It is common to use common names to refer to animals, and in the case of snakes, the term snake is eventually used as a synonym. This word comes from the Latin "colŭbra", which means "snake", however, in the biological context snakes are a type of snake foundwithin the family Colubridae In fact, this family is the most common within the great group that makes up the snakes, with a diversity that is grouped into eight subfamilies, 257 genera and about 1902 species. Many snakes are completely harmless to humans because they lack venom or it is harmless to us. However, there are species that do become very dangerous due to the type of toxin they possess.
Do you want to know the different types of snakes that exist? Keep reading this article on our site and discover them.
Snakes of the subfamily Ahaetuliinae
This group of snakes is distributed mainly in Asian countries, but also has a certain presence in Oceania. Some members of the group are known as vinesnakes, although this qualifier is also used for snakes of other subfamilies. They are commonly arboreal in habits.
This kind of snakes can be of two forms:
- With a sharp nose and quite developed canthus rostralis, which corresponds to the angle formed between the head, eyes and snout, and horizontal pupils.
- With a rectangular snout, slightly compressed head and round pupils.
Examples
Some species of snakes of the subfamily Ahaetuliinae are:
- Common Vine Snake (Ahaetulla nasuta)
- Spotted Brown Whip Snake (Ahaetulla pulverulenta)
- Ornate flying snake (Chrysopelea ornata)
- Philippine whip snake (Dryophiops philippina)
- Bronze-backed snake (Dendrelaphis nigroserratus)
Snakes of the subfamily Calamariinae
This subfamily corresponds to a quite diverse group of snakes, since they are well widespread in the Asian continentThese snakes are usually known as cane snakes, they are generally small in size and live in different burrows in forest ecosystems.
If you find these animals curious, don't miss this other article with more Animals that live in burrows.
Examples
Some species that correspond to cane snakes are:
- Bicolor dwarf snake (Calamaria bicolor)
- White-necked Cane Snake (Pseudorabdion albonuchalis)
- Short-tailed snake (Brachyorrhos gastrotaenius)
- Striped cane snake (Macrocalamus lateralis)
- Collared Cane Snake (Calamaria pavementata)
In the image we can see the collared cane snake.
Snakes of the subfamily Colubrinae
They are the second most abundant group within the different types of snakes. This same diversity is present both in physical traits and in the types of habitats in which they are found. The greatest variety of species is located in Asia, North America, North Africa and the Middle East
Some species are completely harmless to humans, however, others can be lethal. In addition, there are also strong constrictors in the group.
Examples
Examples of the Colubrinae subfamily include:
- Green shingles (Oxybelis fulgidus)
- Coral snake (Lampropeltis micropholis)
- Common Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula getula)
- Grey Rat Snake (Pantherophis spiloides)
- Boomslang (Dispholidus typus)
Snakes of the subfamily Dipsadinae
This corresponds to the most diverse subfamily within the snakes, since it has 98 genera These snakes have very varied sizes, since that we find from small to medium. In addition, in general the traits are highly variable according to the group. Some are arboreal, others terrestrial, certain species manage to bury themselves and some are even aquatic.
Almost all are completely harmless to humans and the few that can cause bites have non-lethal venom.
Examples
Some of the species of snakes in the group are:
- Central American burrowing snake (Adelphicos quadrivirgatus)
- Albuquerque ground snake (Atractus albuquerquei)
- Western hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus)
- False water cobra (Hydrodynastes gigas)
- Brazilian Green Snake (Philodryas aestiva)
In the picture we see the western hognose snake.
Snakes of the subfamily Grayiinae
This is one of the least diverse groups, with just one genus and four species, which arespecific to Africa They are associated with freshwater ecosystems, such as swamps, rivers and permanent bodies of water present in forests. They tend to be medium to large in size and are commonly known as water snakes.
Examples
Since there are only four species of snakes within this subfamily, commonly called water snakes are:
- Caesar's African Water Snake (Grayia caesar)
- Ornate African Water Snake (G rayia ornata)
- Smith's African Water Snake (G rayia smIthii)
- Thollon's African Water Snake (G rayia tholloni)
In the image we can see the adorned African water snake.
Snakes of the subfamily Natricinae
The snakes located here make up a very varied group, since we find 37 genera and more than 200 species distributed in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and OceaniaThe vast majority are completely harmless to people, very few can cause significant damage by the poison of their bite. Many of the species have semi-aquatic habits and some are semi-fossorial (burrowing).
Examples
Some of the most outstanding species are the following:
- Striped Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
- Red-necked snake (Rhabdophis subminiatus)
- Smooth Ground Snake (Virginia valeriae)
- Japanese keel snake (Rhabdophis tigrinus)
- Iberian snake (Natrix astreptophora)
Snakes of the subfamily Pseudoxenodontinae
In this other type of snake, which is also not very diverse, two genera and 10 species have been identified. They are distributed exclusively in Asia, in countries such as China, India, Taiwan and Indonesia. They are a group on which there is a lack of research, so there is not much information available to us.
One of the genera is Pseudoxenodon, which brings together six species, which have sizes ranging from half a meter in length to 1.7 meters. The habitat corresponds to humid forests and lines of watercourses. For its part, Plagiopholis, the second genus, contains four species that do not exceed 0.4 meters in length and inhabit grassy and shrubby areas.
Examples
The snakes of the genus Pseudoxenodon are known as bamboo snakes or false cobras, while those of the genus Plagiopholis are known as mountain snakes. Some examples are:
- False bamboo cobra (Pseudoxenodon bambusicola)
- Big-eyed bamboo snake (Pseudoxenodon macrops)
- Yunnan mountain snake (Plagiopholis unipostocularis)
In the image we can see the big-eyed bamboo snake.
Snakes of the subfamily Sibynophiinae
Finally, this type of snake is also not very diverse, since it only has two genera and 11 species. It's a curious group because the genus Scaphiodontophis is restricted to certain areas of North, Central, and South America, while the species of Sibynophis are exclusively Asian
Depending on the species, these snakes have small sizes, about 0.3 meters, or can measure up to approximately 1 meter.
Examples
Some of the species of this subfamily are:
- Guatemalan Snake (Scaphiodontophis annulatus)
- Common Neck Snake (Scaphiodontophis venustissimus)
- White-striped snake (Sibynophis bivittatus)
- Boie's many-toothed snake (Sibynophis germinatus)
- Chinese many-toothed snake (Sibynophis chinensis)
- Common many-toothed snake (Sibynophis collaris)
In the image we can see the Boie's many-toothed snake.
Types of snakes in Spain
Many of the species belonging to the types of snakes mentioned are found in Spain, and this is a country where we can find various types of snakes, not just snakes.
Here are some examples of snakes found in the Iberian Peninsula:
- Viperine water snake (Natrix maura)
- Southern Smooth Snake (Coronella girondica)
- Red-eyed snake (Natrix astreptophora)
- Ladder snake (Zamenis scalaris)
- Smooth snake (Coronella austriaca)
- Horseshoe whipsnake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis)
- Iberian false smooth snake (Macroprotodon brevis)
- Green whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus)
