List of snakes of South Asia

Last updated June 05, 2025

The following is a list of snakes (suborder Serpentes) of South Asia, primarily covering the region covered by mainland India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, parts of Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Island chains. All families are covered except for the Colubridae which is found here. This forms part of the complete list of reptiles of South Asia. South Asia and India in particular have the highest number of snake species in the world.

Family Leptotyphlopidae

Family Typhlopidae

Brahminy Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Slender blind snake ( Typhlops porrectus ) Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Giant blind snake ( Typhlops diardii ) Northeast India, Bangladesh, China, Indo-China, Myanmar, Thailand, Malay region
Pied blind snake ( Typhlops leucomelas ) Sri Lanka
Jan's blind snake ( Typhlops mirus ) Sri Lanka
Günther's blind snake ( Typhlops pammeces Günther 1864)
Typhlops exiguus
Typhlops beddomii
Typhlops andamanesis
Rhinotyphlops acutus
Ramphotyphlops exocoeti
( Typhlops tindalli )
( Typhlops thurstoni )
( Typhlops tenuicollis )
( Typhlops oligolepis )
( Typhlops oatesii )
( Typhlops meszoelyi )
( Typhlops loveridgei )
( Typhlops jerdoni )
( Typhlops fletcheri )

Family Cylindrophiidae

Sri Lankan pipe snake Cylindrophis maculatus Sri Lanka

Family Uropeltidae

Palni Shieldtail Snake Teretrurus rhodogaster
Two-lined Black Shieldtail Melanophidium bilineatum
Beddome's Black Shieldtail Melanophidium punctatum
Indian Black Earth Snake Melanophidium wynaudense
Travancore Hills Thorntail Snake Platyplectrurus madurensis
Lined Thorntail Snake Platyplectrurus trilineatus
Kerala Shieldtail Plectrurus aureus
Günther's Burrowing Snake Plectrurus guentheri
Nilgiri Burrowing Snake Plectrurus perroteti
Karnataka burrowing snake Pseudoplectrurus canaricus
Cardamom Hills Earth Snake Rhinophis fergusonianus
Schneider's Earth Snake Rhinophis oxyrhynchus
Salty Earth Snake Rhinophis sanguineus
Travancore Shieldtail Rhinophis travancoricus
Purple-red Earth Snake Teretrurus sanguineus
Madurai Earth Snake Uropeltis arcticeps
Beddome's Earth Snake Uropeltis beddomii
Bhupathy's shieldtail Uropeltis bhupathyi
Brougham's Earth Snake Uropeltis broughami
Ceylon Earth Snake Uropeltis ceylanicus
Sirumalai Hills Earth Snake Uropeltis dindigalensis
Elliot's Earth Snake Uropeltis ellioti
Smith's Earth Snake Uropeltis grandis
Jerdon's shieldtail Uropeltis jerdoni ^[1]
Günther's Earth Snake Uropeltis liura
Bombay Earth Snake Uropeltis macrolepis
Anaimalai Earth Snake Uropeltis macrorhynchus
Spotted Earth Snake Uropeltis maculatus
Boulenger's Earth Snake Uropeltis myhendrae
Southern Earth Snake Uropeltis nitidus
Ocellated Shieldtail Uropeltis ocellatus
Shieldtail Earth Snake Uropeltis petersi
Phipson's Shieldtail Uropeltis phipsonii
Indian Earth Snake Uropeltis pulneyensis
Red-lined Earth Snake Uropeltis rubrolineatus
Red-spotted Earth Snake Uropeltis rubromaculatus
Woodmason's Earth Snake Uropeltis woodmasoni

Family Acrochordidae

Wart snake Acrochordus granulatus India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Timor

Family Boidae

Common sand boa Eryx conicus Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Red sand boa Eryx johnii India, Pakistan
Whitaker's sand boa Eryx whitakeri Southwest India

Family Pythonidae

Indian rock python Python molurus Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar
Reticulated python Python reticulatus India (Arunachal Pradesh, Nicobars), Myanmar, China, Indo-China, Malay region, Indonesia, Philippines
Burmese python Python bivittatus India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Java, Sulawesi, China, Hong Kong, Indo-China

Family Xenopeltidae

Sunbeam snake Xenopeltis unicolor India (Nicobars), Myanmar, Thailand, China, Indo-China, Malay region

Family Elapidae

Andamans krait Bungarus andamanensis India (Andamans)
Common Indian krait Bungarus caeruleus Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan krait Bungarus ceylonicus Sri Lanka
Banded krait Bungarus fasciatus Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Indo-China, China, Malay region
Sindh krait Bungarus sindanus Pakistan, India
Northeastern Hill Krait Bungarus bungaroides
Lesser Black Krait Bungarus lividus
Greater Black Krait Bungarus niger
Beddome's Coral Snake Calliophis beddomei
MacClelland's coral snake Calliophis macclellandi Nepal, India, Myanmar, Indo-China, Taiwan
Slender coral snake Calliophis melanurus Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka
Black Coral Snake Calliophis nigrescens
Bibron's Coral Snake Calliophis bibroni
Monocled cobra Naja kaouthia Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Indo-China, China
Spectacled cobra Naja naja Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Black cobra Naja oxiana Central Asia, Pakistan, India
Andaman cobra Naja sagittifera India (Andamans)
King cobra Ophiophagus hannah India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Indo-China, Malay region, Philippines

