View source for List of U.S. state reptiles

{{Short description|none}}
[[File:Collared lizard.jpg|thumb|350px|alt=colorful lizard on a rock, looking alertly to camera|The first state reptile: Oklahoma's common collared lizard]]
Twenty-eight [[U.S. state]]s have named an official '''state reptile'''. As with other [[United States state symbols|state symbols]], states compare admirable aspects of the reptile and of the state, within designating statutes.  Schoolchildren often start campaigns promoting their favorite reptile to encourage state legislators to enact it as a state symbol. Many [[Secretary of state (U.S. state government)|secretaries of state]] maintain educational web pages that describe the state reptile.
Oklahoma was the first state to name an official [[reptile]], the [[common collared lizard]], in 1969. Only two states followed in the 1970s, but the ensuing decades saw nominations at a rate of almost one per year.  [[List of U.S. state birds|State birds]] are more common, with all 50 states naming one, and they were adopted earlier, with the first one selected in 1927.
Before their formal designation as state reptiles, Florida's [[American alligator|alligator]], Maryland's [[diamondback terrapin|terrapin]], and Texas's [[Texas horned lizard|horned lizard]] were all mascots of a major in-state university.  West Virginia's [[timber rattlesnake]] was an early American flag element dating back to 1775.
Because of their cold-blooded nature, reptiles are more common in warmer climates, and 19 of the 28 state reptiles represent southern states. Six states chose a species named after the state.  A [[turtle]] was chosen by more than half of the states. In all, the most frequently chosen species, with four states naming it, is the [[painted turtle]]. One state reptile, the [[bog turtle]], is [[Critically endangered]]. The [[Alabama red-bellied turtle]] is legally designated as an [[endangered species]] in the United States, and several others, also turtles, are threatened at some lesser level.
==State reptiles== <!-- Same picture is used when animal is repeated by a state to make list more scannable for common animal usage. Intentional for clarity. -->
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | State
! scope="col" | State reptile
! scope="col" | Scientific name
! scope="col" | Year adopted
! scope="col" | Conservation status
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Photograph
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |
|-
! scope="row" | [[Alabama]]
| [[Alabama red-bellied turtle]] || ''Pseudemys alabamensis'' || 1990 || {{sort|4|[[Endangered species|Endangered]]}} ||[[File:Alabama red-bellied turtle US FWS cropped.jpg|200px|alt=A red-bellied turtle with its limbs retracted and head mostly retracted face on, sand on shell.]] || <ref name="ADAH">{{cite web | url= http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_rept.html | title= Official Alabama reptile | access-date= March 19, 2007 | date= July 12, 2001 |work= Alabama emblems, symbols and honors |publisher= Alabama Department of Archives & History}}</ref><ref name="Shearer310">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=310}}</ref><ref name="IUCN AL">{{cite iucn|author=Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group|year= 1996|title= ''Pseudemys alabamensis'' |errata= 2016|page= e.T18458A97296493 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T18458A8295960.en|access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Arizona]]
| [[Arizona Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake|Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake]] || ''Crotalus willardi''<br />subspecies ''willardi'' || 1986 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Crotalus willardi willardi (2).jpg|200px|alt=An Arizona Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake somewhat coiled up facing right.]] || <ref name="Shearer310" /><ref name="Shearer311">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=311}}</ref><ref name="IUCN AZ">{{cite iucn|author=Hammerson, G.A.|author2= Vazquez Díaz, J. |author3= Quintero Díaz, G.E. |name-list-style=amp|year=2007 |title=''Crotalus willardi''|page= e.T62253A12584209|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T62253A12584209.en|access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | [[California]]
