Field Guide

Reptiles and Amphibians

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 results
hellbender, a large brown salamander resting in gravelly streambed
Eastern Hellbender
Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis
The eastern hellbender is a large, entirely aquatic salamander with a wide, flat head, small, lidless eyes, and soft folds of skin on the sides. In Missouri, it occurs in the northern Ozark highlands in spring-fed rivers that drain north into the Missouri and Meramec river drainages.
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.
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.
Photo of a long-tailed salamander on a rotten log.
Eastern Long-Tailed Salamander and Dark-Sided Salamander
Eurycea longicauda longicauda (eastern dark-sided salamander) and E. l. melanopleura (dark-sided salamander)
The eastern long-tailed salamander and closely related dark-sided salamander are agile and can escape predators by using their tails for quick jumps. They live in the southern and eastern parts of Missouri.
Image of a grotto salamander
Grotto Salamander
Eurycea spelaea
The grotto salamander is Missouri’s only species of blind salamander. A true troglobite, it lives in total darkness and has small eyes that are completely or partially covered by their pink or beige skin. Occurs in wet caves in the Ozarks.
Oklahoma salamander, with external gills, resting among rocks in an aquarium
Oklahoma Salamander
Eurycea tynerensis (formerly E. multiplicata griseogaster)
The Oklahoma salamander is small, dark, and almost never seen in a fully adult form without gills. Formerly called the gray-bellied salamander, in Missouri, it's found only in the central and southwestern Ozarks.
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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.