Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell similar species apart.
Reddish Whip Snake
A slender, fast-moving colubrid with a reddish-brown, striped pattern, widely distributed across arid regions of the Middle East and Central Asia.
Redtail Bamboo Pit Viper
A slender green bamboo pit viper of South and Southeast Asia, named for the reddish tail found in many individuals.
Redtail Coral Snake
A slender coral snake distinguished by its black-and-white banded body ending in a strikingly reddish-orange tail.
Regal Coral Snake
A tricolor coral snake widespread across Mexico's Gulf lowlands and the Yucatan Peninsula.
Reticulated Centipede-eater
A small, secretive African snake specialized for hunting centipedes, with a fine reticulated pattern.
Reticulated Python
The longest snake species in the world, a Southeast Asian constrictor famed for its intricate, iridescent pattern.
Rhinoceros Viper
A strikingly patterned African viper with distinctive horn-like scales on its snout, known for stunning geometric coloration.
Rhombic Egg-eater
A patterned southern African egg-eating snake, closely related to (and often considered the same species complex as) the common egg-eater, marked by bold diamond-shaped dorsal blotches.
Rhombic Night Adder
A widespread African viper named for the diamond-shaped blotches along its back.
Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake
A small, secretive rattlesnake of isolated 'sky island' mountain ranges, named for a distinctive ridge along its snout.
Rim Rock Crowned Snake
A rare, tiny Florida endemic snake with a dark crown-like head cap, restricted to limestone rockland habitat.
Ring-Necked Snake
A small, secretive colubrid identified by a bright ring of color around its neck, common across much of North America.
Ringed Brown Snake
One of the smallest members of the brown snake genus, distinguished by dark banding around its body, found in arid central and western Australia.
Ringed Snail-eater
An alternate name for the boldly ringed Central American snail-eating snake, distinguished by its complete encircling bands of color.
Ringneck Snake
A small, widespread North American snake recognized by a bright yellow, orange, or cream neck ring against a dark, uniform body.
Rinkhals
A distinctive southern African elapid, related to but taxonomically separate from true cobras, known for feigning death and giving birth to live young.
Road Guarder
A striped ground snake often seen basking on roads and open paths in dry tropical habitats.
Rock Mamushi
A rock-dwelling pit viper native to the Korean Peninsula, closely resembling other regional mamushis.
Rock Rattlesnake
A small, boldly banded rattlesnake of rocky mountain habitats along the US-Mexico borderlands.
Rosy Boa
A small, calm desert boa recognized by three dark longitudinal stripes running down its otherwise pale, sandy body.
Rough Earth Snake
A tiny, plain-colored, fossorial colubrid common in leaf litter and gardens across the southeastern United States.
Rough Earthsnake
A tiny, drab, keeled-scaled snake commonly hidden beneath leaf litter and garden debris across the Southeast.
Rough Green Snake
A slender, bright green colubrid with keeled scales, common in shrubs and vegetation near water across the southeastern US.
Rough-Scaled Bush Viper
A striking arboreal viper covered in unusually long, upturned, spine-like scales that give it a shaggy, bristly appearance.
Rough-Scaled Python
A rarely seen python distinguished by unusually keeled, rough-textured scales, restricted to a small area of the Kimberley in Australia.
Rough-Scaled Sand Boa
A stout, blunt-tailed burrowing boa from South Asia with a bold, blotched pattern often mistaken for a viper.
Rough-Scaled Sea Snake
A heavily built sea snake with distinctly rough, keeled scales.
Rough-Scaled Snake
A distinctive elapid with unusually keeled scales, found in rainforests and wet forests of eastern Australia.
Round Island Keel-Scaled Boa
The last surviving species of an ancient, highly endangered snake family, found only on Round Island near Mauritius and rescued through conservation breeding.
Royal Ground Snake
A small, brightly marked ground-dwelling colubrid found in open and forested habitats across northern South America.
Rubber Boa
A small boa with loose, wrinkled skin resembling rubber, found at higher elevations and cooler climates than most other boas.
Rubber Boa Northern
A small, smooth-skinned boa from western North America named for its rubbery, loose-fitting skin.
Ruby-Eyed Green Pit Viper
A green pit viper of southern Indochina known for its distinctive ruby-red eyes.
Rufous Beaked Snake
A fast-moving, ground-dwelling African snake named for its distinctive upturned, beak-like snout used for burrowing and probing after prey.
Ruschenberger's Tree Boa
A slender, arboreal tree boa of Central America and northern South America closely related to the common tree boa.
Russell's Kukri Snake
A small kukri snake of the Indian subcontinent named after herpetologist Patrick Russell.
Russell's Viper
One of Asia's best-known vipers, known for its striking chain-like pattern.
Ruthven's Kingsnake
A strikingly banded highland kingsnake of central Mexico, often patterned in red, black, and cream tricolor rings.
Sabah Pit Viper
A green pit viper found in the forests of Sabah in northern Borneo.
Saddled Leaf-Nosed Snake
A larger relative of the Spotted Leaf-Nosed Snake bearing bold, saddle-shaped brown blotches along its back.
Sahara Horned Viper
A desert-dwelling viper famous for the small horn-like projections above its eyes, well camouflaged against sand.
Sahara Sand Viper
A small, sand-colored desert viper often bearing distinctive hornlike scales above each eye, famous for its sideways "sidewinding" locomotion across loose dunes.
Saharan Sand Boa
A burrowing sand boa of the Saharan and Sahelian regions of Africa, adapted for life beneath loose desert sand.
Saharan Sand Viper
A classic desert viper of North Africa, often depicted with distinctive horn-like scales above each eye and famed for its sidewinding tracks across dunes.
Sakishima Habu
A medium-sized pit viper endemic to the Sakishima Islands of southern Japan.
Salmon-bellied Racer
A slender, fast-moving racer named for its pale salmon or pinkish belly, common in Central American lowlands.
Salt Marsh Snake
A slender water snake specialized for life in coastal salt marshes and mangrove habitats.
Samar Cobra
A spitting cobra native to the central and southern Philippines, closely related to the Philippine cobra of Luzon but recognized as a distinct species.