| 1 | Arizona coral snake |
Maximum length: 66cm.
The Micrurus coral snake genus is the most numerous venomous snake group in the entire world. It numbers at least 82 across the Americas, with 2 in the United States, and dozens within Brazil. However, there’s also a strange offshoot species in the southern US – the Arizona coral snake.
This species belongs to the unique Micruroides genus instead, with the title of Micruroides euryxanthus. It’s the sole member of this genus worldwide, and if any other members existed over the last 10 million years, they’re all extinct now. Arizona coral snakes are believed to have diverged from all other coral snakes 18 million years ago. Despite this, they still have the classic red-black-white patterns, with red touching white.
This species inhabits Arizona, western New Mexico, and northern Mexico (e.g. Sonora state). It preys heavily on western blind snakes, and its venom has diverged as well. While still neurotoxic and never to be underestimated, it appears to be less lethal than the deadly concoctions pumped out by the eastern and Texas coral snakes (the two US species).
Arizona coral snakes are mainly found in parched dry areas, and never in cities such as Phoenix and Tucson.
| 2 | Mexican burrowing python |
Maximum length: 157cm.
A Central American species found in Guatemala, southern Mexico, Honduras, etc, along the Pacific coast. Though dubbed a python, this species has far shinier scales, and a far narrower head than the bulky, snarling heads of most pythons. This head is designed for digging in soft sands, on the scenic beaches where it often lives.
This species is known as Loxocemus bicolor in Latin, and this time, scientists got it right from the outset. There was no fumbling, as they immediately placed the species in the unique genus of Loxocemus in 1861, where it has remained ever since. DNA analysis reveals that Mexican burrowing pythons are most closely related to the sunbeam snake of Thailand, another shy burrower.
Being so isolated, Mexican burrowing pythons have some weird quirks for a snake. They feed heavily on eggs, with one of their favourites being eggs of the Olive Ridley sea turtle. Their strategy is to apply 2 or 3 coils to a whole unbroken egg, squeeze the shell hard, burst it using pressure, and swallow the yolk within.
Because of this diet, the Mexican burrowing python is one of the world’s most frequent beach snakes. It also secretes a strange waxy substance through its scales, which may be designed to ward off insect pests (though nobody is quite sure).
| 3 | Chinese garter snake |
Maximum length: around 1 metre.
This Korean species spent many years masquerading as a ratsnake, yet for years, local nature enthusiasts sensed that something was up. For one thing, the snake laid live young, whereas all other ratsnakes in the Elaphe genus laid eggs.
Chinese garter snakes were also far more aquatic than other ratsnakes. They spent their time in lagoons and lakes, hanging out in thickets along the edges, and rarely straying more than 10 metres from water. The Chinese garter snake was dubbed Elaphe rufodorsata for decades, but in 2001, it was finally declared to be the only member of the new Oocatochus genus.
Oocatochus rufodorsatus ranges from China to far eastern Russia, and is particularly abundant in South Korea. This is a weird species, as its acts more similarly to a US garter snake, despite sharing no close relation. It only strays from its home lake or pond during winter, when it can suddenly travel over 300 metres to find a dark hillside hole to hibernate in.
Chinese garter snakes are no threat to human beings, and only appear in the countryside, never cities. They average at 60-70cm, occasionally reaching 1 metre. They’re still relatively plentiful, but their numbers are believed to be decreasing, partly due to pesticide runoff.
| 4 | Lined snake |
Maximum length: 57.2cm.
The lined snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum) is a weird offshoot of the garter snake clan, which lives in grasslands of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and more. There’s already at least 35 garter snake members across North America, but this species accidentally diverged too far, plummeted off the family tree, and landed in its own genus altogether.
Lined snakes are shy, and average at just 20-40cm. They’re particularly difficult to find, due to their love of knee-high prairie grasses. The garter snakes (Thamnophis) are their closest relatives, but this species is far smaller, and has unique half-moon shaped markings on its belly. It’s also a dramatically superior burrower to any true garter snake. Its diet consists of earthworms and slugs, which it finds by enlarging existing soil tunnels and threading its way through.
Lined snakes were first discovered in 1856. The debate rumbled on for a while, but by 1936, they were placed in the Tropidoclonion genus, and have been there ever since, as the sole member.
Despite this long estrangement, the lined snake and its cousins will sometimes have a reunion. In 2017, scientists stumbled across a partially overturned cow patty in grazed pasture land in Nebraska. They upturned it and found 3 dead common garter snakes, and 6 dead lined snakes, all frozen solid. Though they met a grisly fate, the snakes had clearly been hibernating together.
| 5 | Mole snake |
Maximum length: 210cm.
A non-venomous African snake, which can still turn nasty if repeatedly provoked. This 2 metre species lives in the southernmost nations of Africa, including Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Mole snakes like to hide in abandoned mammal burrows, and are usually found in more open habitats, such as grassland, scrubland, semi-desert and hilly slopes.
Originally, mole snakes were given the generic name of “Coluber”, as nobody had a clue what type of snake they were. Then they were named Duberria cana, after the Duberria slug-eating genus. Professor Cope reached the modern conclusion in 1864 with Pseudaspis cana, before more wrangling and debate until 1893, when Pseudaspis cana was finally agreed upon once and for all.
Since then, 130 years have passed. Hundreds of new snake species have been discovered, yet the mole snake still stands tall as the sole member of the Pseudaspis genus. Its black shiny scales closely resemble other African snakes such as black thread snakes and lethal stiletto snakes, yet at a maximum of 2.1 metres, mole snakes are significantly longer than both.
