Snake Identifier

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.

Greater Black Whipsnake

Greater Black Whipsnake

A large, fast-moving, alert diurnal elapid of northern Australia and New Guinea, known for its speed and keen eyesight.

Brown Sipo

Brown Sipo

A slender, fast-moving brown colubrid of the Amazon rainforest, active during the day in vegetation and forest edges.

Variegated Slug-eater

Variegated Slug-eater

A small, patterned relative of the Common Slug-eater, restricted to parts of southern Africa and equally harmless to humans.

Coachwhip

Coachwhip

A slender, exceptionally fast-moving colubrid named for its braided, whip-like tail pattern.

Red-necked Keelback

Red-necked Keelback

A rear-fanged Asian colubrid notable for the bright red-orange patch on its neck and genuinely potent venom.

Black Mussurana

Black Mussurana

A large, glossy black colubrid widespread across Latin America, famed for eating other snakes, including venomous vipers and coral snakes.

Elegant Bronzeback

Elegant Bronzeback

A vividly colored, slender tree snake of Southeast Asian rainforests, known for its metallic bronze back and striking blue-and-black flanks.

Mexican Black Kingsnake

Mexican Black Kingsnake

A striking, almost entirely jet-black kingsnake from northwestern Mexico, notable for its uniform glossy appearance.

Durango Mountain Kingsnake

Durango Mountain Kingsnake

A tricolor mountain kingsnake from the pine-oak highlands of Durango, Mexico, part of the Mexican mountain kingsnake group.

Checkered Keelback

Checkered Keelback

One of the most common water-associated snakes in Asia, recognized by its checkerboard pattern and strongly keeled scales, frequently seen near rice paddies and ponds.

Prairie Kingsnake

Prairie Kingsnake

A secretive, moderately patterned kingsnake of grasslands and open woods, often mistaken for a young rat snake or gopher snake.

Sonoran Lyresnake

Sonoran Lyresnake

A slender, big-eyed nocturnal snake named for the lyre-shaped mark on its head, with rear fangs used to subdue small prey.

Variable Kingsnake

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

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

Black-headed Centipede-eater

A small, secretive African burrower named for its glossy black head and its diet of centipedes.

Himalayan Keelback

Himalayan Keelback

A small mountain-dwelling colubrid found along streams and moist habitats in the Himalayan foothills.

Florida Kingsnake

Florida Kingsnake

A regional kingsnake of the Florida peninsula, exhibiting a variable pattern often intermediate between banded and blotched forms.

Short-Tailed Kingsnake

Short-Tailed Kingsnake

A small, secretive Florida endemic with a slender body and reduced tail, rarely seen due to its burrowing habits.

California Lyresnake

California Lyresnake

A slender, rock-dwelling nocturnal snake with cat-like vertical pupils and a lyre-shaped head marking.

Transcaucasian Ratsnake

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.

Eastern Green Mamba Bush Viper

Eastern Green Mamba Bush Viper

An arboreal African viper with rough, keeled scales and variable green coloration, often mottled with yellow or blue tones.

Green Bush Viper

Green Bush Viper

A small, arboreal African viper with rough spiny scales and a body color that varies from green to yellow or blue-green.

False Fer-de-lance

False Fer-de-lance

A harmless colubrid widely known for mimicking dangerous fer-de-lance pit vipers through dramatic head-flattening displays.

Steppe Ratsnake

Steppe Ratsnake

A widespread, cold-tolerant ratsnake of the Eurasian steppe and taiga edges, ranging farther north than almost any other ratsnake species.