Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with venomous status, family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell look-alikes apart.
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
A common rattlesnake of coastal and inland southern California, noted for its variable venom and dark diamond blotches.
Collared Dwarf Racer
A tiny, secretive colubrid of the Middle East and Caucasus, notable for its small size and a dark collar marking behind the head.
European Adder
The only venomous snake native to the British Isles, with an enormous range spanning from western Europe to the Russian Far East, including areas within the Arctic Circle.
Brongersma's Pit Viper
A green Southeast Asian pit viper of Malay Peninsula forests, named for herpetologist Leo Brongersma.
Durango Mountain Kingsnake
A tricolor mountain kingsnake from the pine-oak highlands of Durango, Mexico, part of the Mexican mountain kingsnake group.
Variegated Slug-eater
A small, patterned relative of the Common Slug-eater, restricted to parts of southern Africa and equally harmless to humans.
Black Mussurana
A large, glossy black colubrid widespread across Latin America, famed for eating other snakes, including venomous vipers and coral snakes.
Striped Skaapsteker
A slender, longitudinally striped snake found across grassland regions of southern and East Africa, closely related to the spotted skaapsteker.
Saw-Scaled Viper
A small but highly venomous viper found across the Middle East and South Asia, notable for producing a distinctive rasping sound by rubbing its scales together and responsible for a large number of snakebite incidents in its range.
Redtail Bamboo Pit Viper
A slender green bamboo pit viper of South and Southeast Asia, named for the reddish tail found in many individuals.
Coachwhip
A slender, exceptionally fast-moving colubrid named for its braided, whip-like tail pattern.
Common Bronzeback
A slender, fast-moving, day-active tree snake with a bronze-toned back, common across gardens and forest edges of the Indian subcontinent.
Machete Savane
A large, strikingly patterned black-and-yellow colubrid found from Mexico to Argentina, known locally as the Machete Savane and famed for its speed and bold temperament.
California Lyresnake
A slender, rock-dwelling nocturnal snake with cat-like vertical pupils and a lyre-shaped head marking.
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
A small, pale rattlesnake of the Colorado Plateau notable for having one of the most potent venoms among North American rattlesnakes relative to its size.
Mexican Dusky Rattlesnake
A small, high-elevation rattlesnake of Mexico's central highland forests, notable for its diminutive size and dark, muted coloration.
Mexican Lance-headed Rattlesnake
A small rattlesnake of the central Mexican plateau notable for its distinctly narrow, lance-shaped head compared to most rattlesnakes.
Irian Jaya Carpet Python
A New Guinea locality form of carpet python noted for its striking, high-contrast blotched pattern and relatively robust build.
Black-speckled Palm Pit Viper
A small, mottled green and black arboreal pit viper found in the high-elevation cloud forests of Costa Rica and Panama.
Red-Headed Krait
A large, vividly colored krait of Southeast Asian rainforests, notable for its glossy black body, bright red or orange head and tail, and thin blue vertebral stripe.
Red Sand Boa
A thick-bodied, burrowing boa with a blunt tail often mistaken for a second head, prized illegally in wildlife trafficking.
Elegant Bronzeback
A vividly colored, slender tree snake of Southeast Asian rainforests, known for its metallic bronze back and striking blue-and-black flanks.
Mangrove Pit Viper
A slender green pit viper specialized for life along mangrove coastlines and tidal forests across South and Southeast Asia.
Transcaucasian Ratsnake
A small, secretive ratsnake of the Caucasus and surrounding mountains, closely related to the Aesculapian snake but with a much smaller range and size.