Reptiles and Amphibians
Media
![Photo of a western slimy salamander](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2011/03/western-slimy-salamander.jpg?itok=09ZUpbML)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Plethodon albagula
Description
The western slimy salamander is a black to blue-black salamander irregularly marked with silvery flecks. It occurs in the Ozark Highlands and the Lincoln Hills north of the Missouri River. True to its name, it secretes a thick substance that sticks to skin like glue.
Media
![Image of a cave salamander](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/04/cave_salamander_0002.jpg?itok=Eo41tLUH)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Eurycea lucifuga
Description
The cave salamander is a common amphibian of the Ozark Plateau. It lives in caves, springs, and rocky streams. Recognize it by its normally bright orange skin dotted with dark brown or black spots.
Media
![prairie kingsnake](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/06/prairie_kingsnake.jpg?itok=jEtljGRp)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Lampropeltis calligaster
Description
The prairie kingsnake is fairly common over most of the state. The overall color is tan, brownish gray, or greenish gray. Numerous dark blotches down the back and sides are brown, reddish, or greenish brown. It lives in prairies, open woods, and rocky, wooded hillsides, statewide.
Media
![Photo of an eastern hog-nosed snake.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2015/01/eastern_hog-nosed_snake_1-5-15.jpg?itok=9FEEnp9z)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Heterodon platirhinos
Description
The eastern hog-nosed snake is a nonvenomous snake that is highly variable in color and pattern. It has an upturned snout and can hiss loudly and spread its neck like a cobra. If this defense fails, the snake may thrash around, open its mouth, roll over, and play dead.
Media
![Image of a Great Plains ratsnake](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/05/great_plains_rat_snake.jpg?itok=qSiJEu5O)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Pantherophis emoryi
Description
The Great Plains ratsnake is seldom seen. It has numerous brown blotches along the body, a brown eye stripe, and a spearhead marking on top of the head.
Media
![Image of a bullsnake](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/05/bull_snake.jpg?itok=mgD-b6q3)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Pituophis catenifer sayi
Description
Missouri's largest snake, the bullsnake may hiss loudly and vibrate its tail when alarmed, but it is nonvenomous. This species is extremely valuable in controlling destructive rodents.
Media
![Image of a variable groundsnake](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/05/ground_snake.jpg?itok=tk5KwVBX)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Sonora semiannulata semiannulata
Description
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.
Media
![Image of a western smooth earthsnake](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/05/western_earth_snake.jpg?itok=cERxSzm7)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Virginia valeriae elegans
Description
The western smooth earthsnake is a small, plain, slightly stout snake. It is generally gray, brown, or reddish brown, with few distinct markings. It occurs statewide, except for the northwestern corner.
Media
![Image of a timber rattlesnake](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/04/timber_rattlesnake_-_31.jpg?itok=4orlGBeg)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Crotalus horridus
Description
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.
Media
![Image of a western pygmy rattlesnake](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/05/western_pygmy_rattlesnake.jpg?itok=3ubaoBVZ)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Sistrurus miliarius streckeri
Description
The western pygmy rattlesnake is small and colorful, with a slender tail and tiny rattle. Its vibrating rattle is a faint buzz that sounds like a grasshopper. In Missouri, it occurs in the eastern Ozarks and in some counties bordering Arkansas.
See Also
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.