| [[Desert tortoise]]<br />(state reptile) || ''Gopherus agassizii'' || 1972 || {{sort|5|[[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]]}} || [[File:DesertTortoise.JPG|200px|alt=A desert tortoise standing on dry and cracked sand. The shell is faded and abraded.]] || <ref name="Shearer312">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=312}}</ref><ref name="IUCN CA NV">{{cite iucn|author=Berry, K.H.|author2= Allison, L.J.|author3= McLuckie, A.M.|author4= Vaughn, M. |author5= Murphy, R.W. |name-list-style=amp|year=2021|title= ''Gopherus agassizii''|page= e.T97246272A3150871|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T97246272A3150871.en|access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Leatherback sea turtle]]<br />(state marine reptile)  || ''Dermochelys coriacea'' || 2012 || {{sort|5|[[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]]}} || [[File:Leatherback_sea_turtle_Tinglar,_USVI_(5839996547).jpg|200px|alt=Female, digging in the sand.]] || <ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Text - AB-1776 State government: Pacific leatherback sea turtle |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB1776 |website=California Legislative Information |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite iucn |author=Wallace, B.P. |author2=Tiwari, M. |author3=Girondot, M. |year=2013 |title=''Dermochelys coriacea'' |page=e.T6494A43526147 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T6494A43526147.en |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Colorado]]
| [[Western painted turtle]] || ''Chrysemys picta''<br />subspecies ''bellii''|| 2008 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:A4 Western painted turtle.jpg|200px|alt=A western painted turtle facing away from the viewer on top of a dirt-patch overlooking water.]] || <ref name="Colorado">{{cite web | url = http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/history/symbemb.htm#Reptile | title = Colorado State Archives symbols & emblems | access-date = January 23, 2011 | work = colorado.gov | publisher = State of Colorado}}</ref>{{sfn|Rhodin et al.|2010|p=000.99}}
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! scope="row" | [[Connecticut]]
| None || || || || || -->
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! scope="row" | [[Delaware]]
| None || || || || || -->
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | [[Florida]]
| [[American alligator]]<br />(state reptile) || ''Alligator mississippiensis'' || 1987 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:American Alligator.jpg|200px|alt=A large American alligator standing half on sand and half on grass.]] || <ref name="Shearer313">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=313}}</ref><ref name="IUCN FL LA MS">{{cite iucn|author=Elsey, R.|author2= Woodward, A. |author3= Balaguera-Reina, S.A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2019 |title=''Alligator mississippiensis''|page= e.T46583A3009637|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T46583A3009637.en|access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Loggerhead sea turtle]]<br />(state saltwater reptile) || ''Caretta caretta'' || 2008 || {{sort|5|[[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]]}} || [[File:Loggerhead Sea Turtle mirror image.jpg|200px|alt=A loggerhead sea turtle swimming in an aquarium.]] || <ref name="Florida">{{cite web|title=State symbols/Fla. cracker horse/loggerhead turtle (SB 230)|year = 2008|url=http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=37196&|publisher=Florida House of Representatives|access-date=March 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="IUCN FL salt SC">{{cite iucn|author=Casale, P. |author2= Tucker, A.D. |name-list-style=amp|year=2017|title= ''Caretta caretta'' |amends= 2015|page= e.T3897A119333622|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T3897A119333622.en|access-date=January 10, 2018}}</ref>
|-
| [[Gopher tortoise]]<br />(state tortoise) || ''Gopherus polyphemus'' || 2008 || {{sort|5|[[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]]}} || [[File:Gopherus polyphemus Tomfriedel.jpg|200px|alt=An abraded tortoise walking on sandy ground.]] || <ref name="FL tortoise news">{{cite news|title=Florida legislation that passed and that failed|url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article487210.ece|access-date=March 6, 2011|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=May 4, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014202119/http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article487210.ece|archive-date=October 14, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Florida tortoise law">{{cite web|title=15.03861. Official state tortoise. History.—s. 2, ch. 2008–34 (hist)|url=http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0015/0015.html|work=2010 Florida statutes (chapter 15)|publisher=Florida State Legislature|access-date=March 6, 2011|format=scroll down}}</ref><ref name="IUCN FL tort GA">{{cite iucn|author=Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group|year= 1996|title= ''Gopherus polyphemus''|page=e.T9403A12983629|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T9403A12983629.en|access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| [[Gopher tortoise]] || ''Gopherus polyphemus'' || 1989 || {{sort|5|[[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]]}} || [[File:Gopherus polyphemus Tomfriedel.jpg|200px|alt=An abraded tortoise walking on sandy ground.]] || <ref name="IUCN FL tort GA" /><ref name="Shearer314">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=314}}</ref>
