PO Box 9021, Wilmington, DE 19809, USA
E-mail: font@focusonnature.com
Phone: Toll-free in USA 1-800-721-9986
 or 302/529-1876

 

Amphibians and Reptiles 
of
North Carolina
 

Noting those during Focus On Nature Tours
with an (*)


including: 
Salamanders
Toads & Frogs (seen or heard)
 
Turtles
Skinks, Anoles, and other Lizards
Snakes

A list compiled by Armas Hill
(with input by the staff from the
Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center
in Four Oaks, North Carolina)



This list includes species found in central & eastern North Carolina,
from the Piedmont east to the Seacoast 
(and in the case of Sea-Turtles, the Ocean) 


UPPER RIGHT PHOTO: a LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE photographed off the North Carolina seacoast 
(Photo by Alan Brady)



Codes: 

ARR: area of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
CNF: areas of Croatan National Forest & nearby coastal North Carolina  
NRV: (upper) Neuse River Valley (the Piedmont)
OBX: Outer Banks (including Roanoke Island & Ocracoke Island)

(e/NC): endangered in North Carolina
(t/NC): threatened in North Carolina
(nt/NC): near (or potentially) threatened in North Carolina

Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours in North Carolina

Birds during FONT North Carolina Tours (with some photos)

Mammals (Land & Sea) during Previous North Carolina Tours
(with some photos)

Butterflies, Dragonflies, & Damselflies in North Carolina (with some photos)



          Amphibians:

  1. Green Frog  ______ (*) NRV 
    Rana clamitans




    Green Frog
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  2. Bullfrog ______ (*) ARR,NRV
    Rana catesbeiana







    Two photographs of Bullfrogs
    (upper photo courtesy of Doris Potter;
     lower photo during a FONT tour) 

  3. Pickerel Frog ______ (*) ARR,NRV
    Rana palustris




    Pickerel Frog
    (photo by Marie Gardner)

  4. Carpenter Frog ______ (*) ARR
    Rana virgatipes

  5. Southern Leopard Frog ______ ARR
    Rana sphenocephala

  6. Crawfish Frog (nt/NC) ______ (*) CNF (northern limit of range east-cent NC)
    Rana areolata

  7. Southern Chorus Frog ______ (*) CNF (northern limit of range east-cent NC)
    Pseudacris nigrita

  8. Ornate Chorus Frog ______ (*) CNF (northern limit of range so-cent NC)
    Pseudacris ornata

  9. Green Treefrog ______ (*) ARR
    Hyla cinerea

  10. Barking Treefrog ______ (*) CNF
    Hyla gratiosa

  11. Pine Woods Treefrog ______ (*) NRV  
    Hyla femoralis

  12. Squirrel Treefrog ______ (*) NRV
    Hyla squirrela

  13. (Cope's) Gray Treefrog ______ (*) NRV
    Hyla versicolor 

  14. Northern Cricket Frog ______ NRV
    Acris crepitans

  15. Southern Cricket Frog ______ NRV
    Acris gryllus

  16. Little Grass Frog ______ (the smallest frog in North America)
    Limnaoedus ocularis

  17. Spring Peeper ______ NRV
    Hyla crucifer

  18. American Toad  ______  (in central North Carolina)
    Bufo americanus




    American Toad
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  19. Oak Toad ______ (*) CNF,NRV
    Bufo quercicus

  20. Southern Toad ______ (*) CNF,NRV
    Bufo terrestris

  21. Fowler's Toad ______ (*) ARR,NRV
    Bufo woodhousei (an eastern race of Woodhouse's Toad) 




    Fowler's Toad
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  22. Eastern Spadefoot Toad ______ (*) ARR,CNF,NRV
    Scaphiopus holbrooki

  23. Eastern Narrowmouth Toad ______ (*) ARR,CNF,NRV
    Gastrophryne carolinensis

  24. Mabee's Salamander ______ CNF (northern limit of range north-east NC) 
    Ambystoma mabeei

  25. Spotted Salamander ______ NRV
    Ambystoma maculatum

  26. Marbled Salamander ______ NRV
    Ambystoma opacum

  27. Southern Dusky Salamander ______ ARR
    Desmognathus auriculatus 

  28. Three-lined Salamander ______
    Eurycea guttolineata

  29. Slimy Salamander ______ NRV
    Plethodon glutinous

  30. Mud Salamander ______
    Pseudotriton montanus

  31. Red Salamander ______
    Pseudotriton ruber 

  32. Two-toed Amphiuma ______ NRV
    Amphiuma means

  33. Lesser Siren ______
    Siren intermedia

  34. Greater Siren (nt/NC) ______
    Siren lacertina

  35. Eastern Newt ______
    Notophthalmus viridescens

  36. Carolina Mudpuppy (has been called Neuse River Waterdog) (nt/NC) ______
    Necturus lewisi
    (endemic to North Carolina, in the Neuse and Tar River basins) 

  37. Dwarf Mudpuppy ______
    Necturus punctatus 


    Reptiles:

  38. American Alligator (e/NC) ______ (*) ARR
    Alligator mississippiensis 

  39. Eastern Mud Turtle ______ (*) ARR,NRV
    Kinosternum subrubum

  40. Eastern Musk Turtle (has been called Stinkpot) ______ (*) NRV
    Sternotherus odoratus

  41. River Cooter ______ (*) NRV
    Chrysemys concinna

  42. Eastern Box Turtle ______ (*) ARR,CNF,NRV
    Terrapene carolina




    Eastern Box Turtle
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  43. Redbelly Turtle  ______  (*) 
    Pseudemys rubriventris




