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.
Olive Python
One of Australia's largest snakes, a plain olive-brown python found around rocky gorges and river systems in the continent's arid and tropical north.
Amethystine Python
One of the longest snakes in the world, this iridescent brown python takes its name from the amethyst-like sheen its scales cast in sunlight.
Central American Mussurana
A robust, dark-colored colubrid from Central America famous within its genus for preying heavily on other snakes, including venomous species.
Indian Cobra
A highly venomous cobra of the Indian subcontinent, famous for the spectacle-like marking on its hood and its role in traditional snake charming.
Nose-Horned Viper Ammodytes
Europe's most venomous snake, easily identified by a distinctive soft horn-like scale projecting from the tip of its snout.
Malayan Krait
A slender, black-and-white banded krait of Southeast Asia, closely resembling the many-banded krait and regarded as one of the region's most medically significant snakes.
Reticulated Centipede-eater
A small, secretive African snake specialized for hunting centipedes, with a fine reticulated pattern and a mild venom adapted to subdue its arthropod prey.
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.
Round Island Boa
A now likely-extinct burrowing boa once endemic to Round Island near Mauritius, notable for its unique jaw structure among snakes.
Many-Banded Krait
A slender, black-and-white banded krait of East and Southeast Asia with venom among the most potent of any land snake, well known in the herpetological and medical literature.
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
One of the most widespread and commonly encountered rattlesnakes of the American Southwest, known for its bold tail rings.
McMahon's Viper
A stout, sand-dwelling true viper with an upturned snout adapted for burrowing in loose desert dunes.
False Horned Viper
A desert viper of the Middle East that mimics true horned vipers with supraocular scale projections, but belongs to a distinct genus.
Forest Cobra
The largest true cobra species, a highly venomous elapid of Central and West African forests with a glossy dark body and pale lip markings.
Rinkhals
A distinctive southern African elapid, related to but taxonomically separate from true cobras, known for spitting venom, feigning death, and giving birth to live young.
Japanese Mamushi
A small but medically significant pit viper widespread across Japan, responsible for the majority of the country's venomous snakebites.
Puff Adder
A widespread, thick-bodied African viper responsible for more snakebite incidents than any other African species, largely due to its abundance and camouflage.
Terciopelo
A large, medically significant pit viper responsible for the majority of snakebite incidents across its Central American range.
Brazilian Lancehead
A medium to large lancehead pit viper of central Brazil's savanna, responsible for a significant number of snakebite cases in the region.
Fer-de-lance
A large, fast-moving, and medically significant pit viper responsible for the majority of snakebite incidents across much of its Central American range.
Malayan Pit Viper
A medium-sized, heavy-bodied pit viper of Southeast Asia known for its distinctive triangular head markings and its role in significant numbers of snakebite cases in the region.
Eastern Russell's Viper
A medium to large, heavy-bodied viper found across Southeast Asia, closely related to the Indian Russell's Viper and responsible for significant snakebite incidence in its range.
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.