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 S anywhere in the name. Each of the 79 snakes below opens to a full profile.
Table of contents
List of Snakes That Contain S
2
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.
3
Asian Vine Snake
Ahaetulla nasuta
A slender, leaf-green tree snake of South and Southeast Asia with binocular vision and a delicate pointed snout.
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
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.
6
Boa Constrictor
Boa constrictor
A heavy-bodied neotropical boa famed for its strong constriction and adaptability across forests, savannas, and human-modified habitats.
7
Boomslang
Dispholidus typus
A large-eyed, slender African tree snake with potent rear-fanged hemotoxic venom and remarkable colour differences between the sexes.
8
Brown Tree Snake
Boiga irregularis
A nocturnal Indo-Pacific colubrid notorious for invading Guam and devastating the island's native bird fauna.
9
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.
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
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.
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
Coral Snake
Micrurus nigrocinctus
A widespread brightly ringed neotropical elapid with potent neurotoxic venom, common in moist forests across Central and northern South America.
15
Corn Snake
Pantherophis guttatus
A handsome orange-and-red North American rat snake long popular in herpetoculture as a beginner-friendly pet.
16
Desert Kingsnake
Lampropeltis splendida
A handsome chain-patterned North American constrictor that hunts and eats other snakes, including rattlesnakes.
17
Dice Snake
Natrix tessellata
A non-venomous European water snake with a peppered "dice" pattern, hunting fish almost exclusively in clean streams and lakes.
18
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.
19
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.
20
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.
21
Eastern Coral Snake
Micrurus fulvius
A small, slender, red-yellow-and-black ringed elapid of the American Southeast with extremely potent neurotoxic venom.
22
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.
23
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.
24
Eyelash Viper
Bothriechis schlegelii
A small, colourful arboreal pit viper of Central American cloud forests, named for the spiky raised scales above its eyes.
25
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.
26
Flowerpot Snake
Indotyphlops braminus
The most widely distributed land snake on Earth, a tiny blind burrower spread by potted plants and parthenogenetic reproduction.
27
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.
28
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.
29
Glossy Snake
Arizona elegans
A sand-coloured nocturnal constrictor of the American Southwest, named for the polished sheen of its smooth scales.
30
Grass Snake
Natrix natrix
A large, harmless European water snake with a yellow collar behind the head, famous for playing dead when seriously threatened.
31
Hognose Snake
Heterodon platirhinos
A stout, upturned-snouted North American colubrid famous for hissing, flattening its neck, and then playing dead when bluffing fails.
32
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.
33
Jararacussu
Bothrops jararacussu
A massive South American pit viper of Atlantic rainforest, larger and even more venomous than its slimmer cousin the jararaca.
34
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.
35
Kingsnake
Lampropeltis getula
A widespread North American constrictor renowned for eating other snakes, including venomous rattlesnakes and copperheads, to which it is immune.
36
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.
37
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.
38
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.
39
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.
40
Mangrove Snake
Boiga dendrophila
A striking black-and-yellow Southeast Asian colubrid with rear fangs, found coiled in low branches over tidal estuaries.
41
Massasauga
Sistrurus catenatus
A small, secretive prairie rattlesnake of the central United States and southern Ontario, the only rattlesnake native to Canada.
42
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.
43
Mojave Rattlesnake
Crotalus scutulatus
A green-tinged desert rattlesnake of the American Southwest whose venom mixes hemorrhagic and powerful neurotoxic components.
44
Mussurana
Clelia clelia
A large, snake-eating South American colubrid considered a natural ally of cattle ranchers because it hunts venomous pit vipers.
45
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.
46
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.
47
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.
48
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.
49
Oriental Rat Snake
Ptyas mucosa
A long, slim, alert Asian colubrid often kept by snake charmers, beneficial around villages for controlling rats and rodents.
50
Queen Snake
Regina septemvittata
A slim, harmless North American water snake that specialises almost entirely on freshly moulted crayfish.
51
Rat Snake
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
A large, climbing, non-venomous constrictor of eastern North America that hunts rodents in barns, attics, and bird boxes.
52
Rhinoceros Viper
Bitis nasicornis
A spectacularly patterned West and Central African viper with two or three horns at the tip of the snout.
53
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.
54
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.
55
Rough Green Snake
Opheodrys aestivus
A slim emerald-green arboreal colubrid of the eastern United States that hunts caterpillars and spiders in low foliage.
56
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.
57
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.
58
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.
59
Sea Krait
Laticauda colubrina
A handsome black-and-white ringed marine elapid that returns to land to rest and digest its eel-only diet.
60
Sidewinder
Crotalus cerastes
A small horned rattlesnake of North American deserts that moves by throwing its body sideways across hot loose sand.
61
Smooth Snake
Coronella austriaca
A small, slim European colubrid with mirror-smooth scales, scarce and protected across most of its northern range.
62
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.
63
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.
64
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.
65
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.
66
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.
67
Uracoan Rattlesnake
Crotalus vegrandis
A small Venezuelan rattlesnake of dry savanna habitats, named for the Uracoa River in Monagas state.
68
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.
69
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.
70
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.
71
Viperine Snake
Natrix maura
A harmless European water snake that mimics the adder's zig-zag pattern as a defence against predators.
72
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus atrox
The most widespread rattlesnake in the American Southwest, responsible for a large share of snakebites across the desert states.
73
Western Hognose Snake
Heterodon nasicus
A small, upturned-snouted prairie snake popular as a pet, famous for puffing up dramatically and then playing dead.
74
Whip Snake
Demansia psammophis
A long, slim, fast-moving Australian colubrid renowned for chasing prey over open ground at impressive speed.
75
Worm Snake
Carphophis amoenus
A tiny, pink-bellied burrower of eastern North American woodlands that looks more like an earthworm than a typical snake.
76
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.
77
Yamakagashi
Rhabdophis tigrinus
A handsome rear-fanged Japanese natricine snake with unusual neck glands that sequester toxins from the toads it eats.
78
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.
79
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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