There are thousands of snake species living around the world, among which the snakes with the largest eyes have fascinated scientists due to their unique appearance.
Top 9 Snakes with the Largest Eyes in the World
The snakes with the largest eyes in the world belong to a group of species with unusual shapes, which astonish and frighten many people, while others criticize them as being “both venomous and ugly.”
Green Tree Python
This is one of the snake species with the largest eyes in the world.
The scientific name of the Green Tree Python is Rhamnophis aethiopissa, a venomous snake in the Colubridae family native to Africa. The snake is typically green but can also appear black or occasionally blue.
The eyes of this species are larger than those of most snakes of the same size. The Green Tree Python is among the snakes with the largest eyes in the world.
Hierophis Viridiflavus
Green Whip Snake or Western Whip Snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) belongs to the Colubridae family. They thrive in southern Thailand and southern Myanmar, followed by Malaysia and Singapore, Sumatra, and Java (Indonesia). The Green Whip Snake is a mildly venomous yet gentle species. They inhabit primary and secondary forests, often found in vegetation near forest streams.
This species typically exhibits a bright green color but can also be brown. It differs from the Eastern Whip Snake in having larger eyes, a slimmer body, and lacking the thin yellow stripe running along each side.
Atheris Hispida
This snake has a wide, triangular head, short mouth, and vertically elliptical pupils.
Atheris hispida is a venomous snake endemic to Central Africa. Its head is triangular and broad, with a short mouth and large eyes surrounded by 9 to 16 scales around the eye socket. They mainly communicate and perceive their environment through sight, touch, and scent.
Although small, the Atheris Hispida is highly venomous, notable for its large eyes and sharp scales that overlap like shingles, resembling fur (hence also referred to as the hairy snake or spiny-scaled snake).
This spiny-scaled snake is considered one of the ugliest snake species. This “famous” snake even appeared in Taylor Swift’s song “Look What You Made Me Do.”
Leptodeira Annulata
The Cat-eyed Snake, Leptodeira annulata, is a small snake with mild venom. It inhabits dry and wet forests, forest edges, and areas near swamps and marshes.
Imantodes Cenchoa
The Imantodes cenchoa is a mildly venomous rear-fanged snake belonging to the Colubridae family. This species is found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The snake has a slender body with a long neck and a large head. Its eyes have vertically oriented pupils that occupy about a quarter of the head’s length and protrude to the side, allowing the animal to look downward. This species is commonly found in plants like coffee and vines.
Horned Viper
This is also one of the strangest snake species in the world.
The main territory of this venomous snake is North Africa and the Middle East. With its striking appearance, the horned viper has become one of the most unusual snake species worldwide.
Spider Tail Snake
This may be the most haunting-looking snake in the family. With its rough skin and large body, this snake is intimidating with a small tail that trails a ‘spider’ at the end.
The combination of these two terrifying creatures in one being is truly a threat to unfortunate prey. If viewed from behind, many might mistake this snake for a spider crawling. The spider tail snake lives in the deserts of western Iran, so not everyone has the chance to “admire” its bizarre form.
Tentacled Snake
Unlike the other species on this list, the tentacled snake is an aquatic snake. Furthermore, this representative from Southeast Asia is the only species that possesses two tentacles on its snout, measuring about 90 cm long.
Scientists speculate that the two tentacles serve to attract small fish, the preferred prey of this snake. Perhaps because it enjoys eating fish, despite being classified as a venomous snake, the tentacled snake poses no harm to humans.
African Egg-Eating Snake
This species is non-venomous but has false teeth for self-defense. When threatened, they wriggle to dazzle opponents while making sharp hissing noises and pretend to attack. They will not actually bite because it would expose them. This behavior can even frighten large animals like elephants.
