Snake family · Odd-scaled snakes
Xenodermidae
Forest snakes with strange, knob-like scales.
About the Xenodermidae family
Odd-scaled snakes are secretive, harmless snakes of damp forests, named for the unusual raised or granular scales that give the skin a rough, beaded look. They are poorly known and rarely seen.
- Where they live
- South and East Asia.
- How to recognize one
- Distinctive bumpy, irregular scalation unlike the smooth or evenly keeled scales of most snakes.
- Danger to people
- Harmless.
Species (27)
Achalinus dabieshanensisHarmless
Achalinus dehuaensisHarmless
Achalinus hunanensisHarmless
Achalinus jianghuaensisHarmless
Achalinus ningshanensisHarmless
Achalinus panzhihuaensisHarmless
Achalinus quangiHarmless
Achalinus vanhoensisHarmless
Achalinus yunkaiensisHarmless
Amami Takachiho SnakeAchalinus werneriHarmless
Bearded SnakeFimbrios klossiHarmless
Black Odd-scaled SnakeAchalinus nigerHarmless
Borneo Red SnakeParaxenodermus borneensisHarmless
Boulenger's Odd-scaled SnakeAchalinus rufescensHarmless
Bourret's Odd-scaled SnakeAchalinus aterHarmless
Formosa Odd-scaled SnakeAchalinus formosanusHarmless
Ha Giang Odd-scaled SnakeAchalinus zugorumHarmless
Huang's odd-scaled snakeAchalinus huangjietangiHarmless
Javan Tubercle SnakeXenodermus javanicusHarmless
Kuocang Moutain odd-scaled snakeAchalinus mirabilisHarmless
Lushai Hills Dragon SnakeStoliczkia vanhnuailianaiHarmless
Peters' Odd-scaled SnakeAchalinus spinalisHarmless
Smith's Rough Water SnakeFimbrios smithiHarmless
Szechwan Odd-scaled SnakeAchalinus meiguensisHarmless
Trang An Odd-scaled SnakeAchalinus tranganensisHarmless
Ziggy Stardust SnakeParafimbrios laoHarmless- Zong's Odd-scaled SnakeAchalinus jinggangensisHarmless
Genera in the Xenodermidae family
2 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.