1
Aesculapian Snake
Zamenis longissimus
A large, slender non-venomous European colubrid named for the staff of Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine.
Below are snakes that contain the letter P anywhere in the name. Each of the 40 snakes below opens to a full profile.
Table of contents
List of Snakes That Contain P
2
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.
3
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.
4
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.
5
Boelen Python
Simalia boeleni
A glossy iridescent black mountain python of New Guinea, prized by collectors and considered sacred by some highland communities.
6
Burmese Python
Python bivittatus
One of the world's largest snakes, a Southeast Asian giant now infamous as an invasive species in the Everglades of Florida.
7
Carpet Python
Morelia spilota
A widely variable Australasian python with bold geometric patterns, comfortable in trees, rocks, and even suburban roofs.
8
Coachwhip
Masticophis flagellum
A long, slender, exceptionally fast North American colubrid whose tail is patterned like a braided whip.
9
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.
10
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.
11
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.
12
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.
13
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.
14
Eyelash Viper
Bothriechis schlegelii
A small, colourful arboreal pit viper of Central American cloud forests, named for the spiky raised scales above its eyes.
15
Flowerpot Snake
Indotyphlops braminus
The most widely distributed land snake on Earth, a tiny blind burrower spread by potted plants and parthenogenetic reproduction.
16
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.
17
Green Tree Python
Morelia viridis
A bright emerald-green python of New Guinean and northern Australian rainforests, often photographed coiled neatly on a horizontal branch.
18
Horned Viper
Cerastes cerastes
A small, sand-coloured desert viper of North Africa and the Middle East, recognisable by the upright horn above each eye.
19
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.
20
Inland Taipan
Oxyuranus microlepidotus
The world's most venomous land snake, an elusive elapid of the cracked clay plains of central Australia.
21
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.
22
Jungle Carpet Python
Morelia spilota cheynei
A striking yellow-and-black Australian python prized in herpetoculture, native to rainforest in far north Queensland.
23
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.
24
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.
25
Nose-horned Viper
Vipera ammodytes
A southern European viper with a single upward-curving horn on the snout, considered the most dangerous snake in Europe.
26
Olive Python
Liasis olivaceus
A large, uniformly coloured Australian python of rocky watercourses across the tropical north, second only to the scrub python in Australian length.
27
Pit Viper
Calloselasma rhodostoma
The Malayan pit viper is a stout, irritable Southeast Asian ambush hunter responsible for many bites in Thai and Vietnamese plantations.
28
Pope Pit Viper
Trimeresurus popeiorum
A slender green arboreal pit viper of Southeast Asian rainforests, named for the American herpetologist Clifford H. Pope.
29
Puff Adder
Bitis arietans
A stout, broadly distributed African viper responsible for more snakebite injuries on the continent than any other species.
30
Reticulated Python
Malayopython reticulatus
The longest snake species in the world, a slender Southeast Asian giant with a complex network-like geometric pattern.
31
Rhinoceros Viper
Bitis nasicornis
A spectacularly patterned West and Central African viper with two or three horns at the tip of the snout.
32
Russell Viper
Daboia russelii
A heavy, irritable South Asian viper named for Scottish naturalist Patrick Russell, responsible for tens of thousands of fatal bites each year.
33
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.
34
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.
35
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.
36
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.
37
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.
38
Viperine Snake
Natrix maura
A harmless European water snake that mimics the adder's zig-zag pattern as a defence against predators.
39
Whip Snake
Demansia psammophis
A long, slim, fast-moving Australian colubrid renowned for chasing prey over open ground at impressive speed.
40
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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