As one of the most biodiverse states in the nation, it should be no surprise Alabama has a variety of snakes slithering around – 49 species and subspecies to be more precise.

In fact, the state boasts some of the world’s most extreme snake species including the world’s largest rattlesnake and the longest snake in north America.

Most of the state’s snake species are harmless to humans, and in fact play a crucial role in the state’s ecosystem. For those of you who are curious (or those of you who want to know what to avoid), here is a look at the state’s snake species.

Venomous snakes of Alabama

Don’t be afraid: of all of the snake species in Alabama, only six are venomous. Three of those six venomous species are rattlesnakes: the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, the timber rattlesnake, and the pygmy rattlesnake.

The other venomous snakes in Alabama include the copperhead, the most common venomous snake in the state, its cousin the cottonmouth (sometimes known as the water moccasin), and the coral snake.

Though the other venomous snakes in Alabama are pit vipers (meaning they have a heat seeking pit in between their eyes and nostrils), the coral snake is not. It’s in the Elapidae family, making it a close relative of the cobra or the mamba snake.

If you are bitten by one of Alabama’s venomous snakes, you should get to a hospital as quickly—but as safely—as possible. Take a picture or note the type of snake you were bitten by, if possible.

Endangered snakes in Alabama

There are two Alabama snakes that are considered to be threatened: the black pine snake and the eastern indigo snake, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In fact, at one point, scientists believed that there were no more eastern indigo snakes in Alabama. The longest snake in North America, the eastern indigo snake is the apex predator of longleaf pine forests (like the Conecuh National Forest). It eats copperheads and rattlesnakes and is a lynchpin for the ecosystem.

Scientists began reintroducing the snake to Alabama in the 1980s. Last year, 40 eastern indigo snakes were released into the Conecuh National Forest, as part of a program to release 300 snakes into the wild and establish a viable population.

Historically, the black pine snake lived in southwest Alabama and south Mississippi, but its population has declined because of habitat loss: it, too, lives in the longleaf pine forest habitat. The snake has become a rare sighting in Mobile, Washington, and Clarke counties.

But though those two species are the only two listed on the federal endangered species registry, other snake species in Alabama are facing declining populations and threats to their existence.

The southern hognose snake, for example, is thought to have completely disappeared from Alabama, according to the department of conservation and natural resources.

It is protected under Alabama law, along with the Eastern coral snake, Eastern indigo snake, Gulf salt marsh snake, Rainbow snake, All native king snake species, and the Black, northern and Florida pine snakes.