As humans, we have a love-hate relationship with reptiles. One could also say that it’s more like we love to hate them. The reptiles we usually dislike the most are snakes. Today, I will tell you about the rarest snakes in the world and where you can find them. You can use this information to beware the next time you travel or simply for educational purposes.
To begin with, the two topmost rarest snakes are The Saint Lucian Racer and The Antiguan Racer. Both of these rarest snakes in the world are also on the verge of extinction. However, extinction is not uncommon for many snakes species.
Almost 3.2% of snake species have threat owing to extinction. Around 97 out of over 3000 snakes are the rarest snakes in the world.
Most dangerous snake in the world
The Western Taipan species are the most dangerous snake in the world. It is native to Australia and the most venomous out of all species of snakes.
While this snake is usually shy and keeps to itself, it can retort if provoked. Not surprisingly, this behavior is common in most animals.
The good news is that, as per the Australian authorities, the interaction between this breed of snakes and humans is almost negligible.
Top 10 rarest snakes in the world
Here are the top ten breeds of snakes that are rarest in 2023 in descending order:
10. Cuban Khaki Dwarf Boa
This snake is almost 3 feet in size and is native to the islands in West Indies. It usually consumes geckos, anoles, and lizards. This snake belongs to a species named Tropidophiidae. You will usually notice this species in various shades of brown and tan.
9. Madagascar Blind Snake
This snake is roughly 10.63 inches in size. It usually eats ants and termites. It belongs to a breed named Xenotyphlopidae. Another interesting fact about this snake is that they breed the most in Madagascar. It has been declared the second-rarest species of snake recently.
8. Kikuzato’s Brook Snake
This snake is 15.45 inches long. It usually consumes fish, frogs, tadpoles, and earthworms. It belongs to a particular species named Colbridae.
Another interesting fact about Kikuzato’s Brook Snake, which is also quite obvious from its name that it belongs to Japan. This endangered species is found on Kumejima Island in Japan. This breed has been named after the renowned Kiyotasu Kikuzato, who also happened to be the first to collect a holotype of this breed.
7. Golden Lancehead
The list of the rarest snakes in the world has to include this particular breed. Declared endangered in 2023, this snake is around 28 inches long.
It eats snakes, birds, and lizards. This breed is also known as Bothrops Insularis. It is said to be one of the most poisonous snakes in the whole of Latin America.
Owing to its physiological mechanism, this breed survives in the subtropical regions with moist forest surfaces. One of the most significant reasons this breed of snakes is becoming rare is that forests are reducing in density and surface area across the globe.
This snake is usually yellowish brown and can be easily missed because of such a common shade that we can easily find in our surroundings.
6. Ross Wolf Snake
Found on the Island of Dalupiri in the Philippines, this breed is roughly 28 inches in size. It usually eats lizards, geckos, and skinks.
One thing that you might have realized by now is that most snakes eat insects that we humans happen to spot in our surroundings easily. So, here is one reason you have to thank snakes.
An interesting physical feature of this breed is that it is almost cylindrical. This is due to a flat belly combined with a rounded back.
5. Saint Lucia Racer Snake
As mentioned earlier, this is yet another snake featured in the list of the rarest snakes in the world. This snake is almost 3 feet in size and is known to eat lizards. It was declared in 2023 that we currently have less than 20 snakes of this breed in the world.
It is small in size, as is obvious. Also, a surprising fact is that this breed is not poisonous. One must say that itself is quite a salient feature. The scientific name of this breed is Erythrolampus ornatus. This snake was first declared rare in the year 1936. Currently, these snakes only reside in a small islet called Maria Major.
4. Saint Vincent Black Snake
This breed is almost 3.29 feet in size and usually consumes frogs. That’s a slight deviation from the diet we have been witnessing so far in this list. However, these snakes can grow up to be almost 40 inches in size.
It belongs to a species called Colubridae. This snake is known by various names. Some are San Vincent Racer, Vincent’s Sipo, and Saint Vincent Coachwhip. This snake usually inhabits forests at a height of roughly 275-600 meters. The snakes only reside in the Lesser Antilles, which is an island in the Caribbean Sea.
3. Leaf-Scaled Sea Snake
This snake is roughly 31.5 inches in length and usually prefers eating eel and fish as food. It is most commonly spotted in Shark Bay, located on the Coast of Australia. It was in 1926 that this snake was first discovered.
These sea snakes have been declared a critically endangered breed of snakes in 2023. Also, it is a majestic-looking snake that can extend or elongate up to 800 millimeters and is purple-brown.
2. Round Island Boa
This breed of snake is roughly 60 inches long. These snakes usually prefer to eat chicken, geckos, mice, and skinks. You can spot these in Round Island, Flat Island, Mauritius, and the Islands of Quoin. However, these snakes are most commonly found in Mauritius. The most interesting or unique fact about this snake is that it can change its color.
