Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell similar species apart.
Black Swampsnake
A small, glossy black wetland snake with a bright red-orange belly, found in dense marsh vegetation of the southeastern coastal plain.
Sonoran Lyresnake
A slender, big-eyed nocturnal snake named for the lyre-shaped mark on its head.
Variable Kingsnake
A wide-ranging, highly variable kingsnake found from Mexico to Central America, showing diverse banding and color patterns across its range.
Mexican Burrowing Python
A rare, primitive burrowing snake from Mexico and Central America, the sole member of its own family and a close relative of true pythons.
Black-headed Centipede-eater
A small, secretive African burrower named for its glossy black head and its diet of centipedes.
Himalayan Keelback
A small mountain-dwelling colubrid found along streams and moist habitats in the Himalayan foothills.
Florida Kingsnake
A regional kingsnake of the Florida peninsula, exhibiting a variable pattern often intermediate between banded and blotched forms.
Short-Tailed Kingsnake
A small, secretive Florida endemic with a slender body and reduced tail, rarely seen due to its burrowing habits.
Speckled Kingsnake
A glossy black kingsnake speckled with small yellow spots on nearly every scale, giving it a salt-and-pepper appearance.
California Lyresnake
A slender, rock-dwelling nocturnal snake with cat-like vertical pupils and a lyre-shaped head marking.
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.
Round Island Boa
A now likely-extinct burrowing boa once endemic to Round Island near Mauritius, notable for its unique jaw structure among snakes.
Steppe Ratsnake
A widespread, cold-tolerant ratsnake of the Eurasian steppe and taiga edges, ranging farther north than almost any other ratsnake species.
False Fer-de-lance
A colubrid widely known for resembling fer-de-lance pit vipers through dramatic head-flattening displays.
San Luis Potosi Kingsnake
A boldly banded Mexican highland kingsnake with striking red, black, and cream tricolor rings.
Jamaican Boa
Jamaica's largest native snake, a constrictor known locally as the 'yellow snake' for its coloration, and considered vulnerable due to introduced predators.
Striped Skaapsteker
A slender, longitudinally striped snake found across grassland regions of southern and East Africa, closely related to the spotted skaapsteker.
Spotted Skaapsteker
A slender, patterned southern African snake whose name derives from a folk belief linking it to livestock.
Schott's Whipsnake
A slender, fast-moving whipsnake of South Texas brushlands, patterned with pale crossbands on a darker ground color.
Yellow-bellied Liophis
A widespread South American colubrid with a bright yellow belly, often found near wetlands and grasslands.
Water Moccasin
A heavy-bodied semi-aquatic pit viper of the southeastern US, named for the white lining of its mouth displayed as a threat.
Inland Taipan
A reclusive Australian elapid of remote arid regions.
Painted Bronzeback
A brightly patterned, agile tree snake of Southeast Asia, named for the bold black-and-cream striping revealed between its scales when alarmed.
Cape Centipede-Eater
A small, secretive southern African snake that specializes in hunting centipedes.