Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell similar species apart.
San Diego Gopher Snake
A large southern California gopher snake subspecies frequently seen in coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitats.
San Luis Potosi Kingsnake
A boldly banded Mexican highland kingsnake with striking red, black, and cream tricolor rings.
Sand Boa
A small, stout, burrowing boa adapted for a life spent mostly beneath sand and loose soil in South Asia's dry habitats.
Sand Viper
One of the smallest vipers in the world, a tiny desert adder famous for its sideways locomotion across the dunes of the Namib.
Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake
A critically endangered island endemic notable for lacking a functional rattle segment, making it unusually silent among rattlesnakes.
Satiny Parrot Snake
A slender, iridescent green arboreal snake of Central American rainforests with a glossy, satin-like sheen.
Sauter's Coral Snake
A small, secretive coral snake endemic to Taiwan, named after the naturalist Hans Sauter, with reclusive, nocturnal habits.
Savu Python
A little-studied island endemic python restricted to the tiny Indonesian island of Savu.
Saw-Scaled Viper
A small viper found across the Middle East and South Asia, notable for producing a distinctive rasping sound by rubbing its scales together.
Scarlet Kingsnake
A small, vividly banded red, black, and yellow kingsnake of the southeastern US that resembles the coral snake.
Scarlet Snake
A small, secretive, banded snake often confused with coral snakes.
Schlegel's Beaked Blind Snake
One of the largest blind snakes in the world, notable for its hardened, beak-like snout used to dig through hard African soils.
Schokari Sand Racer
A slender, fast-moving desert racer common across North Africa and the Middle East, notable for its speed and daytime hunting habits.
Schott's Whipsnake
A slender, fast-moving whipsnake of South Texas brushlands, patterned with pale crossbands on a darker ground color.
Schultze's Pit Viper
A green pit viper endemic to the Philippines, named after the naturalist Schultze.
Sea Krait
A banded, amphibious sea snake that comes ashore to rest, digest, and lay eggs, unlike most fully marine sea snakes.
Sea Snake
A fully marine elapid adapted for life at sea, with a paddle-like tail and no need to return to land.
Semi-ornate Sand Snake
A fast, slender, striped sand snake found across dry savanna and semi-desert regions of Africa.
Semiornate Snake
A large, patterned African bush snake with cross-barring on the neck and one of the bigger species in its genus.
Seoane's Viper
A small viper endemic to the cool, humid northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, closely related to the common European adder.
Shark Bay Sea Snake
A regionally endemic sea snake restricted to the seagrass and reef habitats of Shark Bay in Western Australia.
Sharp-Tailed Snake
A small, secretive Pacific coast colubrid named for the sharp, spine-like tip of its tail, and a specialized predator of slugs.
Shield-Nosed Snake
A small, thick-bodied elapid of southern Africa named for its enlarged, shield-like rostral scale used for burrowing.
Short-Nosed Sea Snake
A small, rare sea snake with a short blunt snout, historically known from a few reef systems off Western Australia and now considered of high conservation concern.
Short-Tailed Kingsnake
A small, secretive Florida endemic with a slender body and reduced tail, rarely seen due to its burrowing habits.
Short-Tailed Mamushi
A short, stout pit viper closely related to the Japanese mamushi, found across East Asia.
Short-headed Garter Snake
A small, range-restricted garter snake found only in a narrow area of Pennsylvania and New York, specialized for hunting earthworms.
Short-snouted Grass Snake
A grassland-dwelling sand snake of southern Africa recognized by its relatively short snout and active daytime habits.
Siamese Peninsula Pit Viper
A green pit viper of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, part of a complex of closely related arboreal pitvipers.
Side-striped Palm Pit Viper
A slender green arboreal pit viper of Central American cloud forests, marked with a pale lateral stripe.
Sidewinder
A small desert rattlesnake famous for its unique sideways locomotion, which minimizes contact with scorching sand.
Sierra Garter Snake
An aquatic garter snake restricted to Sierra Nevada foothill streams and rivers of California.
Sinai Diadem Snake
A robust desert colubrid with a bold, saddle-like blotched pattern, known for its bluffing threat display and wide desert distribution.
Sinaloan Milk Snake
A brightly banded milk snake from western Mexico, known for its vivid red, black, and white/yellow tricolor rings.
Sind Awl-Headed Snake
A small, secretive burrowing colubrid of the arid Indus region, named for its narrow, pointed, awl-shaped snout adapted for pushing through sand.
Sind Krait
A krait of the Indus Valley region, closely related to the Common Krait.
Sind Saw-Scaled Viper
A small desert viper known for producing a distinctive rasping warning sound by rubbing its serrated scales together.
Slender Blind Snake
A tiny, worm-like blind snake often mistaken for an earthworm, spread worldwide through the potted plant trade.
Slender Hognosed Pit Viper
A slender terrestrial pit viper of Pacific dry forest habitats in Central America, related to other hognosed pit vipers.
Slender Racer
A slim, fast-moving whip snake found in dry, open habitats from the Balkans through the Middle East to Central Asia.
Slender Sea Snake
A slim-bodied sea snake found in tropical Indo-Pacific waters, with a tiny head and greatly elongated, thin forebody.
Slowinski's Corn Snake
A regional corn snake species found along the Texas-Louisiana border, closely resembling the more widespread corn snake but occupying a distinct range.
Small-Headed Sea Snake
A slender sea snake with a strikingly tiny head and narrow forebody widening toward the rear, found in shallow coastal waters across the Indo-Pacific.
Small-spotted Coral Snake
A Mexican coral snake with tricolor banding along the Pacific lowlands.
Smooth Earth Snake
A small, plain, burrowing colubrid of the eastern and central United States, closely resembling the Rough Earth Snake but with smooth scales.
Smooth Earthsnake
A small, plain-colored, smooth-scaled snake found under forest debris across a broad swath of the eastern U.S.
Smooth Green Snake
A small, grass-green colubrid of meadows and grasslands, distinguished from its relative by smooth, unkeeled scales.
Smooth Snake
A secretive, smooth-scaled European colubrid often mistaken for a viper, notable for constricting prey including other reptiles.