Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell similar species apart.
Cottonmouth
A heavy-bodied, semi-aquatic pit viper of the southeastern US, famous for the white interior of its mouth displayed as a threat.
Bardick
A stout, short-tailed elapid of southern Australia's heath and mallee, notable for its viper-like ambush hunting style.
Black-headed Bushmaster
A large, rare pit viper endemic to a small region of Pacific Costa Rica, distinguished by its notably dark head.
Northern Death Adder
A stout, ambush-hunting elapid with a viper-like body shape, found across tropical northern Australia and New Guinea.
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.
Jararaca
A widespread South American pit viper important pharmacologically, as compounds isolated from it led to the development of ACE inhibitor drugs.
Copperhead
A copper-colored pit viper common across the eastern US, known for its hourglass-shaped crossbands and reliance on camouflage.
Patagonian Lancehead
A small pit viper found further south than any other pitviper in the world, inhabiting the cold steppes of Patagonia.
Copperhead Rattlesnake
Despite the informal name, a rattle-less pit viper with a distinctive coppery, hourglass-banded pattern found across the eastern US.
Island Lancehead
A rare, small island-endemic pit viper found only on Alcatrazes Island off the coast of Brazil, closely related to the Golden Lancehead.
Common Cat Snake
A slender, patterned nocturnal snake found across the Indian subcontinent, often mistaken for a young viper due to its triangular head and vertical pupils.
Black Mussurana
A large, glossy black colubrid widespread across Latin America, famed for eating other snakes, including vipers and coral snakes.
Common Death Adder
A short, thick-bodied ambush-predator elapid that mimics a viper in body shape and hunting style, using a worm-like tail lure to attract prey.
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.