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.

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.

Yellow-tailed Cribo

Yellow-tailed Cribo

A large, powerful South American colubrid related to indigo snakes, known for its glossy scales and impressive length.

Yellow-Faced Whipsnake

Yellow-Faced Whipsnake

A slender, fast-moving Australian elapid named for the distinctive yellowish marking on its face, active by day and generally shy toward humans.

Black Mussurana

Black Mussurana

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

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.

Northern Bandy-Bandy

A banded burrowing elapid of tropical northern Australia, closely related to the common bandy-bandy.

Prairie Kingsnake

Prairie Kingsnake

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

Black Swampsnake

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

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.

Speckled Kingsnake

Speckled Kingsnake

A glossy black kingsnake speckled with small yellow spots on nearly every scale, giving it a salt-and-pepper appearance.

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.

Madagascar Ground Boa

Madagascar Ground Boa

A large, heavy-bodied terrestrial boa endemic to Madagascar, distinguished from its tree-dwelling relative by its stouter build and ground-dwelling habits.

Steppe Viper

A small, grassland-dwelling viper of the Eurasian steppe, closely related to the common European Adder.

Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake

Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake

A tiny, common rattlesnake of Florida wetlands and pinelands, notable for its buzzy, insect-like rattle.

Rhombic Egg-eater

Rhombic Egg-eater

A patterned southern African egg-eating snake, closely related to (and often considered the same species complex as) the common egg-eater, marked by bold diamond-shaped dorsal blotches.