    Redbelly Turtle
     
    (photo by Marie Gardner)

  44. Painted Turtle ______ (*) ARR,NRV
    Chrysemys picta




    Painted Turtles
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  45. Yellowbelly (or Pond) Slider ______ (*) NRV
    Chrysemys s. scripta




    The Yellowbelly, or Pond Slider
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  46. Spotted Turtle ______ NRV
    Clemmys guttata

  47. Snapping Turtle ______ (*) NRV
    Chleydra serpentina




    Snapping Turtle
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  48. Diamondback Terrapin ______ (*) OBX
    Malaclemys terrapin




    Diamondback Terrapin
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  49. Leatherback (Sea Turtle) (e/NC) ______ (*) offshore ocean
    Dermochelys coriacea

  50. Loggerhead (Sea Turtle) (e/NC) ______ (*) offshore ocean
    Caretta caretta 
    (nests on a few undisturbed beaches in NC)  




    Loggerhead Sea Turtle 
    (photographed by Alan Brady 
    during a FONT North Carolina pelagic trip)
      
  51. Carolina Anole (has been called Green Anole) ______  (*)  CNF,NRV
    Anolis carolinensis

  52. Eastern Fence Lizard ______  (*)  CNF,NRV
    Scelopus undulatus 

  53. Five-lined Skink ______ NRV
    Eumeces fasciatus

  54. Southeastern Five-lined Skink ______ NRV
    Eumeces inexpectatus

  55. Broadhead Skink ______ NRV
    Eumeces laticeps

  56. Ground Skink ______ NRV
    Scincella lateralis

  57. Six-lined Racerunner ______ NRV
    Cnemidophorus sexlineatus

  58. Slender Glass Lizard ______
    Ophisaurus attenuatus

  59. Eastern Glass Lizard ______ (*) ARR
    Ophisaurus ventralis

  60. Worm Snake ______ NRV
    Carphophis amoenus

  61. Scarlet Snake ______
    Cemophora coccinea

  62. Black Racer ______ (*) ARR,NRV
    Coluber constrictor

  63. Ringneck Snake ______
    Diadophis punctatus

  64. Corn Snake ______ CNF
    Elaphe guttata

  65. Rat Snake ______ NRV
    Elaphe obseleta

  66. (Eastern) Mud Snake ______ ARR,CNF,NRV 
    Farancia abacura

  67. Rainbow Snake ______ ARR
    Farancia erytrogramma

  68. Eastern Hognose Snake ______ NRV
    Heterodon platyrhinos

  69. Southern Hognose Snake ______ CNF (northern limit of range so-cent NC)
    Heterodon simus

  70. Mole Kingsnake ______
    Lampropeltis calligaster

  71. Eastern Kingsnake ______ NRV
    Lampropeltis getulus

  72. Scarlet Kingsnake, Eastern Milk Snake ______  (These 2 forms, that appear so different from each other, were long thought to be 2 species, but are actually conspecific. There's a zone of intergradation, with snakes having intermediate characteristics, in northeastern North Carolina.)
    Lampropeltis triangulum    

  73. Eastern Coachwhip ______ CNF  (probably the longest snake in NC)
    Masticophis flagellum

  74. Redbelly Water Snake ______ ARR,NRV
    Nerodia erythrogaster

  75. Banded Water Snake ______ ARR,NRV
    Nerodia fasciata

  76. Brown Water Snake ______ NRV
    Nerodia taxispilota

  77. Northern Water Snake ______ ARR
    Nerodia sipedon

  78. Rough Green Snake ______ NRV
    Opheodrys aestivus

  79. Glossy Crayfish Snake ______
    Regina rigida

  80. Pine Woods Snake ______ CNF
    Rhadinaea flavilata

  81. Black Swamp Snake ______ ARR
    Seminatrix pygaea

  82. Brown Snake ______ NRV
    Storeia dekayi

  83. Redbelly Snake ______
    Storeria occipitomaculata

  84. Southestern Crowned Snake ______ CNF
    Tantilla coronata

  85. Eastern Garter Snake ______ NRV
    Thamnophis sirtalis





    GarterSnake1.jpg

    Two photographs of the Eastern Garter Snake
    (above photo by Doris Potter; lower photo by Howard Eskin)

  86. Eastern Ribbon Snake ______ NRV
    Thamnophis s. sauritus

  87. Rough Earth Snake ______
    Virginia striatula

  88. Smooth Earth Snake ______
    Virginia valeriae

  89. Copperhead ______ ARR,CNF,NRV (venomous)
    Agkistrodon contortrix

  90. Cottonmouth ______ (*) ARR,CNF,NRV (venomous)
    Agkistrodon piscivorus




    Cottonmouth
    (photo courtesy of Michael Christopher)

  91. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (e/NC) ______ (venomous)
    Crotalus adamanteus

  92. Timber Rattlesnake (in the Carolinas called "Canebrake Rattlesnake") ______ (venomous)
    Crotalus horridus




    Timber Rattlesnake
    (photo by Fred Lesser)

  93. Pygmy Rattlesnake ______ CNF (venonmous)
    Sistrurus miliarius

 

Some selected reference books regarding Amphibians & Reptiles:

"Amphibians & Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia", by Bernard Martof, William Palmer, Joseph Bailey, & Julian Harrison III, with photographs by Jack Dermid, 1980