and a subtly blotched pattern.
Broad-banded Garter Snake
A striped garter snake variant found near streams and rivers in Texas, notable for its wide dorsal stripe.
Central American Mussurana
A robust, dark-colored colubrid from Central America famous within its genus for preying heavily on other snakes.
Chiapas Highland Garter Snake
A small, striped garter snake endemic to the cool highland streams and cloud forests of Chiapas, Mexico, and neighboring Guatemala.