The following list of the reptiles of Iowa lists all of the snakes, turtles, and lizards that are known to occur in the US state of Iowa.
There are five species of lizards in Iowa. [1]
| Common name | Scientific name | Status in Iowa | Picture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five-lined skink | Plestiodon fasciatus |  | |
| Great Plains skink | Plestiodon obsoletus | Endangered |  |
| Northern prairie skink | Plestiodon septentrionalis |  | |
| Six-lined racerunner | Aspidoscelis sexlineata |  | |
| Slender glass lizard | Ophisaurus attenuatus | Threatened |  |
There are 27 species of snakes in Iowa. [1]
There are 13 species of turtle in Iowa. [1]
| Common name | Scientific name | Status in Iowa | Picture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blanding's turtle | Emydoidea blandingii | Threatened |  |
| Common map turtle | Graptemys geographica |  | |
| Common musk turtle | Sternotherus odoratus | Threatened |  |
| False map turtle | Graptemys pseudogeographica |  | |
| Ornate box turtle | Terrapene ornata | Threatened |  |
| Ouachita map turtle | Graptemys ouachitensis |  | |
| Painted turtle | Chrysemys picta |  | |
| Red-eared slider | Trachemys scripta elegans |  | |
| Smooth softshell turtle | Apalone mutica |  | |
| Snapping turtle | Chelydra serpentina |  | |
| Spiny softshell turtle | Apalone spinifera |  | |
| Wood turtle | Glyptemys insculpta | Endangered |  |
| Yellow mud turtle | Kinosternon flavescens | Endangered |  |
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic ('cold-blooded') metabolism and amniotic development. Living reptiles comprise four orders: Testudines (turtles), Crocodilia (crocodilians), Squamata, and Rhynchocephalia. As of May 2023, about 12,000 living species of reptiles are listed in the Reptile Database. The study of the traditional reptile orders, customarily in combination with the study of modern amphibians, is called herpetology.
Herpetology is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles. Birds, which are cladistically included within Reptilia, are traditionally excluded here; the separate scientific study of birds is the subject of ornithology.
The slender glass lizard is a legless lizard in the glass lizard subfamily (Anguinae). The species is endemic to the United States. Two subspecies are recognized. The lizard was originally believed to be a subspecies of the eastern glass lizard. Their name comes from their easily broken tail which they can break off themselves without ever being touched. It is difficult to find a specimen with an undamaged tail. The lizard eats a variety of insects and small animals, including smaller lizards. Snakes and other animals are known to prey on the species. Humans have a part in destroying their environment and killing their food supply with insecticides. The lizard is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though it is vulnerable in Iowa and endangered in Wisconsin. It is important to note that the streamlined, legless species is often confused with snakes. Glass Lizards, however, differ from snakes as they possess a moveable eyelid, which is absent in snakes. Another way to distinguish glass lizards from snakes is the presence of an external ear opening, which are absent in snakes.
Hobart Muir Smith, born Frederick William Stouffer, was an American herpetologist. He is credited with describing more than 100 new species of American reptiles and amphibians. In addition, he has been honored by having at least six species named after him, including the southwestern blackhead snake, Smith's earth snake, Smith's arboreal alligator lizard, Hobart's anadia, Hobart Smith's anole, and Smith's rose-bellied lizard. At 100 years of age, Smith continued to be an active and productive herpetologist. Although he published on a wide range of herpetological subjects, his main focus throughout his career was on the amphibians and reptiles of Mexico, including taxonomy, bibliographies, and history. Having published more than 1,600 manuscripts, he surpassed all contemporaries and remains the most published herpetologist of all time.
The fauna of the United States of America is all the animals living in the Continental United States and its surrounding seas and islands, the Hawaiian Archipelago, Alaska in the Arctic, and several island-territories in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. The U.S. has many endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. With most of the North American continent, the U.S. lies in the Nearctic, Neotropic, and Oceanic faunistic realms, and shares a great deal of its flora and fauna with the rest of the American supercontinent.
The Chennai Snake Park, officially the Chennai Snake Park Trust, is a not-for-profit NGO constituted in 1972 by herpetologist Romulus Whitaker and is India's first reptile park. Also known as the Guindy Snake Park, it is located next to the Children's Park in the Guindy National Park campus. Located on the former home of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, the park is home to a wide range of snakes such as adders, pythons, vipers, cobras and other reptiles. The park gained statutory recognition as a medium zoo from the Central Zoo Authority in 1995.
Wyoming is home to 12 amphibian species and 22 species of reptiles.
