Field Guide

Reptiles and Amphibians

Showing 11 - 20 of 29 results
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.
Photo of a southern painted turtle basking on a log.
Southern Painted Turtle
Chrysemys dorsalis
The southern painted turtle is small and has a prominent yellow, orange, or red lengthwise stripe down the middle of the upper shell. In Missouri, this aquatic turtle is found only in the Bootheel region.
Photo of an eastern snapping turtle walking on land with algae on shell.
Eastern Snapping Turtle
Chelydra serpentina
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.
Image of alligator snapping turtle
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Macrochelys temminckii
In Missouri, alligator snapping turtles are protected, and it is illegal to harvest them. This species is totally aquatic and rarely leaves the water. In Missouri, it mainly occurs in the large rivers, sloughs, and oxbow lakes of our southern, southeastern, and eastern counties.
Adult southern coal skink resting on a flat limestone rock
Southern Coal Skink
Plestiodon anthracinus pluvialis
The southern coal skink is secretive. It lives in the southern half of Missouri, excluding the Bootheel. Adults are small, shiny, and brownish, with a wide, coal-black line on the side. Juveniles are black with faint lines down the back and sides and a blue-gray tail.
Photo of a four-toed salamander on a mossy rock.
Four-Toed Salamander
Hemidactylium scutatum
A glacial relict in Missouri’s eastern Ozarks, the four-toed salamander lives among mosses in heavily forested streams and creeks and sinkhole ponds. It has a thick, round tail that is constricted at its base. There are four toes on each limb.
Image of a northern cottonmouth
Northern Cottonmouth
Agkistrodon piscivorus
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.
Kirtland's snake curled and resting on a dry, sandy substrate
Kirtland's Snake
Clonophis kirtlandii
Kirtland’s snake is extremely rare and occurs in only a few states in the Midwest. It lives in crayfish burrows in grassland habitats that are damp and near a stream or wetland. It is restricted in Missouri to a few northeastern counties.
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.
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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.