1
Adder
Vipera berus
A widespread Eurasian viper with a zig-zag dorsal stripe, the only venomous snake native to most of northern Europe and the British Isles.
Below are snakes that contain the letter A anywhere in the name. Each of the 105 snakes below opens to a full profile.
Table of contents
List of Snakes That Contain A
2
Aesculapian Snake
Zamenis longissimus
A large, slender non-venomous European colubrid named for the staff of Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine.
3
African Rock Python
Python sebae
Africa's largest snake and one of the world's heaviest constrictors, blotched with rich brown and tan along its long, muscular body.
4
Anaconda
Eunectes murinus
The green anaconda is the heaviest snake in the world, a massive semi-aquatic boa of South American swamps and slow river systems.
5
Arabian Sand Boa
Eryx jayakari
A small, pop-eyed desert boa with eyes set on top of its head, allowing it to ambush prey while completely buried in loose sand.
6
Asian Vine Snake
Ahaetulla nasuta
A slender, leaf-green tree snake of South and Southeast Asia with binocular vision and a delicate pointed snout.
7
Asp Viper
Vipera aspis
A short, thick alpine viper of southwestern Europe, named for the asp of Greek and Roman antiquity but distinct from Cleopatra's snake.
8
Ball Python
Python regius
A small, docile West African python that curls into a tight ball when threatened, now the most popular pet snake in the world.
9
Banded Krait
Bungarus fasciatus
A boldly black-and-yellow ringed elapid of South and Southeast Asia, shy by day but highly venomous if cornered.
10
Black Mamba
Dendroaspis polylepis
Africa's fastest snake and one of the most feared elapids, named for the inky black lining of its mouth rather than its skin colour.
11
Black Racer
Coluber constrictor
A fast, slender, glossy black colubrid common across the eastern United States, frequently mistaken for a venomous snake.
12
Blue Coral Snake
Calliophis bivirgatus
A spectacular Southeast Asian elapid with deep blue flanks, a red head and tail, and venom glands stretching a quarter of its body length.
13
Boa Constrictor
Boa constrictor
A heavy-bodied neotropical boa famed for its strong constriction and adaptability across forests, savannas, and human-modified habitats.
14
Boomslang
Dispholidus typus
A large-eyed, slender African tree snake with potent rear-fanged hemotoxic venom and remarkable colour differences between the sexes.
15
Brown Tree Snake
Boiga irregularis
A nocturnal Indo-Pacific colubrid notorious for invading Guam and devastating the island's native bird fauna.
16
Bull Snake
Pituophis catenifer sayi
A large constrictor of the North American Great Plains that hisses loudly and rattles its tail when threatened, often mistaken for a rattlesnake.
17
Bushmaster
Lachesis muta
The largest viper in the Americas, a long-fanged neotropical pit viper feared in rainforest villages from Nicaragua to Brazil.
18
Carpet Python
Morelia spilota
A widely variable Australasian python with bold geometric patterns, comfortable in trees, rocks, and even suburban roofs.
19
Coachwhip
Masticophis flagellum
A long, slender, exceptionally fast North American colubrid whose tail is patterned like a braided whip.
20
Coastal Taipan
Oxyuranus scutellatus
Australia's largest venomous snake and one of the world's most dangerous elapids, with a coffin-shaped head and lightning-fast strike.
21
Common Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis
A small, harmless North American snake with three pale stripes down a dark back, one of the most familiar wild snakes on the continent.
22
Common Krait
Bungarus caeruleus
A glossy black-and-white South Asian elapid responsible for many bites at night because it readily enters homes and beds.
23
Copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix
A pit viper of the eastern United States with copper-coloured hourglass bands, responsible for more snakebites in the U.S. than any other species.
24
Coral Snake
Micrurus nigrocinctus
A widespread brightly ringed neotropical elapid with potent neurotoxic venom, common in moist forests across Central and northern South America.
25
Corn Snake
Pantherophis guttatus
A handsome orange-and-red North American rat snake long popular in herpetoculture as a beginner-friendly pet.
26
Death Adder
Acanthophis antarcticus
A squat, viper-like Australian elapid that ambushes prey by wriggling its grub-shaped tail tip as a lure.
