Category talk:Snakes

Serpent vs. snake
Ahm, what's the difference between a serpent and a snake? I assume snake is the (fluffy) description of such animals, and serpent is a (crunchy) creature sub-type. So it might make sense to have the two articles (but maybe a combined one would be good, too?). But so far I do not see the sense in having a sub-Category:Snakes within Category:Serpents. Opinions? Daranios (talk) 15:08, June 11, 2015 (UTC)


 * All snakes are serpents, but not all serpents are snakes, so the categories are set up as intended. Snakes are the (mostly) natural reptiles. Serpents also encompasses magical or other snake-like creatures. The serpent category is defined in Serpent Kingdoms. I thought its category page said such, but it does not. I'll go fix that now. ~ Lhynard (talk) 17:26, June 11, 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks for making it clearer. Sorry to bother again, because I am still a bit fuzzy about snake definition: Would that mean that Heway, Shadow snake and Zin are not snakes because they have magical abilities/intelligence, and winged serpent and viper tree are not snakes because they don't conform to natural animals' shape? Or are snakes also those serpents/serpent-like creatures that are called snakes in a source? Daranios (talk) 19:23, June 11, 2015 (UTC)


 * No need to apologize! Yes, I would say that all the creatures you listed are serpents and not snakes. I think of it like how panda bears and koala bears in the real world are not actually bears. Even if they are called snakes in a source, it doesn't mean that they are being placed into the category of true snakes. ~ Lhynard (talk) 19:32, June 11, 2015 (UTC)


 * Definitely a confusing subject! Artemas (talk) 19:43, June 11, 2015 (UTC)


 * But great we cleared/cleaned that up now :-). Daranios (talk) 19:49, June 11, 2015 (UTC)

Serpent vs. Snake Part II
Re-opening this discussion five years later!

Serpent Kingdoms on page 5 defines serpents but not snakes. It lists both natural and magical snakes as serpents. And in real-world biological taxonomy, all snakes are in the suborder Serpentes. Basically snakes and serpent are the same thing. We should close this category and move all articles to Serpents. Thoughts? --Regis87 (talk) 18:03, May 1, 2020 (UTC)


 * Page 5, as I noted above, defines the term serpents, and the list includes creatures that are not snakes. Amphisbaena, for example, are not snakes; neither are jaculis or mlarraun. For 3e, snakes are defined in the Monster Manual. All snakes are animals; not all serpents are animals. The real world doesn't really fit here, because there are no magical beasts in the real world, and that means that all serpents are also snakes in the real world. ~ Lhynard (talk) 20:02, May 1, 2020 (UTC)


 * Also, note that Serpent Kingdoms clearly separates snakes from serpents by placing all the snakes in their own grouping starting on p. 83, which does not include the amphisbaena, jaculi, or mlarraun. ~ Lhynard (talk) 20:06, May 1, 2020 (UTC)