Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell similar species apart.
Tokara Habu
A small island endemic pit viper restricted to Japan's Tokara island chain.
Jararacussu
One of the largest South American lanceheads, a heavy-bodied forest pit viper.
Bushmaster
The longest viper in the Americas and the largest pit viper in the world, an elusive forest dweller of Central and South America.
Sakishima Habu
A medium-sized pit viper endemic to the Sakishima Islands of southern Japan.
Southern Copperhead
A common, well-camouflaged pit viper of southern woodlands with a cryptic pattern.
Kingsnake
A glossy constrictor famous for preying on other snakes, including pit vipers.
Central American Bushmaster
One of the largest snakes in the Americas, a massive, reclusive pit viper of Central American rainforests.
Mexican Cantil
A dark, bold-patterned pit viper of Mexican tropical lowlands, closely related to the cottonmouth and copperhead.
Forest Racer
A slim, keel-scaled racer inhabiting the leaf litter and understory of humid Neotropical forests.
Keeled Rat Snake
A very large, fast-moving rat snake from Southeast Asian rainforests, distinguished by strongly keeled dorsal scales that give it a rough texture.
Dwarf File Snake
A small African file snake with rough, keeled scales, named for its diminutive size relative to its larger relatives.
Common Glossy Racer
A widespread, smooth-scaled racer with a glossy sheen, found across a broad swath of Neotropical habitats.
Velvety Green Night Adder
A smooth-scaled, bright green night adder found in East and Central African grasslands, distinguished from bush vipers by its rounded head and smooth scalation.
Taylor's Cantil
A distinctively patterned pit viper of northeastern Mexico, notable for its bright orange facial stripes.
Eastern Copperhead
A copper-colored pit viper common across the eastern and central United States, known for its hourglass-shaped bands.
Cottonmouth
A heavy-bodied, semi-aquatic pit viper of the southeastern US, famous for the white interior of its mouth displayed as a threat.
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.
Western Rattlesnake
A widespread pit viper of the western United States and Canada, recognized by its dark blotches and rattling tail.
Rough Earthsnake
A tiny, drab, keeled-scaled snake commonly hidden beneath leaf litter and garden debris across the Southeast.
Silver Boa
An extremely rare, silvery-scaled boa described only in 2016, found solely on a single tiny island in the Bahamas.
Northern Cottonmouth
A stout, semi-aquatic pit viper of southeastern wetlands, named for the white lining of its mouth displayed as a threat.
Smooth Earthsnake
A small, plain-colored, smooth-scaled snake found under forest debris across a broad swath of the eastern U.S.
King Rat Snake
A large, powerfully built East Asian rat snake with strongly keeled scales, known for its yellowish crossbanding and its habit of preying on other snakes.
Jararaca
A widespread South American pit viper important pharmacologically, as compounds isolated from it led to the development of ACE inhibitor drugs.