US snake species
The 38 species you are most likely to actually encounter, rather than a complete checklist. Every venomous species in the continental United States is here, along with the harmless snakes each of them is mistaken for.
Venomous species
Medically significant venom. Bites are emergencies — keep well clear of all of these.
Agkistrodon contortrix
The copperhead is responsible for more venomous snakebites in the United States than any other species, largely because it is common, it lives comfortably alongside people, and it freezes rather than fleeing when approached.
Agkistrodon piscivorus
The cottonmouth is North America's only semi-aquatic pit viper, and it is the snake behind most 'water moccasin' reports — nearly all of which are actually harmless water snakes.
Crotalus adamanteus
The eastern diamondback is the largest venomous snake in North America and among the most dangerous, combining considerable size with long fangs and a high venom yield.
Crotalus atrox
The western diamondback accounts for more serious snakebites than any other species in the United States.
Crotalus horridus
The timber rattlesnake is the rattlesnake of eastern hardwood forest, and it is famously reluctant to bite.
Crotalus viridis
The prairie rattlesnake is the rattlesnake of the Great Plains and the intermountain west, often found around prairie dog towns and rocky outcrops.
Crotalus scutulatus
The Mojave rattlesnake matters because of its venom.
Crotalus cerastes
The sidewinder is a small desert rattlesnake with two unmistakable features: horn-like scales over the eyes, and a looping sideways gait that leaves distinctive J-shaped tracks in sand.
Crotalus oreganus
The western rattlesnake is the rattlesnake most Californians, Oregonians and Washingtonians will meet — the default rattlesnake of the Pacific states and Great Basin.
Sistrurus miliarius
The pygmy rattlesnake is small, well camouflaged, and easy to miss.
Sistrurus catenatus
The massasauga is a small rattlesnake of wet prairies, fens and marsh edges.
Crotalus molossus
The black-tailed rattlesnake is a handsome southwestern species of rocky canyons and mountain slopes.
Micrurus fulvius
The eastern coral snake is North America's only widespread elapid — a relative of cobras and mambas — and its venom works quite differently from a pit viper's.
Micrurus tener
The Texas coral snake is the western counterpart of the eastern coral snake, ranging through east and central Texas into Louisiana and southwest Arkansas.
Micruroides euryxanthus
The Sonoran coral snake is a small, glossy, banded snake of the Arizona and New Mexico deserts.
Mildly venomous
Rear-fanged snakes whose venom is adapted to small prey. Not considered dangerous to people, but not to be handled either.
Harmless species
No venom of medical significance. Most are actively useful around a property, and most 'venomous snake' sightings are one of these.
Nerodia sipedon
The northern water snake is almost certainly the most frequently misidentified snake in North America.
Nerodia fasciata
The banded water snake fills the same role in the southeast that the northern water snake fills further north, and it is mistaken for a cottonmouth just as often.
Nerodia erythrogaster
This is the water snake most often mistaken for an adult cottonmouth, because both are large, dark and patternless.
Nerodia rhombifer
The diamondback water snake is a heavy, rough-scaled snake of southern rivers and oxbows, and the name gets it into trouble — it is regularly reported as a diamondback rattlesnake despite living in water and having no rattle.
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
The eastern ratsnake is the big black snake of eastern barns, attics and woodlots, and it is one of the most beneficial animals a property can host — a single adult eats a great many rats and mice each year.
Pantherophis obsoletus
The western ratsnake is the same ecological animal as its eastern cousin across the Mississippi drainage and Texas, and it is just as good a climber and just as often found in barns and attics.
Pantherophis guttatus
The corn snake is a handsome orange-and-red climber of the southeast, familiar worldwide as a pet.
Pituophis catenifer
The gopher snake is the great rattlesnake impersonator of the west.
Lampropeltis triangulum
The milk snake earned its name from the old belief that it drank milk from cows — it was actually in the barn for the mice.
Lampropeltis elapsoides
The scarlet kingsnake is the classic coral snake mimic, and it is the snake almost every 'I found a coral snake' report turns out to be.
Lampropeltis getula
The eastern kingsnake eats other snakes, including copperheads and rattlesnakes, and is substantially immune to pit viper venom.
Lampropeltis holbrooki
The speckled kingsnake is the mid-south's snake-eating specialist, and its finely dotted pattern is unmistakable once seen.
Thamnophis sirtalis
The garter snake is the snake most Americans meet first — in a garden, under a woodpile, or basking on a path.
Coluber constrictor
The racer is exactly what its name suggests: a fast, slender, alert, day-active snake that will be gone before you finish registering that it was there.
Masticophis flagellum
The coachwhip is a long, whip-thin, extremely fast diurnal hunter of open country.
Opheodrys aestivus
The rough green snake is a slender, gentle, insect-eating climber that spends its life in shrubs and vine tangles, usually beside water.
Storeria dekayi
Dekay's brownsnake is the small snake under the paving slab, in the compost heap, or in the flower bed.
Storeria occipitomaculata
A tiny woodland snake with a vivid red underside that is often the only thing anyone notices about it.
Diadophis punctatus
The ring-necked snake is a small, glossy, slate-coloured snake with an unmistakable bright collar.
Carphophis amoenus
The eastern wormsnake looks so much like a large earthworm that most people who find one assume that is exactly what it is.
Indotyphlops braminus
The Brahminy blindsnake is an introduced species that has spread worldwide in the soil of potted plants, which is why it is often called the flowerpot snake.
Drymarchon couperi
The eastern indigo is the longest native snake in the United States, reaching over eight feet.