What kinds of snakes are there? A guide to common snake species

There are many kinds of snakes, distributed all over the world; even in the cold regions of Russia, various snakes survive. At present there are more than 3000 species of snakes worldwide. In China there are about 209 species of snakes, and about 50-plus species of venomous snakes, among which more than 10 are highly venomous. In South China, the main highly venomous snakes are several species such as the cobra, the many-banded krait, the banded krait and the pit viper.

Snakes belong to the class Reptilia, order Squamata, suborder Serpentes. They also have alternative names such as she, hui, teng, ran, li and lun, and depending on the species there are also near-synonymous names such as fu, ran, mang and kui, all belonging to the order Squamata. The body is slender, the limbs are reduced, and the body surface is covered with scales; although slender and long, snakes are vertebrates. Most are terrestrial, and some are semi-arboreal, semi-aquatic or aquatic, distributed throughout the world except Antarctica and islands such as New Zealand and Ireland. They feed on mice, frogs, insects and so on.