27
Desert Kingsnake
Lampropeltis splendida
A handsome chain-patterned North American constrictor that hunts and eats other snakes, including rattlesnakes.
28
Dice Snake
Natrix tessellata
A non-venomous European water snake with a peppered "dice" pattern, hunting fish almost exclusively in clean streams and lakes.
29
Dog-faced Water Snake
Cerberus rynchops
A stocky, mildly venomous snake of Asian mangrove swamps with a blunt dog-like snout suited to hunting in muddy water.
30
Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake
Sistrurus miliarius barbouri
A tiny, irritable Florida rattlesnake whose rattle is so small that it sounds more like an insect buzz than a warning.
31
Eastern Brown Snake
Pseudonaja textilis
An aggressive, slim Australian elapid responsible for most snakebite deaths on the continent and possessing the world's second-most toxic venom.
32
Eastern Coral Snake
Micrurus fulvius
A small, slender, red-yellow-and-black ringed elapid of the American Southeast with extremely potent neurotoxic venom.
33
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus adamanteus
The largest rattlesnake in the world, a heavy-bodied pit viper of the longleaf pine ecosystems of the American Southeast.
34
Eastern Indigo Snake
Drymarchon couperi
The longest native snake in the United States, a glossy blue-black colubrid that preys on venomous snakes in the southeastern coastal plain.
35
Egyptian Cobra
Naja haje
A large, broad-hooded African elapid steeped in ancient Egyptian symbolism and reputed to be the snake of Cleopatra's death.
36
European Adder
Vipera berus
A small, cool-tolerant Eurasian viper whose dark zig-zag stripe is one of the most recognisable patterns in European wildlife.
37
Eyelash Viper
Bothriechis schlegelii
A small, colourful arboreal pit viper of Central American cloud forests, named for the spiky raised scales above its eyes.
38
False Coral Snake
Anilius scytale
A South American colubrid that mimics the bold red-and-black ringed pattern of true coral snakes but is harmless to humans.
39
Fer-de-Lance
Bothrops asper
A heavy-bodied neotropical pit viper responsible for most snakebite injuries in Central and South America.
40
Flowerpot Snake
Indotyphlops braminus
The most widely distributed land snake on Earth, a tiny blind burrower spread by potted plants and parthenogenetic reproduction.
41
Forest Cobra
Naja melanoleuca
A large, glossy black-and-yellow African elapid of equatorial rainforests, known for its semi-aquatic habits and powerful neurotoxic venom.
42
Gaboon Viper
Bitis gabonica
A massive, perfectly camouflaged African viper with the longest fangs of any snake, lying motionless in leaf litter for weeks at a time.
43
Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis
A small striped North American natricine snake found in nearly every habitat across the continent, harmless and often kept as a beginner pet.
44
Glossy Snake
Arizona elegans
A sand-coloured nocturnal constrictor of the American Southwest, named for the polished sheen of its smooth scales.
45
Golden Lancehead
Bothrops insularis
A critically endangered pit viper found only on Snake Island off the coast of Brazil, with venom potent enough to subdue migratory birds in flight.
46
Grass Snake
Natrix natrix
A large, harmless European water snake with a yellow collar behind the head, famous for playing dead when seriously threatened.
47
Green Mamba
Dendroaspis angusticeps
A vivid emerald-green arboreal elapid of East African coastal forests, far shyer and more retiring than its infamous black cousin.
48
Habu
Protobothrops flavoviridis
A long, slim pit viper endemic to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, notorious for hunting in sugar cane fields and old stone walls.
49
Hognose Snake
Heterodon platirhinos
A stout, upturned-snouted North American colubrid famous for hissing, flattening its neck, and then playing dead when bluffing fails.
50
Indian Cobra
Naja naja
A widespread South Asian elapid bearing the iconic spectacle marking on its hood, sacred in Hindu mythology and one of the Big Four medically important snakes of India.
51
Indian Python
Python molurus
A large South Asian python, paler and a touch shorter than its Burmese relative, equally at home in jungles and rocky hillsides.
52
Inland Taipan
Oxyuranus microlepidotus
The world's most venomous land snake, an elusive elapid of the cracked clay plains of central Australia.
53
Jamaican Boa
Chilabothrus subflavus
A handsome yellow-and-black Caribbean constrictor endemic to Jamaica, critically reduced by introduced mongooses and habitat loss.
