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Sunbeam Snake | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

Sunbeam Snake

Xenopeltis unicolor

ReptiliaDamp soil, rice paddies, forest floor, gardens and river marginsLeast Concern

Field profile

The sunbeam snake is a semi-fossorial snake of Southeast Asia, plain dark brown above and pale below, with the most intensely iridescent scales of any snake. It spends the day buried in soil or leaf litter and hunts frogs, lizards and small mammals at night. It is non-venomous and kills by constriction.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2024-06-01

Sunbeam Snake

The most iridescent snake spends its life underground

The sunbeam snake's scales throw off a metallic rainbow sheen stronger than any other snake's. It is also almost entirely fossorial and nocturnal, so the sheen is rarely visible to anything in its own environment.

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