Amphibians & Reptiles 
of
North Carolina
 
Noting those during FONT tours (*)

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

List of Birds during Previous North Carolina Tours

Lists of Mammals (Land & Sea) during Previous North Carolina Tours

List of Butterflies, Dragonflies, & Damselflies in North Carolina


Amphibians:

  1. Green Frog  ______ (*) NRV 
    Rana clamitans

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




    A Bullfrog photographed during a FONT tour

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

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

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

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




    Fowler's Toad
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

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

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

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

  24. Spotted Salamander ______ NRV
    Ambystoma maculatum

  25. Marbled Salamander ______ NRV
    Ambystoma opacum

  26. Southern Dusky Salamander ______ ARR
    Desmognathus auriculatus 

  27. Three-lined Salamander ______
    Eurycea guttolineata

  28. Slimy Salamander ______ NRV
    Plethodon glutinous

  29. Mud Salamander ______
    Pseudotriton montanus

  30. Red Salamander ______
    Pseudotriton ruber 

  31. Two-toed Amphiuma ______ NRV
    Amphiuma means

  32. Lesser Siren ______
    Siren intermedia

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

  34. Eastern Newt ______
    Notophthalmus viridescens

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

  36. Dwarf Mudpuppy ______
    Necturus punctatus 


    Reptiles:

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

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

  39. Eastern Musk Turtle (has been called Stinkpot) ______ 
    Sternotherus odoratus

  40. River Cooter ______ (*) NRV
    Chrysemys concinna

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




    Eastern Box Turtle
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

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




    Painted Turtle
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  43. Yellowbelly Slider ______ (*) NRV
    Chrysemys scripta

  44. Spotted Turtle ______ NRV
    Clemmys guttata

  45. Snapping Turtle ______ (*) NRV
    Chleydra serpentina




    Snapping Turtle
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

  46. Diamondback Terrapin ______ (*) OBX
    Malaclemys terrapin




    Diamondback Terrapin
    (photo by Howard Eskin)

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

  48. 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)
      
  49. Carolina Anole (has been called Green Anole) ______ NRV
    Anolis carolinensis

  50. Eastern Fence Lizard ______ NRV
    Scelopus undulatus 

  51. Five-lined Skink ______ NRV
    Eumeces fasciatus

  52. Southeastern Five-lined Skink ______ NRV
    Eumeces inexpectatus

  53. Broadhead Skink ______ NRV
    Eumeces laticeps

  54. Ground Skink ______ NRV
    Scincella lateralis

  55. Six-lined Racerunner ______ NRV
    Cnemidophorus sexlineatus

  56. Slender Glass Lizard ______
    Ophisaurus attenuatus

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

  58. Worm Snake ______ NRV
    Carphophis amoenus

  59. Scarlet Snake ______
    Cemophora coccinea

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

  61. Ringneck Snake ______
    Diadophis punctatus

  62. Corn Snake ______
    Elaphe guttata

  63. Rat Snake ______ NRV
    Elaphe obseleta

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

  65. Rainbow Snake ______ ARR
    Farancia erytrogramma

  66. Eastern Hognose Snake ______ NRV
    Heterodon platyrhinos

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

  68. Mole Kingsnake ______
    Lampropeltis calligaster

  69. Eastern Kingsnake ______ NRV
    Lampropeltis getulus

  70. 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    

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

  72. Redbelly Water Snake ______ ARR,NRV
    Nerodia erythrogaster

  73. Banded Water Snake ______ ARR,NRV
    Nerodia fasciata

  74. Brown Water Snake ______ NRV
    Nerodia taxispilota

  75. Northern Water Snake ______ ARR
    Nerodia sipedon

  76. Rough Green Snake ______ NRV
    Opheodrys aestivus

  77. Glossy Crayfish Snake ______
    Regina rigida

  78. Pine Woods Snake ______ CNF
    Rhadinaea flavilata

  79. Black Swamp Snake ______ ARR
    Seminatrix pygaea

  80. Brown Snake ______ NRV
    Storeia dekayi

  81. Redbelly Snake ______
    Storeria occipitomaculata

  82. Southestern Crowned Snake ______ CNF
    Tantilla coronata

  83. Eastern Garter Snake ______ NRV
    Thamnophis sirtalis

  84. Eastern Ribbon Snake ______ NRV
    Thamnophis s. sauritus

  85. Rough Earth Snake ______
    Virginia striatula

  86. Smooth Earth Snake ______
    Virginia valeriae

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

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

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

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

  91. Pigmy 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