Serpentes (Snakes)

Suborder Serpentes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of and like other squamates, snakes are ectothermic and covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than lizards, allowing them to swallow prey much larger than their heads.  

Terrestrial snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, smaller land masses, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, the Hawaiian archipelago, and islands of New Zealand, as well as many small islands of the Atlantic and central Pacific oceans. Sea snakes are found throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans. There are around 3,900 species ranging from the tiny 10.4 cm-long Barbados threadsnake to the 10m long reticulated python.

Most snakes are nonvenomous and those that have venom, use it to kill or subdue prey rather than for self-defense. Some possess venom that is potent enough to cause painful injury or death to humans. Nonvenomous snakes either swallow prey alive or kill through constriction.

Source: Wikipedia

Serpentes families

Family Boidae (Boas)

The Boidae, commonly known as boas or boids, are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in the Americas, as well as Africa, Europe, Asia, and some Pacific islands. Boas include some of the world’s largest snakes, with the green anaconda being the heaviest and second longest snake after the Asian reticulated python. The family contains, six subfamilies comprising 15 genera and 54 species.

Source: Wikipedia

Subfamily Sanziniinae (Madagascan Boas)

Family Colubridae (Colubrid snakes)

Colubridae is the largest snake family with around 249 genera. While most colubrids are not venomous (have venom to immobilize their prey but not harmful to humans) and are mostly harmless, a few groups, such as genus Boiga however can produce medically significant injuries, while boomslangs, twig snakes and Rhabdophis have been known to cause human fatalities.

Source: Wikipedia

Subfamily Ahaetuliinae (Asia-pacific whipsnakes)

Subfamily Calamariinae (Reed snakes)

Subfamily Colubrinae (Colubrine snakes)

Subfamily Dipsadinae (Dipsadine snakes)

Subfamily Natricinae (Nactricine snakes)

Family Elapidae (Elapid snakes)

Elapids is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect front fangs and are venomous with the exception of the genus Emydocephalus. Many members of this family such as cobras exhibit a threat display by rearing upwards while spreading out their neck flap. Elapids are found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, with terrestrial forms in Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas and marine forms in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Members of the family range greatly in size from 18 cm White-lipped snake to the 5.85m King Cobra. Most species have a neurotoxic venom that is channeled by their hollow fangs, and some may contain other toxic components in various proportions. The family currently has 55 genera and 360 species and 170 subspecies.

Source: Wikipedia

Family Homalopsidae (Mud snakes)

The family Homalopsidae contains about 28 genera and 50 species, commonly referred to as Indo-Australian water snakes, mudsnakes, or bockadams. They are typically stout-bodied water snakes, and all are mildly venomous.

Source: Wikipedia

Family Pareidae (Slug snakes)

Pareidae is a small family found largely in southeast Asia and contains 42 species in four genera in two subfamilies: Pareinae and Xylophiinae.

Pareidae was once considered a subfamily of Colubridae, but it is now known not to be closely related to colubrids at all.

Members of the subfamily Pareinae are active, predatory snakes. Many are snail-eating snakes that have asymmetrical lower jaws, allowing them to pry the soft bodies of snails from their spiral shells. Predation by pareids on dextral (clockwise-coiled or “right handed”) snails is thought to favor the evolution of sinistral (counter-clockwise or “left handed”) snails in southeast Asia, where 12% of snail species are sinistral (as opposed to 5% worldwide).

The subfamily Xylophiinae on the other hand have a very different lifestyle, being primarily ground-dwelling, burrowing snakes.

Source: Wikipedia

Family Pseudaspididae
(Mole and western keeled snakes)

Pseudaspididae is a small family of elapoid snakes previously placed in subfamily Lamprophiidae and recently elevated to its own family.

They have a disjunct distribution, with two monophyletic generic species in sub-saharan Africa and two species in the genus Psammodynastes in Southeast Asia.

Source: Wikipedia

Family Pseudoxyrhophiidae (Madagascar Brook Snakes)

The Pseudoxyrhophiidae is a family of elapoidsnakes, found mostly in Madagascar. They were formerly placed as a subfamily Lamprophiidae, but are now treated as a distinct family.

Source: Wikipedia

Family Pythonidae (Pythons)

Pythons are a family of non-venomous snake found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world, contained in 10 genera and 39 species.

They are ambush predators that primarily kill prey by constriction, causing cardiac arrest. Being non-venomous, they are constrictors, suffocating their prey prior to consumption. They do this by striking and biting their prey to gain a hold of it, after which they suffocate their prey by using their muscular bodies to coil around their prey and constricting slowly, before swallowing whole.

Pythons are oviparous, laying eggs that females incubate until they hatch. The taxonomy of pythons has evolved, and they are now more closely related to sunbeam snakes and the Mexican burrowing python.

Source: Wikipedia

Family Tropidophiidae (Dwarf Boas)

Dwarf boas are a family of non-venomous snakes found from Mexico and the West Indies south to southeastern Brazil. These are small to medium-sized fossorial snakes, some with beautiful and striking color patterns. Currently, the family has two genera with 34 species.

Source: Wikipedia

Family Typhlopidae (Typical Blind Snakes) 

 Typhlopidae is a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel-like burrowing structure. They live underground in burrows, and since they have no use for vision, their eyes are mostly vestigial. They have light-detecting black eye spots, and teeth occur in the upper jaw. Typhlopids do not have dislocatable lower jaw articulations restricting them to prey smaller than their oral aperture. All species in the family Typhlopidae are fossorial and feed on social fossorial invertebrates such as termites and ants. The tail ends with a horn-like scale. Most of these species are oviparous. Currently, 18 genera are recognized containing over 200 species

Source: Wikipedia

Subfamily Asiatyphlopinae

Family Viperidae (Vipers)

Vipers are found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand and isolated islands. They are venomous and have long hinged fangs that permit deep penetration. There are three subfamilies currently recognized, and are viviparous, giving birth to “live young”, like most of the species of Boas.

Source: Wikipedia

Subfamily Crotalinae (Pit vipers)

Family Xenodermidae (Xenodermid Snakes) 

Xenodermidae is a family of snakes native to East Asia, South Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. All species in the family are small or moderately sized snakes, never more than 80 cm but typically less than 55 cm in total length (including tail). They are secretive, probably nocturnal, and typically inhabit moist forest habitats. They seem to be opportunistic carnivores, preying on other vertebrates. Xenodermidae have a basal position in the colubroid radiation. However, their exact position is not yet settled.

Source: Wikipedia

Family Xenopeltidae (Sunbeam snakes)

Sunbeam snakes are monotypic family containing a single genus with three species, and are found in Southeast Asia. Sunbeam snakes are known for their highly iridescent scales. They are closely related to the Mexican burrowing python (Loxocemus bicolor) and to the Pythonidae.

Source: Wikipedia