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! scope="row" | [[Hawaii]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
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! scope="row" | [[Idaho]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[Illinois]]
| [[Painted turtle]] || ''Chrysemys picta'' || 2005 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Midland Painted Turtle, front view.jpg|200px|alt=A midland painted turtle standing on rocky ground and facing the viewer.]] || <ref name="Illinois">{{cite web|url=http://www2.illinois.gov/about/Pages/StateSymbols.aspx |title=State symbols |access-date=December 15, 2010 |publisher=Illinois.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630233940/http://www2.illinois.gov/about/Pages/StateSymbols.aspx |archive-date=June 30, 2010 }}</ref>{{sfn|Rhodin et al.|2010|p=000.99}}
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! scope="row" | [[Indiana]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
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! scope="row" | [[Iowa]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[Kansas]]
| [[Terrapene ornata|Ornate box turtle]] || ''Terrapene ornata'' <!--species, *not* subspecies is correct --> || 1986 || {{sort|6|[[Near Threatened]]}} || [[File:Terrapene ornata ornata mirror image.jpg|200px|alt=An ornate box turtle with a slightly dirty carapace raising its head.]] || <ref name="Shearer315">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=315}}</ref><ref name="IUCN KS">{{cite iucn|author=van Dijk, P.P. |author2= Hammerson, G.A. |name-list-style=amp|year=2011 |title=''Terrapene ornata'' |errata= 2016|page= e.T21644A97429080|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T21644A9304752.en|access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Kansas law">{{cite web|title=2009-73-1901 Kansas Code patriotic emblems, state reptile, designation|url=http://law.justia.com/kansas/codes/2009/chapter73/statutes_31572.html|publisher=Justia|access-date=February 11, 2011}}</ref>
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! scope="row" | [[Kentucky]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[Louisiana]]
| [[American alligator]] || ''Alligator mississippiensis''|| 1983 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:American Alligator.jpg|200px|alt=A large American alligator standing half on sand and half on grass.]] || <ref name="IUCN FL LA MS" /><ref name="Shearer319">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=316}}</ref>
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! scope="row" | [[Maine]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[Maryland]]
| [[Diamondback terrapin]] || ''Malaclemys terrapin'' || 1994 || {{sort|6|[[Near Threatened]]}} || [[File:Diamondback turtle adult female.jpg|200px|alt=A diamondback terrapin standing on a log with its head raised and body facing left.]] || <ref name="Maryland 2010">{{cite web | url = http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/symbols/html/reptile.html | title = Maryland state reptile—diamondback terrapin | access-date = January 21, 2011 | date = March 8, 2010 | work = Maryland manual on-line: a guide to Maryland government | publisher = Maryland State Archives}}</ref><ref name="IUCN MD">{{cite iucn|author=Roosenburg, W.M.|author2= Baker, P.J.|author3= Burke, R.|author4= Dorcas, M.E. |author5= Wood, R.C. |name-list-style=amp|year=2019|title=''Malaclemys terrapin''|page= e.T12695A507698|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T12695A507698.en|access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Massachusetts]]
| [[Garter snake]] || ''Thamnophis''<br />(whole genus) || 2006 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis Wooster.jpg|200px|alt=A Garter snake]] || <ref name="CIS">{{cite web|title=Citizen information service: state symbols|url=http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf1a.htm|publisher=Massachusetts State (Secretary of the Commonwealth)|access-date=January 21, 2011|quote=The Garter Snake became the official reptile of the Commonwealth on January 3, 2007.}}</ref><ref name="IUCN VA MA">{{cite iucn|author=Frost, D.R.|author2= Hammerson, G.A. |author3= Santos-Barrera, G.|name-list-style=amp|year= 2015|title=''Thamnophis sirtalis''|page=e.T62240A68308267 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T62240A68308267.en|access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Michigan]]
| [[Painted turtle]] || ''Chrysemys picta'' || 1995 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Midland Painted Turtle, front view.jpg|200px|alt=A midland painted turtle standing on rocky ground and facing the viewer.]] || <ref name="Michigan">{{cite journal | title = Michigan's state symbols | journal = Michigan History | date = May 2002 | volume = 100| url = http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mhc_mhm_statesymbols2002_47909_7.pdf}}</ref>{{sfn|Rhodin et al.|2010|p=000.99}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Minnesota]]
