U.S. State Reptiles - Biology

Biology

In terms of common divisions of reptiles, turtles are most popular. Fifteen of the twenty-six states give them official status. The rest of the state reptiles comprise four snakes, four lizards, and three crocodilians. Eighteen states name a reptile at the species level, two a genus, and seven a subspecies.

The species most frequently adopted as a state reptile is the painted turtle, with four states designating it: Colorado (the western subspecies), Illinois, Michigan, and Vermont. Three southern states—Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi—represent themselves with the American alligator. A species of box turtle, Terrapene carolina or common box turtle, has been chosen by three states, with North Carolina and Tennessee using the Terrapene carolina carolina (eastern box turtle) subspecies, and with Missouri using the Terrapene carolina triungus (three-toed box turtle) subspecies. Two bordering western states, California and Nevada, chose the desert tortoise. The loggerhead sea turtle was named by South Carolina as state reptile, while Florida chose it as state saltwater reptile. Florida also named an official tortoise, the gopher tortoise, the same animal as Georgia's state reptile.

Four genera ('genuses') are represented with different species in the list. Terrapene (box turtles) has Terrapene ornata (Kansas) along with Terrapene carolina (Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee). Under Gopherus (gopher tortoises), there are Gopherus polyphemus (Georgia's state reptile and Florida's state tortoise) and Gopherus agassizii (California and Nevada). Under Crotalus (one of two rattlesnake genera), Arizona named Crotalus willardi willardi, while West Virginia chose Crotalus horridus. With Phrynosoma (horned lizards), Wyoming specified the entire genus, but Texas specified Phrynosoma cornutum.