Field Guide

Reptiles and Amphibians

Showing 1 - 7 of 7 results
Photo of a central newt adult on a plastic aquarium plant.
Central Newt
Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis
A small, olive-brown salamander with a fascinating life cycle, the central newt lives in and around woodland ponds and swamps in all but our far northwestern counties.
Image of a western foxsnake
Western Foxsnake
Pantherophis ramspotti
The western foxsnake is a moderately large snake with distinct brown blotches. In Missouri, it is rare and found only in our far northwestern counties.
Eastern Foxsnake
Pantherophis vulpinus
The eastern foxsnake is extremely similar to the western foxsnake and is mainly identified by its different geographic distribution: in Missouri, this rare species is found only in a few counties along the Mississippi River floodplain north from St. Louis.
Image of a broad-banded watersnake
Broad-Banded Watersnake
Nerodia fasciata confluens
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.
Image of graham's crayfish snake
Graham's Crawfish Snake
Regina grahamii
Graham's crawfish snake is a medium-sized, dull-colored, semiaquatic snake that occurs throughout Missouri, but not in the Ozarks. Like most other snakes associated with water, it is often misidentified as a cottonmouth and killed out of unwarranted fear.
Blanchard's Cricket Frog
Blanchard's Cricket Frog
Acris blanchardi (formerly Acris crepitans blanchardi)
Blanchard's cricket frog is a nonclimbing member of the treefrog family. It lacks the adhesive toe pads associated with treefrogs. It occurs statewide. The call is a metallic “gick, gick, gick.”
Photo of a yellow mud turtle.
Yellow Mud Turtle
Kinosternon flavescens
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.
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About Reptiles and Amphibians in Missouri

Missouri’s herptiles comprise 43 amphibians and 75 reptiles. Amphibians, including salamanders, toads, and frogs, are vertebrate animals that spend at least part of their life cycle in water. They usually have moist skin, lack scales or claws, and are ectothermal (cold-blooded), so they do not produce their own body heat the way birds and mammals do. Reptiles, including turtles, lizards, and snakes, are also vertebrates, and most are ectothermal, but unlike amphibians, reptiles have dry skin with scales, the ones with legs have claws, and they do not have to live part of their lives in water.