| [[Blanding's turtle]] || ''Emydoidea blandingii'' || 1998, proposed || {{sort|4|[[Endangered]]}} || [[File:Blandings-road-800x600.jpg|200px]]
|-
! scope="row" | [[Mississippi]]
| [[American alligator]] || ''Alligator mississippiensis'' || 2005 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:American Alligator.jpg|200px|alt=A large American alligator standing half on sand and half on grass.]] || <ref name="IUCN FL LA MS" /><ref name="SB 2060">{{cite web|title=SB 2069 history of actions|url=http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2005/pdf/history/SB/SB2060.htm#history|publisher=Mississippi Legislature|access-date=January 21, 2011|year=2005|quote=The American Alligator to be designated as the Mississippi State Reptile; provide...02/21 Approved by Governor}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Missouri]]
| [[Three-toed box turtle]] || ''Terrapene carolina''<br />subspecies ''triunguis''|| 2007 || {{sort|6|[[Near Threatened]]}} || [[File:Three-toed Box Turtle.jpg|200px|alt=A three-toed box turtle standing on a turtle facing left.]] || <ref name="Missouri">{{cite web | url = http://www.sos.mo.gov/symbols/symbols.asp?symbol=reptile | title = State symbols of Missouri: state reptile | access-date = January 21, 2011 | publisher = Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnihan}}</ref><ref name="IUCN MO NC TN">{{cite iucn|author=van Dijk, P.P. |year=2011|title= ''Terrapene carolina'' |errata= 2016|page=e.T21641A97428179|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T21641A9303747.en|access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref>
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! scope="row" | [[Montana]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
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! scope="row" | [[Nebraska]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[Nevada]]
| [[Desert tortoise]] || ''Gopherus agassizii'' || 1989 || {{sort|5|[[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]]}} || [[File:DesertTortoise.JPG|200px|alt=A desert tortoise standing on dry and cracked sand. The shell is faded and abraded.]] || <ref name="IUCN CA NV" /><ref name="Shearer319"/>
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! scope="row" | [[New Hampshire]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[New Jersey]]
| [[Bog turtle]] || ''Glyptemys muhlenbergii'' || 2018 || {{sort|1|[[Critically endangered]]}} || [[File:Bog Turtle.jpg|right|200px|alt=A bog turtle lifting its head slightly while on grass]] ||<ref name="bog">{{cite news|work=Associated Press|title=Bog turtle becomes New Jersey's state reptile|url=https://apnews.com/54f9c15ad66640fdba4c8ef3183494b9|access-date=March 24, 2020|date=June 19, 2018}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[New Mexico]]
| [[New Mexico whiptail lizard]] || ''Cnemidophorus neomexicanus'' || 2003 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Cnemidophorus.jpg|200px|alt=A small brown lizard with yellow stripes standing on a tan substrate.]] || <ref name="New Mexico">{{cite web|url=http://www.nmenvirothon.com/Wildlife/Chapter%20%20VIII-New%20Mexico%20State%20Animals.pdf |title=Chapter VIII. New Mexico state animals |access-date=January 22, 2011 |publisher=New Mexico Envirothon |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714185758/http://www.nmenvirothon.com/Wildlife/Chapter%20%20VIII-New%20Mexico%20State%20Animals.pdf |archive-date=July 14, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="IUCN NM">{{cite iucn|author=Hammerson, G.A.|author2= Lavin, P.|author3= Vazquez Díaz, J.|author4= Quintero Díaz, G. |author5= Gadsden, H. |name-list-style=amp|year=2007|title=''Aspidoscelis neomexicana''|page=e.T64278A12752324|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64278A12752324.en|access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[New York (state)|New York]]
| [[Common snapping turtle]] || ''Chelydra serpentina''|| 2006 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Common Snapping Turtle 1429.jpg|200px|A common snapping turtle standing on all fours with its head slightly retracted and facing left.]] || <ref name="New York">{{cite web | url = http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/reference/emblems.htm | title = New York state information | access-date = February 25, 2011 | year = 2011 | publisher = New York State Library}}</ref>{{sfn|Rhodin et al.|2010|p=000.92}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[North Carolina]]