54
Japanese Rat Snake
Elaphe climacophora
A slim, climbing colubrid endemic to Japan, widely encountered around traditional wooden houses where it hunts rats and roosting birds.
55
Jararaca
Bothrops jararaca
A common South American pit viper responsible for the majority of snakebites in southeastern Brazil, source of the first ACE inhibitor drug.
56
Jararacussu
Bothrops jararacussu
A massive South American pit viper of Atlantic rainforest, larger and even more venomous than its slimmer cousin the jararaca.
57
Jungle Carpet Python
Morelia spilota cheynei
A striking yellow-and-black Australian python prized in herpetoculture, native to rainforest in far north Queensland.
58
King Brown Snake
Pseudechis australis
A heavy, broad-headed Australian elapid also known as the mulga snake, with the largest venom yield of any Australian snake.
59
King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah
The world's longest venomous snake, native to South and Southeast Asian forests, known for the hooded display and powerful neurotoxic venom.
60
Kingsnake
Lampropeltis getula
A widespread North American constrictor renowned for eating other snakes, including venomous rattlesnakes and copperheads, to which it is immune.
61
Kirtland Snake
Clonophis kirtlandii
A small, secretive Midwestern North American natricine snake that lives almost entirely in burrows beneath wet meadows and is now seriously declining.
62
Levant Viper
Macrovipera lebetina
A heavy-bodied Near Eastern viper formerly considered the same species as the Ottoman viper, common across rocky hillsides from Turkey to Iran.
63
Long-nosed Whip Snake
Platyceps najadum
A slim Mediterranean colubrid with a sharply pointed snout, racing through dry scrub and stone walls at remarkable speed.
64
Lyre Snake
Trimorphodon biscutatus
A small, mildly venomous rear-fanged snake of southwestern North American canyons, named for the V-shaped lyre marking on the head.
65
Madagascar Tree Boa
Sanzinia madagascariensis
A handsome iridescent arboreal boa endemic to the rainforests of eastern Madagascar, one of three native boa species on the island.
66
Mangrove Snake
Boiga dendrophila
A striking black-and-yellow Southeast Asian colubrid with rear fangs, found coiled in low branches over tidal estuaries.
67
Massasauga
Sistrurus catenatus
A small, secretive prairie rattlesnake of the central United States and southern Ontario, the only rattlesnake native to Canada.
68
Milk Snake
Lampropeltis triangulum
A widely distributed, brightly banded constrictor whose mimicry of coral snakes inspired the famous "red touches black, friend of Jack" rhyme.
69
Mojave Rattlesnake
Crotalus scutulatus
A green-tinged desert rattlesnake of the American Southwest whose venom mixes hemorrhagic and powerful neurotoxic components.
70
Mussurana
Clelia clelia
A large, snake-eating South American colubrid considered a natural ally of cattle ranchers because it hunts venomous pit vipers.
71
Night Snake
Hypsiglena torquata
A small, vertically pupilled North American colubrid often mistaken for a baby rattlesnake but armed only with mildly toxic rear-fang saliva.
72
Northern Water Snake
Nerodia sipedon
A heavy, banded non-venomous water snake of eastern North America, frequently misidentified as a cottonmouth and killed by mistake.
73
Olive Sea Snake
Aipysurus laevis
A large, curious Indo-Pacific marine elapid often encountered on coral reefs, approaching divers without aggression but bearing potent venom.
74
Oriental Rat Snake
Ptyas mucosa
A long, slim, alert Asian colubrid often kept by snake charmers, beneficial around villages for controlling rats and rodents.
75
Puff Adder
Bitis arietans
A stout, broadly distributed African viper responsible for more snakebite injuries on the continent than any other species.
76
Queen Snake
Regina septemvittata
A slim, harmless North American water snake that specialises almost entirely on freshly moulted crayfish.
77
Racer
Hierophis viridiflavus
A fast, slender Mediterranean colubrid with smooth scales and a yellow-and-black adult pattern, capable of speeds that match a sprinting person.
78
Rat Snake
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
A large, climbing, non-venomous constrictor of eastern North America that hunts rodents in barns, attics, and bird boxes.
79
Reticulated Python
Malayopython reticulatus
The longest snake species in the world, a slender Southeast Asian giant with a complex network-like geometric pattern.