1. Darevsky’s Viper
The male snakes in this breed are roughly 16 inches long, whereas the female snakes are around 10.2 inches long. They usually prefer to eat rodents and lizards. They belong to a species commonly known as Viperidae.
The Viper snakes are mostly found in the northeast of Turkey, southern parts of Georgia, and northwestern parts of Armenia.
It is important to note that this snake is not viciously poisonous. If bitten by this snake, you will be in pain. However, the repercussions will not be life-threatening.
Rarest venomous snake in the world
Let us now look at the rarest venomous snakes in the world.
As you now have an idea about the rare snakes, it is time to introduce you to the Inland Tapian. It is the rarest venomous snake on the globe.
One would ideally spot this snake in the semi-arid regions of central Australia. This snake is also known by other names. Some of these are Small Scaled Snakes and Fierce Snakes.
The list of rare snakes is long. So, why stop at just 10 of the rarest snakes?
Let us continue the list further and introduce you to the next set of 5 rarest snakes you can find today.
1. Short-nosed tea snake
This snake is roughly 24 inches in length. It usually prefers to eat fish. It belongs to a species named Elapidae. This snake is also known as the Sahul reef snake. Another interesting name for this breed is Aipysurus. This snake is almost always brown. Hence, it can be slightly challenging to spot this snake. It is most commonly found off the coast of northwestern Australia.
2. Antiguan Racer
The male snakes in this breed are around 3 feet long. However, the female snakes are slightly longer. These snakes usually eat lizards. These snakes belong to a species named Colubridae.
Racer snakes are mostly found on York Island, Rabbit Island, Green Island, and Great Bird Island. These snakes are greyish-brown in color.
Their length usually extends up to 1 meter once they attain adulthood. It was declared endangered in 2023 due to many killings by human beings. Another reason is the frequent and devastating hurricanes.
These snakes weren’t as harmful as others on the list. Currently around 50 of these might be alive, until discovered in unexplored places.
3. Alcatraz Lancehead
These snakes are usually 46.2 to 50.5 inches long. These snakes mostly eat birds, frogs, and lizards. Surprisingly, this breed of snakes also likes to eat other smaller snakes. These snakes usually inhabit forest vegetation spaces.
Lanceheads are most commonly found off the coast of southeastern Brazil. These snakes are usually small in size. However, their most striking feature is their eyes which are usually quite big.
4. Santa Catalina
This snake is mostly around 30 inches in length. It prefers to consume lizards, deer, and mice. It belongs to a species named Viperidae. The scientific name of this snake is Crotalus Catalinesis. This snake is found in the Gulf of California. To be more precise, this would be off the coast of southern Baja California.
5. Wagner’s Viper
This snake’s length falls somewhere between 28 and 37 inches mostly. It prefers to eat lizards, birds, and eggs. It belongs to the snake family named Viperidae. Y
You would usually find this species in Northwestern Iran and Eastern Turkey. This snake was first declared endangered way back in the year 1996.
These snakes usually prefer to live at a certain height which ranges from 1600-1900 meters. Also, they prefer grassy and rocky terrain in their habitat.
Rarest Snake In India
The rarest snake found in India is the blue-bellied kukri snake. This snake was rediscovered only last year. This fortunate incident happened almost 112 years after being declared extinct. In 1908, locals found the snake for the last time in Tindharia, West Bengal.
The most poisonous snake in India
Many snakes in India are extremely poisonous. Some of these are Russell’s Viper, Indian Krait, Common Krait, Indian Cobra, and many more.
However, the deadliest of these all is Russell’s viper. This snake belongs to the Viperidae family and has the most dreadful venom. The name came after herpetologist, Patrick Russell. He mentioned this snake in his book An Account of Indian Serpent.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the rarest snake in the world?
The rarest snake in the world is the Antiuan Racer.
2. What is the name of the rarest snake in India?
The rarest snake in India is the blue-bellied kukri snake. It is optional that all snakes use biting as their only manner or mode of attack. There are a lot of snakes, such as ball pythons, corn snakes, and rosy boas, which don’t bite at all. Also, some snakes only spit and attack. Their spit has a lethal poison that eventually reaches bloodstream to kill.
3. Are there any safe snakes?
Needless to say, snakes that don’t bite at all are the safest. Some of these are Kenyan Sand Boa, Rubber Boa, Ball Python, etc.
4. Can snakes be friendly?
Yes, snakes can be friendly with humans. However, there are few such breeds. One of these breeds is corn snakes.
Final Thoughts
The rarest snakes in the world are reducing in numbers today due to several factors. Many snake species are going extinct due to the destruction of habitat, diseases, and urban development. Invasive species and rising temperatures are also causing such conditions. Since you have the list of the top 10 snakes moving towards extinction, you can find them in the mentioned geographic locations to explore them before they are no more found.
