Currently and historically, snakes have always elicited strong reactions. Arguably more foreign in appearance than any other vertebrate animal, snakes have played an important role in almost every aspect of human culture. Snakes have intrigued, fascinated and frightened people since before written history; and continue to play important roles in creation mythologies, religion, art, entertainment, medicine and science.

Snakes are categorized in the suborder Serpentes within the larger order of Squamata. There are more than 2,900 described species of snakes, with representatives found on every continent with the exception of Antarctica, with many more surely awaiting discovery and/or description. They range in size from a mere 4 inches long (thread snake, Leptotyphlops bilineatus) to a massive 30 feet or more (Reticulated python, Python reticulatus; African rock python, Python sebae; Green Anaconda, Eunectes murinus). If “largest” refers to weight, the green anaconda wins hands down with weights of well over 500 pounds not being unheard of. Of the 2,900 described species of snake, fewer than 20 percent are venomous. Australia is the only continent on which there is a higher percentage of venomous snakes than non-venomous.