Family Hydrophiidae

Spine-tailed seasnake Aipysurus eydouxii (Gray, 1849)
Large-headed sea snake Astrotia stokesii (Gray, 1846) Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malay region
Olive-headed seasnake Disteira major (Shaw, 1802)
Disteira nigrocincta (Daudin, 1803)
Wall's sea snake Disteira walli Kharin, 1989
Beaked seasnake or hook-nosed sea snake Enhydrina schistosa (Daudin, 1803) Persian Gulf, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indo-China, Malay peninsula
Faint-banded seasnake Hydrophis belcheri (Gray, 1849)
Peters' sea snake Hydrophis bituberculatus Peters, 1872
Hydrophis brooki Günther, 1872
Blue sea snake Hydrophis caerulescens Shaw, 1802 Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China, Malay region
Annulated sea snake Hydrophis cyanocinctus Daudin, 1803
Banded sea snake Hydrophis fasciatus (Schneider, 1799) Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Malay region
Hydrophis inornatus (Gray, 1849)
Kloss' sea snake Hydrophis klossi Boulenger, 1912
Bombay sea snake Hydrophis mamillaris Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka
Black-banded sea snake Hydrophis nigrocinctus India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar
Estuarine sea snake Hydrophis obscurus India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar
Cochin banded sea snake Hydrophis ornatus Persian Gulf, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malay region, Indo-China, China
Persian Gulf sea snake Hydrophis lapemoides (Gray, 1849)
Slender-necked seasnake Hydrophis melanocephalus (Gray, 1849)
Yellow sea snake Hydrophis spiralis (Shaw, 1802)
Collared sea snake Hydrophis stricticollis Günther, 1864
Jerdon's sea snake Kerilia jerdonii India, Sri Lanka, Malay peninsula
Bighead sea snake Kolpophis annandalei (Laidlaw, 1901)
Short sea snake Lapemis curtus (Shaw, 1802) Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Malay region, Indo-China
Yellow-lipped sea krait Laticauda colubrina India, East of the islands of the Sundas
Laticauda laticaudata ( Linnaeus, 1758)
Hardwicke's spine-bellied seasnake Lapemis hardwickii Gray, 1834
Annulated sea snake Hydrophis cyanocinctus Persian Gulf, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malay region
Yellow sea snake Hydrophis spiralis Persian Gulf, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Malay region
Microcephalophis cantoris
Slender narrow-headed sea snake Microcephalophis gracilis Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malay region, China
Yellow-bellied sea snake Pelamis platurus
Thalassophina viperina
Anomalous sea snake Thalassophis anomalus

Family Viperidae

Himalayan pit viper Gloydius himalayanus India, Pakistan, Nepal
Levantine viper Macrovipera lebetinus Middle East, Pakistan
Russel's viper Daboia russelii Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Indo-China, islands of Java, Komodo, Flores, Indonesia
Indian saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Echis megalocephalus
Common hump-nosed pit viper Hypnale hypnale India, Sri Lanka
Millard's hump-nosed pit viper Hypnale nepa Sri Lanka
Wall's hump-nosed pit viper Hypnale walli Sri Lanka
Blotched pit viper Ovophis monticola Bangladesh, India, Nepal
Brown spotted pit viper Protobothrops mucrosquamatus India, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Vietnam
Protobothrops jerdonii
White-lipped pit viper Trimeresurus albolabris India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sundas up to Timor
Anderson's pit viper Trimeresurus andersonii India (Andamans)
Bamboo pit viper Trimeresurus gramineus Nepal, India
Large-scaled green pit viper Trimeresurus macrolepis Southwest India
Malabar rock pit viper Trimeresurus malabaricus Southwest India
Tibetan pit viper Trimeresurus tibetanus Tibet, Nepal
Trimeresurus stejnegeri
Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus
Pope's Pit Viper Trimeresurus popeiorum
Medo Pit Viper Trimeresurus medoensis
Trimeresurus labialis
Trimeresurus erythrurus
Cantor's Pit Viper Trimeresurus cantori
Pseudocerastes persicus

Family Colubridae

Elachistodon westermanni

References

↑ Ganesh, S.R.; Punith, K.G.; Adhikari, Omkar D.; Achyuthan, N.S. (2021). "A new species of shieldtail snake (Squamata: Uropeltidae: Uropeltis) from the Bengaluru uplands, India" (PDF). Journal of Threatened Taxa. 13 (6): 18508–18517. doi: 10.11609/jott.6736.13.6.18508-18517 .

Romulus Whitaker & Ashok Captain, (2004) Snakes of India: The Field Guide. Draco Books, Chennai.
Daniel, J.C.(2002) The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians. Bombay Natural History Society and Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-566099-4

External links

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[1] Ganesh, S.R.; Punith, K.G.; Adhikari, Omkar D.; Achyuthan, N.S. (2021). "A new species of shieldtail snake (Squamata: Uropeltidae: Uropeltis) from the Bengaluru uplands, India" (PDF). Journal of Threatened Taxa. 13 (6): 18508–18517. doi: 10.11609/jott.6736.13.6.18508-18517 .

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