| [[Terrapene carolina carolina|Eastern box turtle]] || ''Terrapene carolina''<br />subspecies ''carolina'' || 1979 || {{sort|6|[[Near Threatened]]}} || [[File:Eastern box turtle mirror image.jpg|200px|A bright yellow and black eastern box turtle looking at the viewer and facing toward the right.]] || <ref name="IUCN MO NC TN" /><ref name="Shearer321">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=321}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title= Official state symbols of North Carolina | publisher= State of North Carolina | url= http://ncpedia.org/symbols/reptile | work= North Carolina State Library | access-date= January 26, 2008 }}</ref>
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! scope="row" | [[North Dakota]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[Ohio]]
| [[Coluber constrictor|Northern black racer]] || ''Coluber constrictor''<br />subspecies ''constrictor'' || 1995 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Coluber constrictorPCCP20030612-1115B.jpg|200px|An extreme close-up of a black racer's head: black eyes and a pointed snout are featured.]] || <ref name="Ohio 2008">{{cite web | url = http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/gp5.031 | title = 5.031 State reptile | access-date = January 22, 2011 | year = 2008 | work = LAWriter: Ohio Laws and Rles | publisher = Lawriter LLC}}</ref><ref name="IUCN OH">{{cite iucn|author=Hammerson, G.A.|author2= Acevedo, M.|author3= Ariano-Sánchez, D. |author4= Johnson, J. |name-list-style=amp|year=2013|title=''Coluber constrictor'' |page=e.T63748A3128579|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T63748A3128579.en|access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Oklahoma]]
| [[Common collared lizard]] || ''Crotaphytus collaris'' || 1969 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Collared Lizard 1.jpg|200px|A gray lizard with brown and yellow-orange markings standing on a rock in bright sunshine.]] || <ref name="OK state info" /><ref name="Shearer322">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=322}}</ref><ref name="IUCN OK">{{cite iucn|author=Hammerson, G.A.|author2= Lavin, P.|author3= Vazquez Díaz, J.|author4= Quintero Díaz, G. |author5= Gadsden, H. |name-list-style=amp|year=2007|title=''Crotaphytus collaris'' |page= e.T64007A12734318|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64007A12734318.en|access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref>
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! scope="row" | [[Oregon]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
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! scope="row" | [[Pennsylvania]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
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! scope="row" | [[Rhode Island]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[South Carolina]]
| [[Loggerhead sea turtle]] || ''Caretta caretta'' || 1988 || {{sort|4|[[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]]}} ||[[File:Loggerhead Sea Turtle mirror image.jpg|200px|alt=A loggerhead sea turtle swimming in an aquarium.]] || <ref name="IUCN FL salt SC" /><ref name="Shearer323">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=323}}</ref>
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| [[South Dakota]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[Tennessee]]
| [[Terrapene carolina carolina|Eastern box turtle]] || ''Terrapene carolina''<br />subspecies ''carolina''|| 1995 || {{sort|6|[[Near Threatened]]}} ||[[File:Eastern box turtle mirror image.jpg|200px|A bright yellow and black eastern box turtle looking at the viewer and facing toward the right.]] || <ref name="IUCN MO NC TN" /><ref name="Tennessee">{{cite journal | title = Tennessee symbols and honor | journal = Tennessee Blue Book | pages = 526| url = http://www.state.tn.us/sos/bluebook/07-08/46-Symbols%20&%20Honors.pdf | access-date = January 22, 2011}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | [[Texas]]
| [[Texas horned lizard]]<br />(state reptile) || ''Phrynosoma cornutum''|| 1993 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Federal horned toad pic crop.jpg|200px|alt=A lizard with intimidating spikes on its head and back standing on a log.]] || <ref name="Texas">{{cite web | url = http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/symbols.html | title = Texas state symbols | access-date = January 22, 2011 | work = About Texas | publisher = Texas State Library and Archives Commission}}</ref><ref name="IUCN TX">{{cite iucn|author=Hammerson, G.A. |year=2007 |title=''Phrynosoma cornutum''|page= e.T64072A12741535 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64072A12741535.en|access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[Kemp's ridley sea turtle]]<br />(state sea turtle) || ''Lepidochelys kempii'' || 2013 || {{sort|1|[[Critically Endangered]]}} || [[File:Lepidochelys_kempii.jpg|200px|alt=Lepidochelys kempii on beach.]] || <ref>Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, House Concurrent Resolution 31, legislative document, May 10, 2013; [Austin, Texas]. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth438883/: accessed July 22, 2020), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.</ref><ref>{{cite iucn |author=Wibbels, T. |author2=Bevan, E. |name-list-style=amp |year=2019 |errata=2019 |title=''Lepidochelys kempii'' |page=e.T11533A155057916 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T11533A155057916.en |access-date=22 July 2020}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Utah]]
