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Amphibian and Reptile Facts
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Amphibians
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- Amphibians include salamanders, newts, toads, and frogs and spend at least part of their life cycle in water.
- They are cold-blooded (or ectothermal), which means that they do not produce their own body heat the way birds or mammals do.
- They seek out cooler or warmer locations to regulate their temperatures.
- Missouri has 44 species of amphibians, with an additional four subspecies or geographic races.
- No amphibians in Missouri are venomous — they are harmless to people.
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Reptiles
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- Reptiles evolved from salamander-like creatures about 315 million years ago.
- Unlike amphibians, reptiles do not have to live part of their life in water.
- Early reptiles were the first vertebrates to produce shelled eggs that protected their eggs from drying as they developed. This helps reptiles live in dry habitats where amphibians can not survive.
- Missouri has 74 species of reptiles: 18 different turtles, 11 native lizards, 2 nonnative lizards, and 43 different species and subspecies of snakes.
- Only five Missouri snake species are venomous to people. Most are shy and normally avoid people.
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This large, harmless aquatic salamander lives in Ozark streams. It is an endangered species.
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Anonymous
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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The central newt lives in and around woodland ponds and swamps in all but our far northwestern counties.
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Jim Rathert
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Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Ring salamander
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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The long-tailed salamander is agile and can escape predators by using its tail for quick jumps.
Credit
Alan Grant, Dept. Environmental Protection, Bugwood.org
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The eastern spadefoot is rare in our state due to draining of wetlands and loss of native sand prairies.
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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The Rocky Mountain toad occurs mainly along the Missouri River and along streams in western Missouri.
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Jim Rathert
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Great plains narrow-mouthed toad
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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American bullfrog
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Gray treefrog
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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The plains leopard frog is found throughout most of Missouri, except for the Ozarks.
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Noppadol Paothong
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Photo by Noppadol Paothong, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Collared lizard
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Northern fence lizard
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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The Texas horned lizard is stocky and short-tailed, with several large “horns” protruding from the back of the head.
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Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
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Juvenile southern coal skinks are black with faint lines running down the back and sides. They are about 2 inches long when they first hatch.
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Broad-headed skink
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Jim Rathert
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Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Adult male northern prairie skink (Plestiodon septentrionalis septentrionalis) from Harrison County.
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Tom R. Johnson
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Snapping turtles occur statewide anywhere there is permanent water.
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Midland smooth softshell
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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River cooter
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Three-toed box turtle
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MDC staff
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Photo by MDC staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Broad-banded watersnake
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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The plains gartersnake is an attractive, medium-sized gartersnake with a yellowish-orange stripe down the middle of the back.
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Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org
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Eastern hog-nosed snakes feed chiefly on toads but are also known to eat frogs and salamanders.
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Red milksnake
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Prairie ring-necked snake
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Speckled kingsnake
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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The northern rough greensnake is a long and slender snake often seen in the Ozarks.
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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The western ratsnake was long known as the black rat snake, and many know it simply as "black snake."
Credit
Jim Rathert
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Photo by Jim Rathert, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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A cottonmouth gapes its mouth open in a defensive posture, showing the white lining that is the origin of the common name.
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Noppadol Paothong
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Photo by Noppadol Paothong, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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Western pygmy rattlesnake
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MDC Staff
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Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
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