Eastern Ribbon Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Eastern Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis saurita) is an exceptionally sleek, graceful, and athletic semi-aquatic natricine colubrid native to the lush wetlands and stream margins of eastern North America. Closely related to the common garter snake, the ribbon snake is...

Desert Spiny Lizard

Reptiles > Lizards

The Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister) is an imposing, heavily armored phrynosomatid reptile native to the arid desert regions and riparian canyons of the North American Southwest and Mexico. Instantly distinguished by its large, pointed, keeled scales that...

Banded Water Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Banded Water Snake (Nerodia fasciata), also widely known as the Southern Watersnake, is an abundant, heavy-bodied, non-venomous colubrid snake native to the freshwater wetlands, cypress swamps, and sluggish bayous of the southeastern United States Coastal Plain....

Zebra-tailed Lizard

Reptiles > Lizards

The Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides) is one of the fastest, most acrobatic, and behaviorally fascinating desert reptiles in North America, belonging to the family Phrynosomatidae. Inhabiting the blistering, sun-baked sandy washes and dry alluvial flats of...

Long-nosed Leopard Lizard

Reptiles > Lizards

The Long-nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia wislizenii) is a large, predatory, and fierce crotaphytid lizard native to the sun-baked arid basins and sagebrush steppes of western North America. Named for the striking leopard-like spots covering its dorsal body and its...

Pine Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus) is a large, powerful, non-venomous fossorial colubrid snake native to the sandy pine savannas, sandhills, and coastal barrens of the eastern and southern United States. Famous for its heavy-bodied build, striking black-and-white...

Common Musk Turtle

Reptiles > Turtles & Tortoises

The Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus), universally known across North America by its colorful moniker the ‘Stinkpot,’ is a small, highly aquatic kinosternid turtle native to the sluggish waterways of eastern North America. Instantly recognized by...

Gray Ratsnake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Gray Ratsnake (Pantherophis spiloides), formerly classified under the black ratsnake complex, is a large, powerful, non-venomous colubrid constrictor native to the hardwood forests and river valleys of the central and eastern United States. Renowned for its...

Blanding’s Turtle

Reptiles > Turtles & Tortoises

Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is an ecologically distinctive, highly charismatic freshwater emydid turtle native to the northern wetlands of the Great Lakes basin and disjunct sectors of eastern North America. Instantly recognizable by its radiant,...

Coachwhip

Reptiles > Snakes

The Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum) is one of the longest, fastest, and most visually acute non-venomous colubrid snakes in North America. Ranging from the Atlantic coastal plains across the desert Southwest to the Pacific coast, this slender, whip-like serpent is...