| [[Gila monster]] || ''Heloderma suspectum'' || 2019 || {{sort|6|[[Near Threatened]]}} || [[File:Gila monster2.JPG|200px|alt=A Gila monster curled up on the ground absorbing heat.]] || <ref name="Utah">{{Cite web|url=https://le.utah.gov/~2019/bills/static/HB0144.html|title=HB0144|website=le.utah.gov|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref><ref name="IUCN Utah">{{cite iucn|author=Hammerson, G.A.|author2= Frost, D.R. |author3= Gadsden, H. |name-list-style=amp|year=2007|title= ''Heloderma suspectum''|page=e.T9865A13022716|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T9865A13022716.en|access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Vermont]]
| [[Painted turtle]] || ''Chrysemys picta'' || 1994 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Midland Painted Turtle, front view.jpg|200px|alt=A midland painted turtle standing on rocky ground and facing the viewer.]] || <ref name="Vermont">{{cite web | url = http://www.leg.state.vt.us/DOCS/1994/ACTS/ACTR179.HTM | title = Joint resolution relating to the designation of the painted turtle as the state reptile (J.R.S. 57) | access-date = December 15, 2010 | year = 1994 | publisher = Vermont Legislature}}</ref>{{sfn|Rhodin et al.|2010|p=000.99}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Virginia]]
| [[Eastern garter snake]]<br />(state snake) || ''Thamnophis sirtalis''<br />subspecies ''sirtalis'' || 2016 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis Wooster.jpg|200px|alt=A Garter snake]] || <ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Tracking - 2016 session > Legislation |url=https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+ful+CHAP0278 |website=Legislative Information System |publisher=Virginia's Legislative Information System |access-date=24 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="IUCN VA MA"/>
<!-- |-
! scope="row" | [[Washington (state)|Washington]]
| None || || ||— || || <ref>
{{cite web | title = Symbols of Washington State | publisher = Washington State Legislature | url = http://www1.leg.wa.gov/Legislature/StateSymbols/ | access-date = March 11, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070305110012/http://www1.leg.wa.gov/Legislature/StateSymbols/ | archive-date = 2007-03-05 | url-status = dead }}
</ref> -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[West Virginia]]
| [[Timber rattlesnake]]|| ''Crotalus horridus'' || 2008 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:C horridus.JPG|200px|alt=A black, gray, and brown snake somewhat coiled up and looking at the viewer.]] || <ref name="West Virginia">{{cite web | url = http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Resolution_History.cfm?year=2008&sessiontype=RS&input4=28&billtype=cr&houseorig=s&btype=res | title = Senate concurrent resolution 28 (bill status 2008 regular session) | access-date = February 22, 2011 | publisher = West Virginia Legislature}}</ref><ref name="IUCN WV">{{cite iucn|author=Hammerson, G.A. |year=2007|title= ''Crotalus horridus''|page=e.T64318A12765920 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64318A12765920.en|access-date=March 10, 2011}}</ref>
<!-- |-
! scope="row" | [[Wisconsin]]
| None || || ||— || || -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[Wyoming]]
| [[Horned lizard]] || ''Phrynosoma''<br />(whole genus)|| 1993 || {{sort|7|[[Least Concern]]}} || [[File:Short Horned Lizard.jpg|200px|A fat looking horned lizard perched on a bright gray rock.]] || <ref name="Wyoming 2011">{{cite web|url=http://soswy.state.wy.us/SecretaryDesk/StateInfo_Symbols.aspx |title=State symbols |access-date=January 22, 2011 |year=2011 |publisher=Wyoming Secretary of State's Office |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906001152/http://soswy.state.wy.us/SecretaryDesk/StateInfo_Symbols.aspx |archive-date=September 6, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="IUCN WY">{{cite iucn|author=Hammerson, G.A. |year=2007|title= ''Phrynosoma hernandesi''|page= e.T64076A12741970|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64076A12741970.en|access-date=March 11, 2011}}</ref>
|}
==Governmental aspects==
===Legislation===
[[File:Common-snapping-turtle.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=face-on view of a snapping turtle on gray background.|The common snapping turtle won a close election to become New York State's reptile icon.]]
