1
Asp Viper
Vipera aspis
A short, thick alpine viper of southwestern Europe, named for the asp of Greek and Roman antiquity but distinct from Cleopatra's snake.
Looking for 3-syllable snakes? Here are 33 snakes that fit — each linked to a full profile.
Syllables are counted across the whole name (multi-word names sum). "Apple" is 2 syllables; "Macaroni and Cheese" is 6.
Table of contents
List of 3-syllable Snakes
2
Ball Python
Python regius
A small, docile West African python that curls into a tight ball when threatened, now the most popular pet snake in the world.
3
Banded Krait
Bungarus fasciatus
A boldly black-and-yellow ringed elapid of South and Southeast Asia, shy by day but highly venomous if cornered.
4
Black Mamba
Dendroaspis polylepis
Africa's fastest snake and one of the most feared elapids, named for the inky black lining of its mouth rather than its skin colour.
5
Black Racer
Coluber constrictor
A fast, slender, glossy black colubrid common across the eastern United States, frequently mistaken for a venomous snake.
6
Brown Tree Snake
Boiga irregularis
A nocturnal Indo-Pacific colubrid notorious for invading Guam and devastating the island's native bird fauna.
7
Bushmaster
Lachesis muta
The largest viper in the Americas, a long-fanged neotropical pit viper feared in rainforest villages from Nicaragua to Brazil.
8
Common Krait
Bungarus caeruleus
A glossy black-and-white South Asian elapid responsible for many bites at night because it readily enters homes and beds.
9
Copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix
A pit viper of the eastern United States with copper-coloured hourglass bands, responsible for more snakebites in the U.S. than any other species.
10
Coral Snake
Micrurus nigrocinctus
A widespread brightly ringed neotropical elapid with potent neurotoxic venom, common in moist forests across Central and northern South America.
11
Death Adder
Acanthophis antarcticus
A squat, viper-like Australian elapid that ambushes prey by wriggling its grub-shaped tail tip as a lure.
12
Fer-de-Lance
Bothrops asper
A heavy-bodied neotropical pit viper responsible for most snakebite injuries in Central and South America.
13
Forest Cobra
Naja melanoleuca
A large, glossy black-and-yellow African elapid of equatorial rainforests, known for its semi-aquatic habits and powerful neurotoxic venom.
14
Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis
A small striped North American natricine snake found in nearly every habitat across the continent, harmless and often kept as a beginner pet.
15
Glossy Snake
Arizona elegans
A sand-coloured nocturnal constrictor of the American Southwest, named for the polished sheen of its smooth scales.
16
Green Mamba
Dendroaspis angusticeps
A vivid emerald-green arboreal elapid of East African coastal forests, far shyer and more retiring than its infamous black cousin.
17
Hognose Snake
Heterodon platirhinos
A stout, upturned-snouted North American colubrid famous for hissing, flattening its neck, and then playing dead when bluffing fails.
18
Horned Viper
Cerastes cerastes
A small, sand-coloured desert viper of North Africa and the Middle East, recognisable by the upright horn above each eye.
19
King Brown Snake
Pseudechis australis
A heavy, broad-headed Australian elapid also known as the mulga snake, with the largest venom yield of any Australian snake.
20
King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah
The world's longest venomous snake, native to South and Southeast Asian forests, known for the hooded display and powerful neurotoxic venom.
21
Kirtland Snake
Clonophis kirtlandii
A small, secretive Midwestern North American natricine snake that lives almost entirely in burrows beneath wet meadows and is now seriously declining.
22
Mangrove Snake
Boiga dendrophila
A striking black-and-yellow Southeast Asian colubrid with rear fangs, found coiled in low branches over tidal estuaries.
23
Pit Viper
Calloselasma rhodostoma
The Malayan pit viper is a stout, irritable Southeast Asian ambush hunter responsible for many bites in Thai and Vietnamese plantations.
24
Puff Adder
Bitis arietans
A stout, broadly distributed African viper responsible for more snakebite injuries on the continent than any other species.
25
Queen Snake
Regina septemvittata
A slim, harmless North American water snake that specialises almost entirely on freshly moulted crayfish.
26
Ribbon Snake
Thamnophis sauritus
A long, thin striped garter-snake relative that hunts frogs along the edges of clean ponds and streams in eastern North America.
27
Ringneck Snake
Diadophis punctatus
A small, slate-grey North American snake with a vivid orange neck ring and belly, often found under logs and flat stones.
28
Rough Green Snake
Opheodrys aestivus
A slim emerald-green arboreal colubrid of the eastern United States that hunts caterpillars and spiders in low foliage.
29
Sand Boa
Eryx colubrinus
A short, thick, blunt-tailed burrowing boa of African and Asian deserts that spends most of its life buried in loose sand.
30
Sidewinder
Crotalus cerastes
A small horned rattlesnake of North American deserts that moves by throwing its body sideways across hot loose sand.
31
Tiger Snake
Notechis scutatus
A boldly banded Australian elapid of cool, wet southern habitats, responsible for a steady share of the country's serious snakebites.
32
Urutu
Rhinocerophis alternatus
A short, thick South American pit viper of grassland and wetland edges, known for the small white markings on its dark face.
33
Yarara
Bothrops diporus
A pit viper of southern South America, a close cousin of the jararaca and a major cause of snakebite in northern Argentina and Paraguay.
About 3-syllable snakes
That's our current list of snakes pronounced in 3 syllables. Want to combine with a starting letter? Try 3-syllable snakes that start with A.