Amphibians and Reptiles 
of ARIZONA 

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

including: 

Salamanders     Toads & Frogs

Turtles     Lizards     Snakes

A list of Amphibians and Reptiles of Arizona
compiled by Armas Hill


UPPER RIGHT PHOTO: a DESERT SPINY LIZARD, photographed during a FONT tour  


Codes: 

(AZi):  introduced in Arizona 
(t):      a threatened species

CM:   occurs (or has occurred) in the area of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona
GC:   occurs (or has occurred) in the area of the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona


Link:

Prehistoric Amphibians & Reptiles in Arizona (Dinosaurs & Others)

Other Links: 

Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Arizona  

A List & Photo Gallery of Arizona Birds, in 2 parts:
Part #1: Quails to Becard     Part #2: Flycatchers to Buntings

Mammals in Arizona  (with some photos)

Butterflies in Arizona  (with some photos)  

List:

       AMPHIBIANS:

       Salamanders:

1. Tiger Salamander  ______  CM  GC
   Ambystoma mavortium
   Ambystoma m. mavortium  "Barred Tiger Salamander"  ______  (generally occur south of the Salt & Gila Rivers) 
   Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum  "Arizona Tiger Salamander"  ______  GC
   Ambystoma mavortium stebbinsi  "Sonoran Tiger Salamander"  ______
   
   The "Sonoran Tiger Salamander" in Arizona is found only in the San Rafael Valley and on adjacent slopes of the Huachuca and Patagonia mountains in eastern Santa Cruz and southwestern Cochise Counties. 
   It is listed as endangered.    
   
   
   Toads & Frogs:
   
   
2. Couch's Spadefoot Toad  ______  CM
   Scaphiopus couchi
   
   
3. Mexican Spadefoot Toad  ______  CM
   Spea multiplicat
   
   
4. Plains Spadefoot Toad  ______  CM
   Spea bombifrons
   
   
5. Great Basin Spadefoot Toad  ______  GC
   Spea intermontana
   
   
6. Green Toad  ______  CM
   Bufo debilis
   
   
7. Sonoran Green Toad  ______
   Bufo retiformis
   
   
8. Red-spotted Toad (*) ______  CM  GC
   Bufo punctatus
   
   
9. Arizona Toad  ______
   Bufo microscaphus
   
   
10. Woodhouse's Toad  (*)  ______  GC
    Bufo woodhousi
    
    
11. Great Plains Toad  ______  CM  GC
    Bufo cognatus
    
    
12. Sonoran Desert Toad  (*) ______  CM
    Bufo alvarius
    
    
13. Great Plains Narrow-mouthed Toad  ______
    Gastrophyryne olivacea
    
    
14. Barking Frog  ______
    Craugastor augusti
    
    
15. Lowland Burrowing Treefrog  ______
    Smilisca fodiens
    
    
16. Canyon Treefrog  ______  CM  GC
    Hyla arenicolor
    
    
17. Arizona Treefrog  ______
    Hyla wrightorum
    
    
18. Pacific Treefrog  (AZi) ______
    Pseudacris regilla
    
    
19. Western Chorus Frog  ______
    Pseudacris triseriata
    
    
20. Northern Leopard Frog  ______  GC
    Rana pipiens
    
    
21. Plains Leopard Frog  ______  CM
    Rana blairi
    
    
22. Relict Leopard Frog  ______  (once thought to be extinct, this imperiled frog was rediscovered in 1991)
    Rana onca
    
    
23. Lowland Leopard Frog  ______
    Rana yavapaiensis
    
    
24. Chiracahua Leopard Frog  (*)  ______  CM
    Rana chiricahuensis
    
    
25. Tarahumara Frog  ______
    Rana tarahumarae
    
    
26. American Bullfrog  (AZi)  (*) ______  CM
    Rana catesbeiana
    
    
    
    An American Bullfrog photographed during a FONT Arizona tour
    
    
    REPTILES:
    
    
    Turtles:
    