A reptile becomes the official state symbol after it is voted in by the [[State legislature (United States)|state legislature]]. Although many states require the bill to be signed by the governor, in some the enabling act is a [[Resolution (law)|resolution]] (legislature vote only). In 2004, Illinois held a popular vote to pick the painted turtle, but legislation was still required in 2005 to make the choice official.<ref name="Illinois" />
Schoolchildren often start the campaigns for state reptiles.<ref name="Samuel">{{cite news|last=Samuel|first=David|title=What are our state animals?|url=http://www.knowhunting.com/article.html?id=182|access-date=December 21, 2010|newspaper=Morgantown Dominion Post|date=November 8, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713162237/http://www.knowhunting.com/article.html?id=182|archive-date=July 13, 2011}}</ref> Three of the four states choosing the painted turtle credit school classes with initiating the process.<ref name="Colorado" /><ref name="Michigan" /><ref name="Vermont" /> The process may require students to be knowledgeable of their selection, as was the case in Florida when students advocated for the [[loggerhead sea turtle]]; "Working with State Representative Curtis Richardson (D-Tallahassee), the students provided information and answered questions regarding the symbols."<ref name="Florida school">{{cite web|last=Abellera |first=Bonnie |title=Loggerhead sea turtle is a new state symbol |url=http://www.nbbd.com/godo/cns/seaturtles/floridasymbol.html |work=FWC |publisher=Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission |access-date=March 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714160801/http://www.nbbd.com/godo/cns/seaturtles/floridasymbol.html |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In New York, students statewide voted to pick one of four turtles; the [[common snapping turtle]] edged the painted turtle 5,048 to 5,005. Assemblyman [[Joel Miller (politician)|Joel Miller]] had sponsored the turtle election to interest students in politics and said of the results, "as with every election, every vote is important".<ref name="NY election">{{cite web|title=The voting is over: students nominate common snapping turtle as official state reptile|url=http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Joel-M-Miller/story/18722/|publisher=Assemblyman Joel M. Miller|access-date=February 25, 2011|date=April 26, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007141341/http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Joel-M-Miller/story/18722/|archive-date=October 7, 2012}}</ref>
Candidate state reptiles are not assured of making it through the legislative process. In Minnesota, 1998 and 1999 bills proposing the [[Blanding's turtle]] were unsuccessful.<ref name="Minnesota proposed">{{cite web|title=Minnesota state symbols—unofficial, proposed, or facetious|url=http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/unsym.aspx|publisher=Minnesota State Legislature|access-date=February 25, 2011}}</ref> In Pennsylvania in 2009, the [[Pennsylvania House|House]] passed an [[eastern box turtle]] bill which died in the [[Pennsylvania Senate|Senate]] without a vote.<ref name="Pennsylvania failure">{{cite web|title=Regular session 2009–2010: House bill 621|url=http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2009&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=621|publisher=Pennsylvania State Legislature|access-date=February 25, 2011}}</ref> Virginia proponents of the eastern box turtle have seen 1999 and 2009 bids fail. For the most recent attempt, a legislative opponent of the turtle said it was too cowardly for the state because of its defensive shell, and suggested the [[rattlesnake]] would be a better representative. The turtle also drew scorn for often perishing on roads, but its most serious problem was a too-close association with bordering state, North Carolina.<ref name="VA SB1504">{{cite web|title=SB 1504 Eastern box turtle; designating as official state reptile|url=https://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+sum+SB1504|publisher=Virginia State Legislature|access-date=February 25, 2011|year=2009}}</ref><ref name="VA AP">{{cite news|last=Associated Press|title=Virginia House crushes box turtle's bid to be state reptile|url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Virginia-House-Crushes-Box-Turtles-Bid-to-Be-State-Reptile.html|access-date=February 25, 2011|newspaper=NBC Washington|date=February 20, 2009}}</ref>
===Justification===
{{quote box|width=25em|fontsize=100%|quote="Whereas, the painted turtle is a hard worker and can withstand cold temperatures like the citizens of Vermont, and
Whereas, the colors of the painted turtle represent the beauty of our state in autumn, and
Whereas, the painted turtle is one of the most common turtles in Vermont, and