80
Ribbon Snake
Thamnophis sauritus
A long, thin striped garter-snake relative that hunts frogs along the edges of clean ponds and streams in eastern North America.
81
Ringneck Snake
Diadophis punctatus
A small, slate-grey North American snake with a vivid orange neck ring and belly, often found under logs and flat stones.
82
Rough Green Snake
Opheodrys aestivus
A slim emerald-green arboreal colubrid of the eastern United States that hunts caterpillars and spiders in low foliage.
83
Sand Boa
Eryx colubrinus
A short, thick, blunt-tailed burrowing boa of African and Asian deserts that spends most of its life buried in loose sand.
84
Saw-scaled Viper
Echis carinatus
A small, irritable Asian viper that produces a rasping warning sound by rubbing its serrated scales together and kills more people each year than any other snake.
85
Sea Krait
Laticauda colubrina
A handsome black-and-white ringed marine elapid that returns to land to rest and digest its eel-only diet.
86
Smooth Snake
Coronella austriaca
A small, slim European colubrid with mirror-smooth scales, scarce and protected across most of its northern range.
87
Spitting Cobra
Naja nigricollis
A black-necked African cobra that defends itself by spraying venom from modified fangs straight at the eyes of a threat.
88
Sumatran Pit Viper
Trimeresurus sumatranus
A small green arboreal pit viper of high-elevation Indonesian forests, distinguished by tiny scales on the head and a yellow eye.
89
Tiger Snake
Notechis scutatus
A boldly banded Australian elapid of cool, wet southern habitats, responsible for a steady share of the country's serious snakebites.
90
Timber Rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus
A large, heavy-bodied rattlesnake of eastern North American hardwood forests, calm by nature and culturally important in colonial American history.
91
Twin-spotted Rattlesnake
Crotalus pricei
A small, high-altitude rattlesnake of the sky-island pine forests on the U.S.-Mexico border, with a row of paired dark blotches along the back.
92
Uracoan Rattlesnake
Crotalus vegrandis
A small Venezuelan rattlesnake of dry savanna habitats, named for the Uracoa River in Monagas state.
93
Ural Rat Snake
Elaphe schrenckii
A large, agile climber of Korean and Russian forests, also called the Russian rat snake, valued by snake enthusiasts for its cool-temperate hardiness.
94
Usambara Bush Viper
Atheris ceratophora
A small, glittering arboreal viper of the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania, with strongly keeled scales that give it a rough armoured look.
95
Vine Snake
Oxybelis aeneus
A slim, brown American tree snake with an extraordinary pointed snout, hunting lizards in the foliage of dry forests from Mexico to Argentina.
96
Viperine Snake
Natrix maura
A harmless European water snake that mimics the adder's zig-zag pattern as a defence against predators.
97
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus atrox
The most widespread rattlesnake in the American Southwest, responsible for a large share of snakebites across the desert states.
98
Western Hognose Snake
Heterodon nasicus
A small, upturned-snouted prairie snake popular as a pet, famous for puffing up dramatically and then playing dead.
99
Whip Snake
Demansia psammophis
A long, slim, fast-moving Australian colubrid renowned for chasing prey over open ground at impressive speed.
100
Worm Snake
Carphophis amoenus
A tiny, pink-bellied burrower of eastern North American woodlands that looks more like an earthworm than a typical snake.
101
Yamakagashi
Rhabdophis tigrinus
A handsome rear-fanged Japanese natricine snake with unusual neck glands that sequester toxins from the toads it eats.
102
Yarara
Bothrops diporus
A pit viper of southern South America, a close cousin of the jararaca and a major cause of snakebite in northern Argentina and Paraguay.
103
Yellow Anaconda
Eunectes notaeus
A heavy yellow-and-black South American boa of the Pantanal and Chaco, smaller than the green anaconda but still among the largest snakes on Earth.
104
Yellow-bellied Sea Snake
Hydrophis platurus
A fully pelagic marine elapid found drifting in open ocean across most of the Indian and Pacific, the most widely distributed snake in the world.
105
Zebra Spitting Cobra
Naja nigricincta
A small African elapid of dry savanna and rocky scrub, marked with stark light-and-dark bars that resemble zebra stripes on the throat.
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