    
27. Western Box Turtle  (*) ______  CM  GC  (another name is Ornate Box Turtle)
    Terrapene ornata
    Terrapene ornata luteola  (subspecies in Arizona is the "Desert Box Turtle") 
    
    
28. Painted Turtle  ______
    Chrysemys picta
    
    
29. Painted Slider  (AZi) ______  (another name is Pond Slider)
    Trachemys scripta
    
    
30. Arizona Mud Turtle  ______
    Kinosternon arizonense
    
    
31. Yellow Mud Turtle  ______
    Kinosternon flavescens
    
    
32. Sonora Mud Turtle  ______  CM
    Kinosternon sonoriense
    
    
33. Shiny Softshell  (AZi)  ______
    Apalone spinifera
    
    
34. Desert Tortoise (t) (*)  ______  GC
    Gopherus agassiziii
    
    
    
    Desert Tortoise
    (photo by Marie Gardner)
    
    
    Lizards:
    
    
35. Desert Iguana  ______  GC
    Dipsosaurus dorsalis
    
    
36. Common Chuckwalla  ______  GC
    Sauromalus ater 
    Sauromalus ater obsesus  "Western" Chuckwalla  ______  GC  
    
    
37. Eastern Collared Lizard  ______  GC
    Crotaphytus collaris
    
    
38. Great Basin Collared Lizard  ______  GC
    Crotaphytus bicinctores 
    
    
39. Sonoran Collared Lizard  ______
    Crotaphytus nebrius
    
    
40. Long-nosed Leopard Lizard  ______  GC
    Gambelia wislizenii
    
    
41. Zebra-tailed Lizard  ______  CM  GC
    Callisaurrus draconoides
    
    
42. Greater Earless Lizard  (*)  ______  CM
    Cophosaurus texanus
    
    
    
    A female Greater Earless Lizard photographed during the FONT tour in Arizona in 2008 
    (photo by Doris Potter)
    
    
43. Common Lesser Earless Lizard  ______  CM  GC
    Holbrookia maculata
    
    
44. Elegant Earless Lizard  ______
    Holbrookia elegans
    
    
45. Yuman Desert Fringe-toed Lizard  ______
    Uma rufopunctata
    
    
46. Mohave Fringe-toed Lizard  ______
    Uma scoparia 
    
    
47. Long-tailed Brush Lizard  ______
    Urosaurus graciosus
    
    
48. Ornate Tree Lizard  ______
    Urosaurus ornatus
    Urosaurus ornatus wrighti  "Cliff Tree Lizard"  ______  GC
    
    
49. Common Side-blotched Lizard  (*) ______
    Uta stansburiana
    Uta s. stansburiana  "Northern Side-blotched Lizard"  ______  GC 
    Uta stansburiana stejnegeri  "Desert Side-blotched Lizard"  ______  GC
    
    
    
    Common Side-blotched Lizard
    (photo by Howard Eskin)
    
    
50. Slevin's Bunchgrass Lizard  ______
    Sceloporus slevini
    
    
51. Striped Plateau Lizard  ______
    Sceloporus virgatus
    
    
52. Plateau Fence Lizard  (*)  ______  CM  GC
    Sceloporus tristichus
    Sceloporus t. tristichus  "Southern Plateau Fence Lizard"  _____  GC
    Sceloporus tristichus elongatus  "Northern Plateau Fence Lizard"  ______  GC
    
    
    
    A Plateau Fence Lizard photographed during a FONT Arizona tour
    at the Grand Canyon in August 2010 
    (photo by Marie Gardner)
    
    
53. Southwestern Fence Lizard  ______  
    Sceloporus cowlesi
    
    
54. Desert Spiny Lizard  (*) ______  CM  GC  
    Sceloporus magister
    
    
    
    A Desert Spiny Lizard, with its blue-green throat,
    photographed during a FONT tour in Arizona
    
    
55. Clark's Spiny Lizard  ______  CM
    Sceloporus clarkii
    
    
56. Yarrow's (or Mountain) Spiny Lizard  (*) ______  CM
    Sceloporus jarrovii
    
    
    
