139 articles
Coastal taipan
Coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus), also called eastern taipan: a large, highly venomous Australian and southern New Guinea elapid snake, averaging about 2 m, with neurotoxic and procoagulant venom, 120 mg average yield, and CSL antivenom since 1956.
Colubridae
Colubridae, the colubrid snakes, is the largest snake family (about 1,900 species, roughly 57% of snakes), defined by solid dentition without premaxillary teeth, rear-fanged Duvernoy's gland venom delivery, and mild human envenoming in only about 100 species.
Common death adder
Common death adder (Acanthophis antarcticus, Shaw & Nodder 1802), a venomous Australian elapid snake, ambush predator with caudal luring; IUCN Least Concern but declining due to cane toads; up to 24 live young.
Common garter snake
Common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), widespread North American natricine snake with up to 13 subspecies; live-bearing, eats amphibians, and evolved tetrodotoxin resistance via NaV1.4 mutations to prey on toxic newts.
Common krait
Common krait (Bungarus caeruleus, Indian krait), a nocturnal South Asian elapid and one of India's "big four" venomous snakes; its pre- and post-synaptic neurotoxins cause paralysis that antivenom cannot reverse once established.
Contia
Contia, the sharp-tailed snakes, is a genus of two small slug-eating snakes of western North America: C. tenuis (Common Sharp-tailed Snake) and C. longicauda (Forest Sharp-tailed Snake), split in 2010, distinguished by caudal scale counts and tail length, Endangered in Canada.
Coral snake
Coral snakes (Micrurus, Micruroides) are venomous New World elapids with red, black, and light ringed patterns, neurotoxic venom, FDA-approved antivenom, and a long-debated Batesian mimicry system.
Corallus ruschenbergerii
Corallus ruschenbergerii, the Mangrove Treeboa or Dormilona, is an arboreal boa (Boidae) described by Cope in 1875, ranging from SW Costa Rica through Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago, ovoviviparous with 38-48 dorsal scale rows.
Corn snake
Corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus, formerly Elaphe guttata), a non-venomous southeastern US rat snake, 3-4 ft, rodent-eating constrictor, IUCN Least Concern, popular pet with many color morphs, captive lifespan over 32 years.
Coronella
Coronella, smooth snakes, a colubrid snake genus erected by Laurenti in 1768 with three species: C. austriaca and C. girondica in the western Palaearctic and the Indian C. brachyura, now moved to Wallophis.
Crotalus
Crotalus, the typical rattlesnakes, is a New World pitviper genus erected by Linnaeus in 1758 (type species C. horridus), with about 55 species from Canada to Argentina, rapid Pliocene diversification, and medically important venoms such as crotoxin.
Crotalus cerastes
Crotalus cerastes, the sidewinder or horned rattlesnake, is a small venomous pit viper of the Mojave, Sonoran, and Colorado deserts of the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico, known for sidewinding locomotion, horn-like supraocular scales, and hemorrhagic venom.
Crotalus durissus
Crotalus durissus, known as the tropical, cascabel, or South American rattlesnake, is a highly venomous South American rattlesnake described by Linnaeus in 1758, with six recognized subspecies.
Crotalus viridis
Crotalus viridis, the Prairie Rattlesnake, is a venomous pit viper of the North American Great Plains, ranging from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan to northern Mexico.
Daboia
Daboia is a genus of five venomous viper species; the Asian Russell's vipers (D. russelii, D. siamensis) cause most snakebite deaths in India and Southeast Asia through procoagulant venom.
Eastern brown snake
Eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), or Common brown snake, a highly venomous Australian elapid. Most lethal of five NSW snakes by LD50-yield comparison; causes coagulopathy, not neurotoxicity; most snakebite deaths in Australia.
Eastern copperhead
Eastern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix), venomous pit viper of the eastern and central United States; hourglass crossbands, 50–95 cm; formerly five subspecies, now two copperhead species with no subspecies.
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), largest US rattlesnake, of southeastern longleaf pine savannas; declining from habitat loss, skin trade, and persecution; ESA listing determined not warranted in 2023.
Eastern green mamba
Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps), highly venomous arboreal elapid of East African coastal forests, averaging 1.8-2.0 m; 3FTx-predominant neurotoxic venom, WHO category 1, sister species of the black mamba.
Eastern hognose snake
Eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos), a harmless North American toad-eating snake with an upturned snout, mild rear-fang venom, and famous death-feigning defense; IUCN least concern but protected in Ontario and Connecticut.
Eastern indigo snake
Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi), the longest native US snake, a non-venomous threatened colubrid of Florida and Georgia longleaf pine habitat that shelters in gopher tortoise burrows and eats other snakes.
Echis
Echis, saw-scaled or carpet vipers, a genus of small African-Middle Eastern-South Asian vipers; 12-13 species in four complexes; SVMP-rich procoagulant venom causing consumption coagulopathy; deadliest snake genus by kill count; antivenom is region-specific.
Echis carinatus
Echis carinatus, the saw-scaled viper, is a small, highly venomous viper from North Africa to South Asia, among the leading causes of snakebite death in India.
Egyptian cobra
Egyptian cobra (Naja haje), large non-spitting African elapid of the subgenus Uraeus, ranging Morocco to Tanzania; 3FTx-dominated neurotoxic venom; monospecific antivenom outperforms polyvalent Inoserp-MENA in Morocco.
Elapidae
Elapidae (F. Boie, 1827) is the snake family of cobras, coral snakes, kraits, mambas, taipans, and sea snakes, defined by short fixed front fangs and predominantly neurotoxic venom, with an early Oligocene origin and a late Miocene Australasian radiation.
Epicrates
Epicrates is a genus of non-venomous boas (family Boidae) established by Wagler in 1830, now restricted to five South and Central American rainbow boa species after West Indian species were moved to Chilabothrus.
Erythrolamprus
Erythrolamprus, coral snake mimics, is a Neotropical dipsadine snake genus of about 51 species in Central and South America, absorbing Liophis and Umbrivaga, with hidden diversity, toxic-frog prey resistance, and mild but real bites.
Gaboon viper
Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica, Gaboon adder): Africa's largest viper, a sub-Saharan ambush predator with 5 cm fangs, record venom yield over 2 g per milking, docile temperament, and IUCN Vulnerable status.
Garter snake
Thamnophis (garter snakes), Fitzinger 1843, a genus of about 35 natricine snake species endemic to North America; mid-Miocene Mexican origin, two major clades, model organisms for coevolution and ecology.
Gerarda
Gerarda is a monotypic homalopsid snake genus (Gray, 1849) whose sole species, Gerarda prevostiana, Gerard's water snake or glossy marsh snake, is a mangrove snake of South and Southeast Asia that eats freshly molted crabs and tears prey apart.