There are 36 rattlesnake species, and around 70 subspecies. The name Crotalus is derived from “krotalon” which literally means rattle in Greek. They belong to huge snake genera Crotalus and Sistrurus, represented by American pit viper species. Rattlesnakes rank 6th in our list of most common snakes in America. Rattlesnakes (Crotalus and Sistrurus genera) Most of the specimens are evenly darkly colored, but some might appear to have several cross bands on the dorsal (back) side.Ħ. It is a thick-bodied species, with a distinctive head and the average length of around 90 centimeters, females being smaller than males. It inhabits areas around swamps, creeks, shallow lakes and it is considered to be the only venomous water snake of North America, though it is semi-aquatic. Black moccasin, cottonmouth, water moccasin, swamp moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus)Ĭottonmouth is indigenous species to the southeastern part of the US, mainly Florida. They are rather long, with the average body length of around 130 centimeters.ħ. They are usually brown or grayish colored with crossbands and patches of bit lighter color. They are non-venomous snakes that are usually being confused with cottonmouth snake, which is why a lot of these snakes end up being killed, since they are very common and frequently encounter humans. As the name suggests, these snakes dwell around water bodies, including rivers, creeks, marshes, etc. It is native snake species to the North American continent with the range of habitat throughout the whole eastern part of the US. Northern water snake ranks 8th in our list of most common snakes in America. All kingsnakes are vividly colored, usually banded and contrasted in color, most commonly recognized by yellow, red and black bands.Ĩ. They are slender snakes, ranging from 0.6 – 108 meters. Kingsnakes are non-venomous constriction snakes, named like that because they sometimes feed on other snakes. There are several species and a lot of subspecies of kingsnakes including milk snakes, California kingsnake, Mexican black kingsnake, etc. That suits the description of these snakes because of their shiny smooth scales.
Up next in our list of most common snakes in America are kingsnakes, that are common snakes of North American continent, belonging to Lampropeltis genus, derived from Greek words “lampro” (shiny) and “peltis” (shield). Coral snakes are highly venomous, but envenomation in humans is very rare. They are very brightly colored in black, yellow and red rings. Coral snakes are very slender, and usually around 50 centimeters long. These coral snakes inhabit waters of temperate and warm climate of southeastern US. Coral snakes (Leptomicrurus, Micruroides and Micrurus genera)Ĭoral snakes are divided into two groups, one being Asian, the other New World coral snakes belonging to Leptomicrurus, Micruroides and Micrurus genera with about 70 species including eastern coral snake and western Arizona coral snakes. Luckily, most of these snakes are non-venomous species, but let’s see the whole list of most common snakes in America.ġ0. We have then collected information on the occurrence and distribution of certain species from LiveScience, SnakeFacts, The Reptile Database. We used this article to obtain the information on the distribution of snake species, which has shown that the highest concentration is in tropical environments of Brazilian Amazon rainforest, with over 100 species, and the number is declining by going south or north of that region. Should we base our criteria on the size of range of areas they inhabit or on the number of specimens per some area? Probably both. But what are the most common snakes, it is hard to decide.
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