Snake family · Asian pipe snakes
Cylindrophiidae
Cylindrical burrowers that flash a warning with the tail.
About the Cylindrophiidae family
Asian pipe snakes are stout, harmless burrowers that, when threatened, hide the head and raise the flattened underside of the tail to mimic a striking head, sometimes revealing bright warning colors.
- Where they live
- Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.
- How to recognize one
- Cylindrical body of nearly even width, glossy bands, and a short blunt tail used in display.
- Danger to people
- Harmless.
Species (12)
Black Pipe SnakeCylindrophis melanotusHarmless
Boulenger's Pipe SnakeCylindrophis boulengeriHarmless
Burmese pipe snakeCylindrophis burmanusHarmless
Ceylonese Cylinder SnakeCylindrophis maculatusHarmless
Cylindrophis subocularisHarmless
Island Pipe SnakeCylindrophis opisthorhodusHarmless
Jodi's pipe snakeCylindrophis jodiaeHarmless
Red Cylinder SnakeCylindrophis ruffusHarmless
Slowinski's pipe snakeCylindrophis slowinskiiHarmless
Yamdena pipe snakeCylindrophis yamdenaHarmless- No photoBlanford's Pipe SnakeCylindrophis lineatusHarmless
- No photoEngkari Pipe SnakeCylindrophis engkariensisHarmless
Genera in the Cylindrophiidae family
1 genera with two or more species. Open one to read about the group and browse all its snakes.
Keep learning
- What Is a Snake? Anatomy and the BasicsA clear overview of what makes a snake a snake: limbless body plan, anatomy, evolution from lizards, species diversity, and why they are ectothermic.
- How Snakes Move, Hunt, and EatHow snakes move without legs, hunt as ambushers or active foragers, kill by constriction or venom, and swallow prey wider than their head.
- What Do Snakes Eat?All snakes are carnivores. Learn what snakes eat, how diet changes with size and age, how often they feed, and how they hunt and swallow prey.
- Venomous vs Nonvenomous: How to Tell the DifferenceThe folk rules for telling venomous snakes apart, where each one fails, and why location-based identification beats guessing by sight.