U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Amphibians and Reptiles of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Abundance Common Name Abundance Common Name Abundance C Common; suitable habitat is available, Scientific Name Scientific Name should not be missed during appropriate season. Toads and Frogs Texas Tortoise R Couch’s Spadefoot C Gopherus berlandieri U Uncommon; present in moderate Scaphiopus couchi Guadalupe Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle R numbers (often due to low availability Hurter’s Spadefoot C Trionyx spiniferus guadalupensis of suitable habitat); not seen every Scaphiopus hurteri Loggerhead O visit during season Blanchard’s Cricket Frog U Caretta caretta Acris crepitans blanchardi Atlantic Green Turtle O O Occasional; present, observed only Green Tree Frog C Chelonia mydas mydas a few times per season; also includes Hyla cinerea Atlantic Hawksbill O those species which do not occur year, Squirrel Tree Frog U Eretmochelys imbricata imbricata while in some years may be Hyla squirella Atlantic Ridley(Kemp’s Ridley) O fairly common. Spotted Chorus Frog U Lepidocheyls kempi Pseudacris clarki Leatherback R R Rare; observed only every 1 to 5 Strecker’s Chorus Frog U Dermochelys coriacea years; records for species at Aransas Pseudacris streckeri are sporadic and few. Texas Toad R Lizards Bufo speciosus Mediterranean Gecko C Introduction Gulf Coast Toad C Hemidactylus turcicus turcicus Amphibians have moist, glandular skins, Bufo valliceps valliceps Keeled Earless Lizard R and their toes are devoid of claws. Their Bullfrog C Holbrookia propinqua propinqua young pass through a larval, usually Rana catesbeiana Texas Horned Lizard R aquatic, stage before they metamorphose Southern Leopard Frog C Phrynosoma cornutum into the adult form. Belonging to the Rana sphenocephala Northern Fence Lizard C Class Amphibia are the salamanders, Eastern Narrowmouth Toad C Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus frogs, and toads. Gastrophryne carolinensis Green Anole C Great Plains Narrowmouth Toad R Anolis carolinensis Reptiles are clad in scales, shields, or Gastrophryne olivacea Five-lined Skink R plates, and their toes bear claws. To this Eumeces fasciatus class belong the crocodilians, lizards, Reptiles Ground Skink C snakes, and turtles. Common Name Abundance Scincella lateralis Scientific Name Texas Spotted Whiptail R Note Cnemidophorus gularis gularis Please remember that collecting Crocodilians Six-lined Racerunner C amphibians and reptiles is not allowed on American Alligator C Cnemidophorus sexlineatus sexlineatus the Refuge. If you should find an unlisted Alligator mississippiensis Western Slender Glass Lizard U or rare species, contact the Refuge staff Ophisaurus attenuatus and provide a description. We welcome Turtles any additions visitors may provide to Common Snapping Turtle R Snakes enhance the accuracy of these lists. Chelydra serpentina serpentina Note: There are many species of snakes, Yellow Mud Turtle O some are venomous, so use caution when Amphibians Kinosternon flavescens flavescens walking and do not handle any wildlife. Common Name Abundance Mississippi Mud Turtle R Scientific Name Kinostenron subrubrum hippocrepis Texas Blind Snake R Texas Diamondback Terrapin R Leptopytyplops dulcis Salamanders Malaclemys terrapin littoralis Texas Scarlet Snake R Rio Grande Lesser Siren C Three-toed Box Turtle R Cemophora coccinea lineri Siren intermedia texana Terrapene carolina triunguis Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer O Smallmouth Salamander R Ornate Box Turtle O Coluber constrictor flaviventris Ambystoma texanum Terrapene ornata ornata Mexican Racer R Eastern Tiger Salamander R Red-Eared Slider C Coluber constrictor oaxaca Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum Trachemys scripta elegans Southwestern Rat Snake O Elaphe guttata meahllmorum Common Name Abundance Common Name Abundance Common Name Abundance Scientific Name Scientific Name Scientific Name Texas Rat Snake U Diamondback Water Snake R Venomous Snakes Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer Texas Coral Snake U Western Mud Snake R Rough Green Snake C Micrurus fulvius tenere Farancia abacura reinwardti Opheodrys aestivus Broad-banded Copperhead R Dusky Hog-nosed Snake R Bull Snake R Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus Heterodon nasicus gloydi Pituophis catenifer sayi Western Cottonmouth C Eastern Hog-nosed Snake O Graham’s Crayfish Snake O Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma Heterodon platirhinos Regina grahami Western Diamondback Rattlesnake O Prairie King Snake O Texas Brown Snake U Crotalus atrox Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster Storeria dekayi texana Western Massasauga R Speckled King Snake O Flatheaded Snake O Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus Lampropeltis getula holbrooki Tantilla gracilis Desert King Snake R Checkered Garter Snake R Revision Date: March 2008 Lampropeltis getula splendida Thamnophis marcianus marcianus Louisiana Milk Snake R Gulf Coast Ribbon Snake C Reference: Lampropeltis triangulum amaura Thamnophis proximus orarius Dixon, James R. Amphibians and Mexican Milk Snake R Eastern Garter Snake R Reptiles of Texas, College Station: Texas Lampropeltis triangulum annulata Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis A & M University Press, 2000. Western Coachwhip U Red-sided Garter Snake R Masticophis flagellum testaceus Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis Gulf Salt Marsh Snake O Texas Garter Snake R Nerodia clarki clarki Thamnophis sirtalis annectens Green Water Snake O Rough Earth Snake O Nerodia cyclopion cyclopion Virginia striatula Broad-banded Water Snake R Nerodia fasciata confluens.