Snake family · Dipsadid snakes
Dipsadidae
A huge New-World group of mostly rear-fanged, mostly harmless snakes.
About the Dipsadidae family
Dipsadids are an enormous, mainly Neotropical radiation that includes hognose snakes, snail-eaters, false coral snakes, and many more. Most are rear-fanged but harmless to people. (Many sources still file these snakes under Colubridae, so our family counts reflect that older arrangement.)
- Where they live
- The Americas, especially Central and South America.
- How to recognize one
- Extremely variable; identified by genus and region rather than a single trait.
- Danger to people
- Mostly harmless; a few are rear-fanged with venom that can cause local symptoms.
Species (3)
Genera in the Dipsadidae 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.