15 of the world’s rarest snakes

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

A Saint Lucia racer snake (Erythrolamprus ornatus) with dark patterned scales coiled on mossy rocks.

Ashy morph of the Santa Catalina Rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinensis), a slender pale gray rattlesnake endemic to Isla Santa Catalina, Baja California Sur, with faint body patterning and a triangular head

Wagner Mountain Viper (Montivipera wagneri) moving across a rough rocky surface, its thick body and patterned scales blending with the stones as it crawls forward.

A Vipera anatolica, with a stout body and distinctive zigzag-patterned brown and gray scales lies tightly coiled among green grass.

A slender Clarion Island Whip Snake (Masticophis anthonyi) with a long, narrow body and smooth brownish-gray scales crawls gracefully across sandy ground.

Close-up of a Golden Lancehead (Bothrops insularis), a thick-bodied pit viper with rough, golden-yellow scales and a distinct triangular head with visible heat-sensing pits.

15 of the world’s rarest snakes: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

Shabnam Dohutia
Shabnam Dohutia is executive editor, Encyclopaedia Britannica. Having worked in various editorial positions at Oxford University Press and Pearson, Shabnam has almost two decades’ experience in content development and in leading editorial teams. Shabnam holds a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Delhi.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Article title updated for style.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Nov 06, 2026
	New article added.	Shabnam Dohutia	Jul 31, 2026