    A Yarrow's Spiny Lizard photographed during a FONT tour in Arizona in 2008
    (photo by Doris Potter)
     
    
57. Twin-spotted Spiny Lizard  ______
    Sceloporus bimaculosus
    
    
58. Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard  ______
    Sceloporus uniformis
    
    
59. Common Sagebrush Lizard  ______  GC
    Sceloporus g. graciosus 
    
    
60. Texas Horned Lizard  ______
    Phrynosoma cornatum
    
    
61. Desert Horned Lizard  ______
    Phrynosoma platyrhinos
    Phrynosoma platyrhinos calidarum  "Southern Desert Horned Lizard"  ______  GC
    
    
62. Flat-tailed Horned Lizard  ______
    Phrynosoma mcallii
    
    
63. Regal Horned Lizard  ______
    Phrynosoma solare
    
    
64. Greater Short-horned Lizard  (or Short-horned Lizard)  ______  GC
    Phrynosoma hernandesi
    
    
65. Round-tailed Horned Lizard  ______
    Phrynosoma modestum
    
    
66. Goode's Horned Lizard  ______
    Phrynosoma goodei
    
    
67. Desert Night Lizard  ______  GC
    Xantusia v. vigilis
    
    
68. Arizona Night Lizard  ______  GC
    Xantusia arizonae 
    
    
69. Bezy's Night Lizard  ______
    Xantusia bezyi
    
    
70. Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail  ______
    Aspidoscelis exsanguis
    
    
71. Gila Spotted Whiptail  ______
    Aspidoscelis flagellicauda
    
    
72. Sonoran Spotted Whiptail  ______
    Aspidoscelis sonorae
    
    
73. Desert Grassland Whiptail  ______
    Aspidoscelis uniparens
    
    
    
    A Desert Grassland Whiptail photographed during the FONT tour in Arizona in 2008 
    (photo by Doris Potter)
    
    
74. Plateau Striped Whiptail  ______
    Aspidoscelis velox
    
    
75. Arizona Striped Whiptail  ______
    Aspidoscelis arizonae
    
    
76. Pai Striped Whiptail  ______
    Aspidoscelis pai
    
    
77. Red-backed Whiptail  ______
    Aspidoscelis xanthonota
    
    
78. Canyon Spotted Whiptail  ______
    Aspidoscelis burti
    
    
79. Tiger Whiptail  ______  
    Aspidoscelis tigris
    Aspidoscelis (or Cnemidophorus) tigris septentrionalis  "Northern Whiptail"  ______  GC
    
    
80. New Mexico  Whiptail  ______  
    Aspidoscelis neomexicana
    
    
81. Variable (Southern Many-lined) Skink  ______  GC
    Eumeces multivirgatus epipleurotus
    
    
82. Western Skink  ______  GC  (another name is Great Basin Skink)
    Eumeces skiltonianus utahensis
    
    
83. Mountain Skink  ______
    Eumeces callicephalus 
    
    
84. Gilbert's Skink  ______
    Eumeces gilberti
    
    
85. Great Plains Skink  ______
    Eumaces obsoletus
    
    
86. Madrean Alligator Lizard  ______
    Elgaria kingii
    
    
87. Western Banded Gecko  ______  CM
    Coleonyx variegatus
    Coleonyx v. variegatus  "Desert Banded Gecko"  ______  GC 
    Coleonyx variegatus utahensis  "Utah Banded Gecko"  ______  GC
    
    
88. Mediterranean House Gecko  (AZi)  ______
    Hemidactylus turcicus
    
    
89. Gila Monster  ______
    Heloderma suspectum
    Heloderma suspectum cinctum  "Banded Gila Monster"  ______  GC
    
    
    
    Gila Monster
    (photo by Marie Gardner)
    
    
    Snakes:
    
