Field Guide

The orange-striped ribbonsnake is a type of gartersnake named for the attractive orange or yellow stripes running the length of its body, alternating with wide black stripes. It is found statewide, but seldom far from water.

Blanding’s turtle has an oval, moderately high-domed upper shell and a long head and neck. This turtle is endangered in Missouri and occurs only in the extreme northern corners of the state.

The western painted turtle is a small, brightly colored aquatic turtle. The upper shell is smooth and has a red-orange outer edge. The colorful lower shell has a prominent pattern of brown markings. It is found nearly everywhere in the state except the southeast region.

Although well equipped for an aquatic existence, the Mississippi mud turtle spends as much time wandering about on land as it does in water. Look for it in the Mississippi Lowlands of Missouri’s Bootheel.

The eastern gartersnake and red-sided gartersnake are Missouri's most common gartersnakes. The color is variable, but there are normally three yellowish stripes, one down the back and one on each side. There are narrow black bars between the scales along the upper lip.

The ornate box turtle usually has four hind toes. Its high-domed shell is usually smooth on top, lacks a ridge, and is brown with yellow lines. Look for it in grassy habitats.

The yellow mud turtle is a small, uniformly colored, semiaquatic turtle restricted to certain counties in west-central, northeastern, and southwestern Missouri. It is an endangered species in our state.

A large aquatic turtle with a big pointed head, long thick tail, and small lower shell, the eastern snapping turtle is common throughout the state, anywhere there is permanent water.

The cottonmouth is named for the cotton-white lining of its mouth, which it opens widely when alarmed. This dangerously venomous, semiaquatic snake occurs in the southeastern corner of Missouri, with a spotty distribution in the Ozark Region.

The broad-banded watersnake is a semiaquatic snake with broad, irregularly shaped bands that can be brown, reddish brown, or black and are separated by yellow or gray. This nonvenomous species is restricted to the southeastern corner of the state.