10 Most Common Snakes in America

Which are the most common snakes in America? Even though America is not famous for fearsome snake species, like Australia or India for example, there are many snake species inhabiting various environments, which makes them a common animal throughout the continents.

Snakes are spread throughout the North, Central and South America, but there are some regions with denser snake populations. Texas and Florida are states with the most snake species in the whole US, Florida being at the first place. That is because Florida has optimal environmental and climatic conditions for reptilian species to thrive. About 50 snake species live in Florida, among which great majority is non-venomous. The conditions are also suitable for species not native to this region, so Florida has made home for many invasive species, like pythons for example, which are now commonly found in the wild after being released by their owners, and their populations are growing. For the rest of the America, the zone with the highest number of snake species is the Amazon.

Most common snakes in America include both dangerous and friendly species to humans, and if you are curious to find out which are generally the most dangerous check them on our list of 20 most deadliest snakes in the world. Because of a great diversity of ecosystems in America, snake behaviors and habit preferences differ a lot from region to region. Some of them are shy, others are vicious, some have frequent encounters with people, living near their homes, while others dwell in desert wastelands.

But what are the most common snakes, it is hard to decide. 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. 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. We have then collected information on the occurrence and distribution of certain species from LiveScience, SnakeFacts, The Reptile Database. Luckily, most of these snakes are non-venomous species, but let’s see the whole list of most common snakes in America.

10. Coral snakes (Leptomicrurus, Micruroides and Micrurus genera)

Coral 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. These coral snakes inhabit waters of temperate and warm climate of southeastern US. Coral snakes are very slender, and usually around 50 centimeters long. They are very brightly colored in black, yellow and red rings. Coral snakes are highly venomous, but envenomation in humans is very rare.

9. Kingsnakes  (Lampropeltis genus)

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). That suits the description of these snakes because of their shiny smooth scales. There are several species and a lot of subspecies of kingsnakes including milk snakes, California kingsnake, Mexican black kingsnake, etc. Kingsnakes are non-venomous constriction snakes, named like that because they sometimes feed on other snakes. They are slender snakes, ranging from 0.6 – 108 meters. All kingsnakes are vividly colored, usually banded and contrasted in color, most commonly recognized by yellow, red and black bands.

8. Northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon)

Northern water snake ranks 8th in our list of most common snakes in America. It is native snake species to the North American continent with the range of habitat throughout the whole eastern part of the US. As the name suggests, these snakes dwell around water bodies, including rivers, creeks, marshes, etc. 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. They are usually brown or grayish colored with crossbands and patches of bit lighter color. They are rather long, with the average body length of around 130 centimeters.

7. Black moccasin, cottonmouth, water moccasin, swamp moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

Cottonmouth is indigenous species to the southeastern part of the US, mainly Florida. 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. It is a thick-bodied species, with a distinctive head and the average length of around 90 centimeters, females being smaller than males. Most of the specimens are evenly darkly colored, but some might appear to have several cross bands on the dorsal (back) side.

6. Rattlesnakes (Crotalus and Sistrurus genera)

Rattlesnakes rank 6th in our list of most common snakes in America. They belong to huge snake genera Crotalus and Sistrurus, represented by American pit viper species. The name Crotalus is derived from “krotalon” which literally means rattle in Greek. There are 36 rattlesnake species, and around 70 subspecies. They are perhaps most recognizable North American snakes, with the range of habitat from Canada to Mexico, and Arizona being at the first place for the number of rattlesnake species (13). They prefer deserts and arid regions. Rattlesnakes are mostly nocturnal species that have developed “heat vision”, like all pit vipers, which enables them to locate their prey in the dark. They are venomous snakes with large fangs and they hiss and rattle loudly before they attack. They are thick-bodied snakes with recognizable triangular head, and they usually have diamond shaped patterns throughout the body.

5. Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor)

Boa constrictor ranks 5th in our list of most common snakes in America. It is the commonest of boa snakes, which include 10 subspecies, and it is the fifth most common shake in America. It is a non-venomous constrictor snake, among one of the biggest snakes in the world. Their massive bodies average about 3 meters in length, and up to 45 kg of weight. Their coloration varies and depends on the environment, making them masters of disguise, usually being grayish with brown and red patches. Even though they are terrestrial species, boa constrictors are excellent swimmers, so no prey can escape them. Nevertheless, they are very calm and slow snakes that would very rarely attack, rather they produce a whistling sound in order to warn and drive away the intruders.

4. Copperhead, water moccasin, highland moccasin (Agkistrodon contortrix)

Nowadays this species is spread throughout the whole Eastern part of the United States and Mexico, found in a variety of ecosystems, where they are very common animal species. Because of being widely spread, it has several subspecies, and it is known under many common names, including poplar leaf, red oak, white oak snake, highland moccasin, etc. They prefer mixed woodlands and swampy regions. The average length is about 50-100 centimeters, usually reddish to brown in color with lighter, hourglass-shaped bands. Luckily, this snake’s behavior is not aggressive, so most of the bites are not deadly for humans, also because it rarely injects huge portions of venom at the first bite. And now, let’s see the top three entries in our list of most common snakes in America.

3. Fer-de-lance, common lancehead, terciopelo, barba amarilla (Bothrops atrox)

Of frequent snakes of Bothrops genus, fer-de-lance that ranks 3rd in our list of most common snakes in America is probably the most common snake in South America. It inhabits Mexico, Central and Northern South America. They prefer inhabiting rainforests, but are also oten found in other forests, savannahs, lowlands, Atlantic lowlands, and also agricultural lands and plantations. They are highly venomous and considered to be one of the deadliest snake species. Since they inhabit a variety of environments, they have developed different coloration that incorporates them into the ambient, so they are hardly visible. They often encounter people, so they have many common names, like barba amarilla, terciopelo and many more, all usually referencing to their body characteristics: lance-shaped head, the color of the chin, etc. They are rather long species, growing to 2 meters in length; females can outgrow males as much as 10 times. They are darkly colored with diamond shaped patterns.

2. Rat snakes (Panterophis genus)

There are many rat snake species throughout the world, once belonging to the same genus (Elaphe), but newer researches have shown that New World and Old World rat snakes actually differ genetically more than previously thought, and thus the American rat snakes have been reclassified into Panterophis genus. The range of these snakes is from Central America to the southern parts of Canada. Since there are many rat snake species, they physically differ a lot, but they are generally rather long snakes. American rat snakes include corn snakes (often being kept as pets), Texas rat snake, yellow rat snake, etc. among which the black or the western rat snake is most widely dispersed. They are a non-venomous constrictor snake, which means they squeeze their prey until it suffocates.

1. Garter snakes, garden snakes, ribbon snakes (Thamnophis genus)

There are 30 species and lot of subspecies species of Tamnophis genus of snakes which are widely spread throughout the Northern American continent, and are one of the most common snakes in America. They inhabit various regions from Canada to the south of the US, preferring more humid and water rich areas, so they occur more rarely in arid regions. Their habitats include forests, grasslands, and meadows and tend to be near water areas. Garter snakes are considered to be non-venomous snakes, and often kept as pets, though some researches have shown that they do produce tiny portions of venom, that can stun small animals they prey on. Since there are many species of these snakes, their average body length varies around 50-70 centimeters and rarely goes beyond 1.5 meters. They are usually recognizable by several stripes that longitudinally spread from head to tail, with patches in between. The color of the stripes is usually lighter, yellowish and greenish, and the background color is darker.