    
90. New Mexico Threadsnake  ______
    Leptotyphlops dissectuse
    
    
91. Western Threadsnake  ______  CM  GC  (also called Southwestern Blind Snake)
    Leptotyphlops humilis
    Leptotyphlops h. humilis  ______  GC
    
    
92. Rosy Boa  ______
    Lichanura trivirgata
    
    In Arizona, there are 2 forms of the Rosy Boa, that might be separate species:
    
    Desert Rosy Boa ______  (with rusty orange to brown stripes)
    Mexican Rosy Boa ______  (with dark chocolate or black stripes)
    
    
    
    Mexican Rosy Boa
    (photo by Marie Gardner)
    
    
93. Sonoran Coralsnake  ______
    Micruroides euryxanthus
    
    
94. Sonoran Shovel-nosed Snake ______
    Chionactis palarostris
    
    
95. Western Shovel-nosed Snake ______
    Chionactis occiipitalis
    
    
96. Variable Sandsnake  ______
    Chilomeniscus stramineus
    
    
97. Groundsnake  ______  (coloration & markings are extremely variable)
    Sonora semiannulata
    
    
98. Plains Black-headed Snake  ______
    Tantilla nigriceps
    
    
99. Smith's Black-headed Snake  ______
    Tantilla hobartsmithi
    
    
100. Yaqui Black-headed Snake  (*) ______
     Tantilla yaquia 
     
     
101. Chihuahuan Black-headed Snake  ______
     Tantilla wilcoxi
     
     
102. Ring-necked Snake  ______
     Diadophis punctatus
     
     
103. Desert Nightsnake  ______  GC
     Hypsigiena chlorophaea (formerly part of Hypsiglena torquata)
     
     
104. Chihuahuan Nightsnake  ______  GC(east) 
     Hypsigiena jani  (formerly Hypsigiena torquata ochrorhyncha)  "Spotted Night Snake"  
     
     
105. Hooded Nightsnake  ______  (in southeast Arizona, occurs in part of Cochise County, Santa Cruz, & southeast Pima County, from 3,000 to 8,500 feet above sea level) 
     Hypsiglena sp.  (a newly-described species, in 2008, not yet with a scientific name) 
     
     
106. Sonoran Lyresnake  ______  GC  (formerly "Western Lyresnake", Trimorphodon biscutatus)
     (There are populations, possibly isolated, in the lower Grand Canyon, and in the Black Mountains in Mohave Co & the Kofa Mountains in Yuma Co.) 
     Trimorphodon lambda 
     
     The Sonoran Lyresnake apparently hybridizes with the Chihuahuan Lyresnake, Trimorphodon vilkinsonii, of southwest New Mexico.
     
     
107. Gophersnake  (*)  ______
     Pituophis catenifer
     Pituophis catenifer affinis   "Sonoran Gopher Snake"  ______  GC
     Pituophis catenifer deserticola  "Great Basin Gopher Snake"  ______  GC
     
     
108. Glossy Snake  ______ 
     Arizona elegans
     Arizona elegans eburnata  "Desert Glossy Snake"  ______  
     Arizona elegans noctivaga  "Arizona Glossy Snake"  ______
     Arizona elegans philipi  "Painted Desert Glossy Snake"  ______  
     
     
109. Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake  ______
     Phyllorhynchus decurtatus
     
     
110. Saddled Leaf-nosed Snake  ______
     Phyllorhynchus browni
     
     
111. Mexican Hog-nosed Snake  ______  (was part of Western Hog-nosed Snake, Heterodon nasicus) 
     Heterodon kennerlyi 
     
     
112. Chihuahuan Hook-nosed Snake ______
     Gyalopion canum
     
     
113. Thornscrub Hook-nosed Snake  ______
     Gyalopion quadrangulare
     
     
114. Brown Vinesnake ______
     Oxybelis aeneus
     
     
115. Eastern Patch-nosed Snake ______
     Salvadora grahamiae
     
     
116. Western Patch-nosed Snake ______
     Salvadora hexalepis
     Salvadora hexalepis mojavensis  "Mojave Patch-nosed Snake"  ______  GC
     