The mole snake eats a varied diet. It was originally named for its love of golden moles, but its confirmed meals are manifold, including rodents, Harlaub’s gulls, clicking stream frogs and the eggs of African penguins.
| 6 | American pipe snake |
Maximum length: 118.4cm.
A humble jungle snake which poses no threat whatsoever to humans. The American pipe snake (Anilius scytale) lives in dense rainforests in Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and western Brazil. It’s a medium-sized snake at an average of 70cm, and has tiny black eyes which blend completely with a dark stripe on its face. Anilius scytale is the only member of the Anilius genus, and even physically, it’s a complete anomaly.
On the surface, this rogue snake looks sleek and advanced like a coral snake, but it’s actually one of the most primitive surviving snake species. The American pipe snake still possesses a pelvic girdle with vestigial spurs, representing shrunken former limbs from its ancient life as a regular reptile. Similarly, its jaws don’t fully unhinge, which is closer to the transitional snakes which existed around the end of the dinosaur era 66 million years ago.
Despite this weakness, Anilius scytale has managed to survive in the depths of the Amazon rainforest, while every other member of its genus has died out, if they ever existed in the first place. Its diet includes beetles, caecilians (legless amphibians), Bahia slow worms, and small snakes like the black-headed snake. If this sketch is accurate, then this species faces a terrifying predator in the spectacled caiman, a cunning Amazonian crocodilian.
| 7 | Kerala mud snake |
Maximum length: 92cm.
A friendly-looking snake which is found exclusively in Kerala state in southwest India. The Kerala mud snake loves to wallow in shoreline mud, but sometimes suffers from being scooped up by fishing nets.
This species is a Homalopsid watersnake, a distant relative of the dog-faced watersnakes, but is actually part of its own genus: Dieurostus. It’s a weird offshoot, living in just one narrow corner of the world. Its closest relatives worldwide live nowhere near it. These are the obscure Richardson’s mangrove snake of Indonesia, and MacLeay’s water snake of Australia.
Kerala mud snakes can appear in freshwater marshes, flooded rice paddies, and coastal plains alike. They love lakes and swamps, and are more common on land after heavy rains.
Being part of a unique genus, Kerala mud snakes have a unique feature: salt tolerance. In 2014, scientists found this species on a sandy beach for the first time, just 2-3 metres from the ocean. The species isn’t a sea snake, so the team was very surprised. A couple of years earlier, Kerala mud snakes were proven to cope well with salinity, whereas most other southeast Asian watersnakes die rapidly in salt water. 110 snakes worldwide possess salt tolerance, but eliminate the actual sea snakes and it becomes far rarer.
| 8 | Rough-scaled snake |
Maximum length: 100cm.
A venomous Australian snake which causes far fewer bites than the eastern brown snake, but still should never be taken lightly. The rough-scaled snake is the sole member of the Tropidechis genus. It was discovered in 1863, and originally placed in the Hoplocephalus genus containing the broad-headed snake, a shy Australian rock lover. But later that year, it was reassigned to the Tropidechis genus, where it remains today.
Rough scaled snakes (Tropidechis carinatus) are attracted to moistness, and are commonly found in high altitude forests and grassy meadows. They’re found on Australia’s populous central east coast, particularly along the Gold Coast and near Brisbane. Then there’s a huge gap before they reappear, in a separate population in northeast Queensland. Rough-scaled snakes have a purplish tongue, and one of their confirmed prey is the striped marsh frog.
A 2016 study revealed their closest relative: the tiger snake (Notechis scutatus), despite the two having wildly different appearances. Their next closest relative is the rare Lake Cronin snake, AKA Paroplocephalus atriceps, found in southwest Australia.
| 9 | Brazilian burrowing snake |
Maximum length: 61.5cm.
One of many weird snakes stuffed away in remote corners of South America. Brazilian burrowing snakes (Gomesophis brasiliensis) are found exclusively in southern and southeastern Brazil. They’re mainly found on the borders of marshes and swamps, where soft soils allow them to dig for their main prey: earthworms. Moist grassy fields are also a good place to find them.
The Brazilian burrowing snake is the sole member of the Gomesophis genus. It was first discovered in 1918, and originally assigned to the venomous slender snake genus of Tachymenis. In 1959, the all-new genus of Gomesophis was created, and the Brazilian burrowing snake became its only member, a situation which hasn’t changed since.
This snake hardly ever moves by night. A study in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, found that 96.4% of its movements were during daylight, particularly between 9:30 and 17:00. Brazilian burrowing snakes are harmless, but have defensive techniques such as striking, gaping their mouths wide in order to intimidate, burrowing into mud, and hiding their head in a nest of coils. One cornered snake launched itself into a small stream, never to be seen again.
| 10 | Cape reed snake |
Maximum length: 63cm.
This mildly venomous species lives in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Cape reed snakes (Amplorhinus multimaculatus) reach a maximum of just 63cm, move slowly through the savannah, and have a wide colour variation. Their name originates from their habitats, as they love to lurk in thick reed beds and riverine vegetation.
Cape reed snakes gravitate towards moister areas in general, and are the sole member of the Amplorhinus genus worldwide. They were discovered in 1847, and given the modern name straight away. Then they were switched to the large skaapsteker (Psammophylax) genus, before being moved back to Amplorhinus in 1896.
For the last 130 years, the cape reed snake has been the only member of this genus. Its closest relatives are actually the harmless Duberria slug-eating snakes, which are all native to Africa.
Cape reed snakes are venomous, but barely a threat to humans. In this 1960 report, a guy thrust his hand into a bag of collected snakes, withdrew it, and noticed a reed snake fastened onto his finger, chewing vigorously. He removed the snake after a few seconds, and quickly felt a burning pain. His finger became inflamed, which lasted for 24 hours, but there were no symptoms other than local.