Field Guide

Reptiles and Amphibians

Showing 11 - 20 of 64 results
Image of a variable groundsnake
Variable Groundsnake
Sonora semiannulata semiannulata
The variable groundsnake is a small species with smooth, shiny scales and highly variable coloration. In Missouri, it is mostly restricted to open, rocky hillsides of the southwestern corner of the state.
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.
Image of a massasauga
Prairie Massasauga
Sistrurus tergeminus tergeminus
The prairie massasauga is a medium-sized rattlesnake associated with bottomland prairie habitats in north-central and northwestern Missouri. This endangered species is shy, reclusive, and nonaggressive.
Image of a timber rattlesnake
Timber Rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus
Missouri’s largest venomous snake, the timber rattlesnake, is dangerously venomous, but there are few cases of rattlesnake bites in our state. It frequents rough country, is mostly nocturnal in summer, and few Missourians ever encounter it.
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.
Diamond-Backed Watersnake
Northern Diamond-Backed Watersnake
Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer
The northern diamond-backed watersnake is our largest watersnake. It has numerous diamond-shaped light markings along the back. It occurs in the Bootheel and north along the Mississippi River, and in much of northern and western Missouri. It doesn’t occur in the Ozarks or in much of central-eastern Missouri.
Image of a western mudsnake
Western Mudsnake
Farancia abacura reinwardtii
The western mudsnake is a harmless swamp dweller of Missouri's Bootheel lowlands. It is burdened with misinformation and imaginative folklore. But it turns out that fact is more interesting than fiction.
Image of a red-eared slider
Red-Eared Slider
Trachemys scripta elegans
The red-eared slider is an attractive aquatic turtle with yellow pinstripes and red ears. It is commonly seen basking on logs or rocks and occurs statewide, except for a few northern counties.
Photo of a three-toed amphiuma in an aquarium.
Three-Toed Amphiuma
Amphiuma tridactylum
The three-toed amphiuma is an eel-like, completely aquatic salamander. It has very small forelimbs and hind limbs, each with three tiny toes. In Missouri it’s found only in the Bootheel region.
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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.