     
117. Green Ratsnake ______
     Senticolis triaspis
     
     
118. Sonoran Whipsnake ______  CM
     Coluber (formerly Masticophis) bilneatus
     
     
119. Striped Whipsnake  ______
     Masticophis taeniatus
     
     
120. Coachwhip  ______  GC   (with variable coloration: a black phase & a red phase)
     Coluber (formerly Masticophis) flagellum
     Coluber flagellum cingulum  "Sonoran Coachwhip"  ______
     Coluber flagellum lineatulus  "Lined Coachwhip"  ______
     Coluber falgellum piceus  "Red Coachwhip, or Racer"  ______
     
     
121. Striped Whipsnake  ______  GC  (has also been called Desert Striped Whipsnake)
     Masticophis t. taeniatus
     
     
122. North American Racer  ______  (the rarest snake in Arizona) (has been called Eastern Racer)
     Coluber constrictor
     
     
123. Long-nosed Snake  ______  (has a highly variable pattern)
     Rhinocheilus lecontei
     
     
124. Common Kingsnake  (*)  ______  CM   
     (3 forms occur in Arizona: the "California Kingsnake", the "Desert Kingsnake" and the "Western Black Kingsnake", the western black form)
     Lampropeltis getula
     Lampropeltis getula californiae  "California Kingsnake"  ______
     Lampropeltis getula splendida  "Desert Kingsnake"  ______
     Lampropeltis getula nigrita  "Western Black Kingsnake"  ______ 
     
     
125. Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake ______
     Lampropeltis pyromelana
     
     
126. Milksnake ______
     Lampropeltis triangulum
     
     
127. Black-necked Gartersnake  (*) ______
     Thamnophis cyrtopsis
     
     
128. Terrestrial Gartersnake  ______
     Thamnophis elegans
     Thamnophis elegans vagrans  "Wandering Garter Snake"  ______  GC
     
     
129. Checkered Gartersnake  ______
     Thamnophis marcianus
     
     
130. Mexican Gartersnake  ______
     Thamnophis eques
     
     
131. Narrow-headed Gartersnake  ______
     Thamnophis rufipunctatus
     
     
132. Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake  (*) ______  CM  GC
     Crotalus atrox
     
     
     
     A Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake in captivity
     (photo by Marie Gardner during the FONT August 2010 Arizona Tour)
     
     
     
     A Skeleton of a Rattlesnake in a display at the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge
     in southern Arizona  
     (photo by Marie Gardner, during the August 2010 FONT tour)
     
     
133. Mohave Rattlesnake  (*) ______  CM
     Crotalus scutulatus
     Crotalus s. scutulatus  ______  GC
     
     
134. Black-tailed Rattlesnake  (*) ______  CM
     Crotalus molossus
     Crotalus m, molossus  "Northern Black-tailed Rattlesnake"  ______  GC 
     
     
135. Sidewinder  ______
     Crotalus cerastes
     
     
136. Tiger Rattlesnake  ______
     Crotalus tigris
     
     
137. Speckled Rattlesnake  ______
     Crotalus mitchellii
     Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus  "Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake"  ______  GC
     
     
138. Arizona Black Rattlesnake  ______
     Crotalus cerberus
     
     
139. Western Rattlesnake  ______
     Crotalus oreganus
     Crotalus oreganus abyssus  "Grand Canyon Rattlesnake"  ______  GC
     Crotalus oreganus lutosus  "Great Basin Rattlesnake"  ______  GC
     
     
140. Prairie Rattlesnake  ______  CM
     Crotalus viridis
     Crotalus viridis nuntius  "Hopi Rattlesnake"  ______  GC
     
     
141. Massasauga  ______  CM  (Arizona's sole surviving population is in the Tobosa grassland on the divide between the San Simon & San Bernardino valleys)
     Sistrurus catenatus
     
     
142. Twin-spotted Rattlesnake  ______  CM
     Crotalus pricei
     
     
143. Rock Rattlesnake  ______
     Crotalus lepidus
     
     
144. Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake ______  (small, up to 26 inches in length)
     Crotalus willardi
     
     
     
     
     Prehistoric Amphibians & Reptiles in Arizona
     (Dinosaurs & Others)
     
     
     
     AMPHIBIANS
     
     
     METOSAURS were giant amphibians of the Triassic Period.
     
