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 R anywhere in the name. Each of the 85 snakes below opens to a full profile.
Table of contents
List of Snakes That Contain R
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
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.
4
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.
5
Banded Krait
Bungarus fasciatus
A boldly black-and-yellow ringed elapid of South and Southeast Asia, shy by day but highly venomous if cornered.
6
Black Racer
Coluber constrictor
A fast, slender, glossy black colubrid common across the eastern United States, frequently mistaken for a venomous snake.
7
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.
8
Boa Constrictor
Boa constrictor
A heavy-bodied neotropical boa famed for its strong constriction and adaptability across forests, savannas, and human-modified habitats.
9
Brown Tree Snake
Boiga irregularis
A nocturnal Indo-Pacific colubrid notorious for invading Guam and devastating the island's native bird fauna.
10
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.
11
Bushmaster
Lachesis muta
The largest viper in the Americas, a long-fanged neotropical pit viper feared in rainforest villages from Nicaragua to Brazil.
12
Carpet Python
Morelia spilota
A widely variable Australasian python with bold geometric patterns, comfortable in trees, rocks, and even suburban roofs.
13
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.
14
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.
15
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.
16
Coral Snake
Micrurus nigrocinctus
A widespread brightly ringed neotropical elapid with potent neurotoxic venom, common in moist forests across Central and northern South America.
17
Corn Snake
Pantherophis guttatus
A handsome orange-and-red North American rat snake long popular in herpetoculture as a beginner-friendly pet.
18
Death Adder
Acanthophis antarcticus
A squat, viper-like Australian elapid that ambushes prey by wriggling its grub-shaped tail tip as a lure.
19
Desert Kingsnake
Lampropeltis splendida
A handsome chain-patterned North American constrictor that hunts and eats other snakes, including rattlesnakes.
20
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.
21
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.
22
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.
23
Eastern Coral Snake
Micrurus fulvius
A small, slender, red-yellow-and-black ringed elapid of the American Southeast with extremely potent neurotoxic venom.
24
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.
25
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.
26
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.
27
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.
28
Eyelash Viper
Bothriechis schlegelii
A small, colourful arboreal pit viper of Central American cloud forests, named for the spiky raised scales above its eyes.
29
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.
30
Fer-de-Lance
Bothrops asper
A heavy-bodied neotropical pit viper responsible for most snakebite injuries in Central and South America.
31
Flowerpot Snake
Indotyphlops braminus
The most widely distributed land snake on Earth, a tiny blind burrower spread by potted plants and parthenogenetic reproduction.
32
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.
33
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.
34
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.
35
Grass Snake
Natrix natrix
A large, harmless European water snake with a yellow collar behind the head, famous for playing dead when seriously threatened.
36
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.
37
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.
38
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.
39
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.
40
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.
41
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.
42
Jararacussu
Bothrops jararacussu
A massive South American pit viper of Atlantic rainforest, larger and even more venomous than its slimmer cousin the jararaca.
43
Jungle Carpet Python
Morelia spilota cheynei
A striking yellow-and-black Australian python prized in herpetoculture, native to rainforest in far north Queensland.
44
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.
45
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.
46
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.
47
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.
48
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.
49
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.
50
Mangrove Snake
Boiga dendrophila
A striking black-and-yellow Southeast Asian colubrid with rear fangs, found coiled in low branches over tidal estuaries.
51
Mojave Rattlesnake
Crotalus scutulatus
A green-tinged desert rattlesnake of the American Southwest whose venom mixes hemorrhagic and powerful neurotoxic components.
52
Mussurana
Clelia clelia
A large, snake-eating South American colubrid considered a natural ally of cattle ranchers because it hunts venomous pit vipers.
53
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.
54
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.
55
Oriental Rat Snake
Ptyas mucosa
A long, slim, alert Asian colubrid often kept by snake charmers, beneficial around villages for controlling rats and rodents.
56
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.
57
Pope Pit Viper
Trimeresurus popeiorum
A slender green arboreal pit viper of Southeast Asian rainforests, named for the American herpetologist Clifford H. Pope.
58
Puff Adder
Bitis arietans
A stout, broadly distributed African viper responsible for more snakebite injuries on the continent than any other species.
59
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.
60
Rat Snake
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
A large, climbing, non-venomous constrictor of eastern North America that hunts rodents in barns, attics, and bird boxes.
61
Reticulated Python
Malayopython reticulatus
The longest snake species in the world, a slender Southeast Asian giant with a complex network-like geometric pattern.
62
Rhinoceros Viper
Bitis nasicornis
A spectacularly patterned West and Central African viper with two or three horns at the tip of the snout.
63
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.
64
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.
65
Rough Green Snake
Opheodrys aestivus
A slim emerald-green arboreal colubrid of the eastern United States that hunts caterpillars and spiders in low foliage.
66
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.
67
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.
68
Sea Krait
Laticauda colubrina
A handsome black-and-white ringed marine elapid that returns to land to rest and digest its eel-only diet.
69
Sidewinder
Crotalus cerastes
A small horned rattlesnake of North American deserts that moves by throwing its body sideways across hot loose sand.
70
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.
71
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.
72
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.
73
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.
74
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.
75
Uracoan Rattlesnake
Crotalus vegrandis
A small Venezuelan rattlesnake of dry savanna habitats, named for the Uracoa River in Monagas state.
76
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.
77
Urutu
Rhinocerophis alternatus
A short, thick South American pit viper of grassland and wetland edges, known for the small white markings on its dark face.
78
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.
79
Viperine Snake
Natrix maura
A harmless European water snake that mimics the adder's zig-zag pattern as a defence against predators.
80
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus atrox
The most widespread rattlesnake in the American Southwest, responsible for a large share of snakebites across the desert states.
81
Western Hognose Snake
Heterodon nasicus
A small, upturned-snouted prairie snake popular as a pet, famous for puffing up dramatically and then playing dead.
82
Worm Snake
Carphophis amoenus
A tiny, pink-bellied burrower of eastern North American woodlands that looks more like an earthworm than a typical snake.
83
Xenodermus
Xenodermus javanicus
A bizarre Southeast Asian dragon snake with three rows of raised dorsal scales that look more like a row of small spines than ordinary scales.
84
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.
85
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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