Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell similar species apart.
Western Yellow-bellied Sand Snake
A slender, arid-adapted sand snake of southwestern Africa distinguished by its bright yellow underside and swift diurnal foraging.
Twin-spotted Rat Snake
A small, slender rat snake from China marked with paired dark spots along its back, well suited to rocky and hilly terrain.
Twin-barred Tree Snake
A small relative of the flying snakes, marked with paired dark bars along a reddish or orange body, native to Southeast Asian forests.
Twin-Spotted Wolf Snake
A small nocturnal colubrid with paired dark spots and enlarged front teeth.
Common Egg-eater
A remarkable African colubrid that feeds exclusively on bird eggs, using specialized vertebral spines in its throat to crack shells after swallowing them whole.
Cape Centipede-Eater
A small, secretive southern African snake that specializes in hunting centipedes.
Black-headed Centipede-eater
A small, secretive African burrower named for its glossy black head and its diet of centipedes.
Common Slug-eater
A small African colubrid that feeds exclusively on slugs and snails.
Bibron's Burrowing Asp
A secretive African burrowing snake known for its unusual sideways stabbing strike delivered without opening its mouth wide.
Spotted Skaapsteker
A slender, patterned southern African snake whose name derives from a folk belief linking it to livestock.
Duberria Lutrix
A small African colubrid known scientifically as Duberria lutrix, specialized in eating slugs and snails.
Variegated Slug-eater
A small, patterned relative of the Common Slug-eater, restricted to parts of southern Africa.
Schokari Sand Racer
A slender, fast-moving desert racer common across North Africa and the Middle East, notable for its speed and daytime hunting habits.
Striped Skaapsteker
A slender, longitudinally striped snake found across grassland regions of southern and East Africa, closely related to the spotted skaapsteker.
Boomslang
A slender, large-eyed African tree snake.
Mole Viper
A small, cylindrical, burrowing snake with a distinctive sideways striking motion, found across much of sub-Saharan Africa.
Desert Cobra
A glossy black, primarily nocturnal elapid found in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East.
Reticulated Centipede-eater
A small, secretive African snake specialized for hunting centipedes, with a fine reticulated pattern.
Montane Egg-eater
A small African snake specialized entirely for eating bird eggs, found in highland and montane habitats of East and Central Africa.
Calabar Burrowing Python
A stout, secretive burrowing snake of West and Central Africa whose blunt tail mimics its head.
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.
Calabar Boa
A cylindrical, burrowing boa-like snake from West and Central Africa with a distinctive blunt tail used to confuse predators.
Southern Brown Egg-eater
A plain brown egg-specialist snake widespread in southern Africa, capable of swallowing bird eggs whole despite its small head.
Black Mamba
Africa's longest snake, renowned for its speed and the black interior of its mouth.