     
145. Buettneria perfecta  ______
     
     Buettneria perfecta is a common fossil animal in a portion of the Painted Desert National Park. It was large and flat-headed, about 10 feet long and weighing up to half a ton. This animal was a voracious predator, feeding on fish and smaller animals. With their flat heads and upward directed eyes, Buettneria probably settled in the muddy bottom of ponds where they ambushed their prey from below.       
     
     
146. Apachesaurus gregorii  ______
     
     In another portion of the Painted Desert National Park, with younger sediments, there was another prehistoric giant amphibian, Apachesaurus gregorii, that was smaller but similar to Buettneria perfecta.
     
     
     REPTILES  
     
     
     ARCHOSAURS are a specialized group of reptiles that includes BIRDS and CROCODILES.
     
     During the Triassic Period, ARCHOSAURS were represented by AETOSAURS, PHYTOSAURS, RAUISUCHIANS, and DINOSAURS. 
     
     
     AETOSAURS were long, herbivorous reptiles, from 10 to 15 feet long, with broad flat bodies protected by plate-like scutes. Some species had large spikes on their sides or back that were possibly used for defense. 
     Aetosaurs had short limbs and small skulls with a pig-like snout for rooting in soil for plants and roots.
     
     
147. Desmatosuchus haplocerus  ______
     
     
     
     A Desmatosuchus haplocerus that was in northern Arizona in the area of the Petrified Forest 
     (photo by Marie Gardner in a museum during a FONT tour)
     
     
148. Stagonolepis wellesi  ______ 
     
     
     PHYTOSAURS were crocodile-type reptiles, with some species as large as up to 40 feet in length.
     
     
149. Leptosuchus (Smilosuchus) gregorii  ______   
     
     
150. Pseudopelatus pristinus  ______ 
     
     
     RAUISUCHIANS are ranked as the top terrestrial predators of the Late Triassic, with huge skulls and having powerful biting jaws and 3 inch-long serrated teeth. Some Rauisuchians could grow up to 20 feet in length.
     
     
151. Postosuchus kirkpatricki  ______
     
     
     
     A Postosuchus kirkpatricki that was in northern Arizona in the area of the Petrified Forest
     (photo by Marie Gardner in a museum during a FONT tour)
     
     
152. Poposaurus gracilis  ______ 
     
     
     DINOSAURS during the Late Triassic were mainly small, bipedal carnivorous predators including CHINDESAURUS and CAELOPHYSIS.
     
     Ornithischian ("bird-hipped") DINOSAURS are known from the Petrified Forest National Park in northern Arizona, but only from isolated teeth,  
     
     CAELOPHYSIS was an early carnivorous dinosaur that probably walked on two legs. It was about 8 feet long and could weigh 50 pounds.
     
     
     THERAPSIDS were large reptiles that possessed many mammalian characters including a "cheek bone", enlarged canine teeth, pelvis, and a specialized attachment of the skull to the spine.
     
     
153. Placerias hesternus - a dicynodont thereapsid. This massive plant-eater was up to 9 feet long and could have weighed as much as 2 tons. 
     
     Placerias had a short neck, barrel-shaped body, small tail, and a beak-like skull with large tusk-like bones protruding from its upper jaw. The beak-like jaws helped them pull up and tear tough plants and roots.
     A large number of Placerias were found in a quarry in the area of the Petrified Forest National Park in northern Arizona.
     
     
     
     A Placerias hesternus that was in northern Arizona in the area of the Petrified Forest
     (photo by Marie Gardner in a museum during a FONT tour)   
     

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