List of reptiles of Arizona

Last updated November 04, 2025

This is a list of the known extant reptiles of Arizona.^[1] The Arizona state reptile is the Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake ( Crotalus willardi willardi ).^[2]

Turtles and tortoises

Snapping turtles (Chelydridae)

Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) - introduced

Pond turtles (Emydidae)

Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta)
Desert box turtle (Terrapene ornata luteola)
Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) - introduced
False map turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica) - introduced

Mud turtles (Kinosternidae)

Arizona mud turtle (Kinosternon stejnegeri)
Yellow mud turtle (Kinosternon flavescens)
Sonora mud turtle (Kinosternon sonoriense)

Tortoises (Testudinidae)

Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
Sonoran Desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai)

Softshell turtles (Trionychidae)

Spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera)

Lizards

Alligator lizards and glass lizards (Anguidae)

Madrean alligator lizard (Elgaria kingii)

Collared lizards (Crotaphytidae)

Eastern collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)
Great Basin collared lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores)
Sonoran collared lizard (Crotaphytus nebrius)
Long-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii)

Desert geckos (Eublepharidae)

Western banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus)

Typical geckos (Gekkonidae)

Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) - introduced

Beaded lizards (Helodermatidae)

Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum)

Typical Iguanas (Iguanidae)

Spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura macrolopha × conspicuosa ) - introduced
Desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis)
Common chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater)

Desert lizards (Phrynosomatidae)

Zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draconoides)
Greater earless lizard (Cophosaurus texanus)
Lesser earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata)
Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)
Greater short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi)
Flat-tail horned lizard (Phrynosoma mcallii)
Desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos)
Regal horned lizard (Phrynosoma solare)
Twin-spotted spiny lizard (Sceloporus bimaculosus)
Clark's spiny lizard (Sceloporus clarkii)
Southwestern fence lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi)
Yarrow's spiny lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii)
Desert spiny lizard (Sceloporus magister)
Slevin's bunchgrass lizard (Sceloporus slevini)
Plateau fence lizard (Sceloporus tristichus)
Yellow-backed spiny lizard (Sceloporus uniformis)
Striped plateau lizard (Sceloporus virgatus)
Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma scoparia)
Long-tailed brush lizard (Urosaurus graciosus)
Ornate tree lizard (Urosaurus ornatus)
Common side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana)

Skinks (Scincidae)

Mountain skink (Plestiodon callicephalus)
Gilbert's skink (Plestiodon gilberti)
Many-lined skink (Plestiodon multivirgatus)
Western skink (Plestiodon skiltonianus)
Great Plains skink (Plestiodon obsoletus)

Whiptails (Teiidae)

Arizona striped whiptail (Aspidoscelis arizonae)
Canyon spotted whiptail (Aspidoscelis burti)
Chihuahuan spotted whiptail (Aspidoscelis exsanguis)
Gila spotted whiptail (Aspidoscelis flagellicauda)
New Mexico whiptail (Aspidoscelis neomexicana)
Pai striped whiptail (Aspidoscelis pai)
Sonoran spotted whiptail (Aspidoscelis sonorae)
Tiger whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris)
Desert grassland whiptail (Aspidoscelis uniparens)
Plateau striped whiptail (Aspidoscelis velox)
Red-backed whiptail (Aspidoscelis xanthonota)

Night lizards (Xantusiidae)

Arizona night lizard (Xantusia arizona)
Bezy's night lizard (Xantusia bezyi)
Desert night lizard (Xantusia vigilis)

Snakes

Boas (Boidae)

Desert rosy boa (Lichanura trivirgata)

Colubrids (Colubridae)

Glossy snake (Arizona elegans)
Variable sandsnake (Sonora stramineus)
Western shovelnose snake (Sonora occipitalis)
Groundsnake (Sonora semiannulata)
Sonoran shovel-nosed snake (Sonora palarostris)
North American racer (Coluber constrictor)
Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum)
Striped whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus)
Ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus)
Chihuahuan hook-nosed snake (Gyalopion canum)
Thornscrub hook-nosed snake (Gyalopion quadrangulare)
Mexican hog-nosed snake (Heterodon kennerlyi)
Desert nightsnake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea)
Chihuahuan nightsnake (Hypsiglena jani)
Common kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)
Sonoran mountain kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana)
Milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum)
Brown vinesnake (Oxybelis aeneus)
Saddled leaf-nosed snake (Phyllorhynchus browni)
Spotted leaf-nosed snake (Phyllorhynchus decurtatus)
Gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer)
Long-nosed snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)
Western patch-nosed snake (Salvadora hexalepis
Eastern patch-nosed snake (Salvadora grahamiae)
Green ratsnake (Senticolis triaspis)
Sonoran lyresnake (Trimorphodon lambda)
Smith's black-headed snake (Tantilla hobartsmithi)
Plains black-headed snake (Tantilla nigriceps)
Chihuahuan black-headed snake (Tantilla wilcoxi)
Yaqui black-headed snake (Tantilla yaquia)
Blackneck garter snake (Thamnophis cyrtopsis)
Western terrestrial garter snake (Thamnophis elegans)
Mexican garter snake (Thamnophis eques)
Checkered garter snake (Thamnophis marcianus)
Narrow-headed garter snake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus)

Coral snakes (Elapidae)

Arizona coral snake (Micruroides euryxanthus)

Threadsnakes (Leptotyphlopidae)

New Mexico threadsnake (Rena dissecta)
Western threadsnake (Rena humilis)

Vipers (Viperidae)

Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes)
Western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
Arizona black rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus)
Rock rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus)
Speckled rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
Black-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)
Western rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus)
Mohave rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus)
Tiger rattlesnake (Crotalus tigris)
Prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis)
Ridge-nosed rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi)
Western massasauga (Sistrurus tergeminus)

References

↑ Brennan, Thomas (2008). "Reptiles of Arizona". Reptiles of AZ. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
↑ "Arizona Rattlesnakes". Arizona Department of Game and Fish. Retrieved May 17, 2019.

"The Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona". Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona. Retrieved August 8, 2024.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Brennan, Thomas (2008). "Reptiles of Arizona". Reptiles of AZ. Retrieved May 17, 2019.

[2] "Arizona Rattlesnakes". Arizona Department of Game and Fish. Retrieved May 17, 2019.

[1]

[2]