Whereas, the painted turtle adds to the diversity of Vermont's habitat..."|source=Vermont J.R.S. 57 (1994)<ref name="Vermont" />}}
Like other state symbols, a state reptile is intended to show state pride. The designation has no economic or wildlife protection effect.<ref name="Samuel" /><ref name="Shearer309" /> States justify their choice of state reptiles, with differing rationales, in designating legislation and on websites:
* North Carolina selected the eastern box turtle because its behavior reflects admirable human ideals: "The turtle watches undisturbed as countless generations of faster 'hares' run by to quick oblivion, and is thus a model of patience for mankind, and a symbol of our State's unrelenting pursuit of great and lofty goals."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/symbols/sy-turtl.htm | title = Eastern box turtle—North Carolina state reptiles | access-date = February 13, 2011 | publisher = North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State}}</ref>
* Maryland notes its historical associations with the diamondback terrapin: "Chesapeake colonists ate terrapin prepared Native-American fashion, roasted whole in live coals. Abundant and easy to catch, terrapin were so ample that landowners often fed their slaves and indentured servants a staple diet of terrapin meat. Later, in the 19th century, the turtle was appreciated as gourmet food, especially in a stew laced with cream and sherry."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/symbols/html/reptile.html | title = State symbols: Maryland state symbol—diamondback terrapin | access-date = February 13, 2011 | work = msa.md.gov | publisher = Maryland State Archives}}</ref>
* Ohio touts the ubiquity and practical benefits of its reptile: "The [[Coluber constrictor|black racer]] snake was adopted because it is native to all 88 Ohio counties and is called the 'farmer's friend' because it eats disease-carrying rodents."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.governorsresidence.ohio.gov/children/symbols.aspx | title = Ohio's state symbols | access-date = February 13, 2011 | publisher = Ohio Governor's Residence and Heritage Garden}}</ref>
* Texas stresses the conservation needs of the Texas horned lizard: "It is perhaps most appropriate for designation as an official state symbol because, like many other things truly Texan, it is a threatened species."<ref name="TX resolution">{{cite web|title=House Concurrent Resolution No. 141 |url=http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/73r/billtext/html/HC00141F.HTM|publisher=Texas State Legislature|access-date=February 25, 2011|date=May 27, 1993}}</ref>
===Use===
The state reptile concept serves education. Some states offer lesson plans using the reptile for teachers to introduce children to the legislative process, discuss state geography, or develop state patriotism.<ref name="IL lesson plan">{{cite web|title=Illinois state smbols lesson plan: state symbols review|url=http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/symbols/pdfs/alllessonplansbingo.pdf|work=Illinois state symbols and their history|publisher=Illinois State Museum|access-date=March 4, 2011}}</ref><ref name="AL lesson plan">{{cite web|last=Long|first=Jennifer|title=Alabama patriotic symbols|url=http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=11468|work=Lesson plans|publisher=Alabama Learning Exchange|access-date=March 4, 2011}}</ref><ref name="AZ lesson plan">{{cite web|title=The living state symbols of Arizona|url=http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/ee/lessons/symbols/leg_teacher.pdf|publisher=Arizona Game and Fish Department|access-date=March 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721032843/http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/ee/lessons/symbols/leg_teacher.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many Secretaries of State have a "kids page" describing the reptile.<ref name="NC kids">{{cite web|title=North Carolina state symbols|url=http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/symbols.htm|work=State of North Carolina kids page|publisher=North Carolina Secretary of State's Office|access-date=February 25, 2011}}</ref><ref name="NY kids room">{{cite web|title=New York state symbols|url=http://www.dos.state.ny.us/kids_room/508/symbols2.html|work=NYS kids room|publisher=New York Department of State|access-date=February 25, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205013019/http://www.dos.state.ny.us/kids_room/508/symbols2.html|archive-date=December 5, 2010}}</ref><ref name="MO kids">{{cite web|title=Missouri kids!|url=http://www.sos.mo.gov/kids/|publisher=Missouri Secretary of State's Office|access-date=February 25, 2011}}</ref> Some, such as Missouri's [[Robin Carnahan]], tout state-provided coloring books.<ref name="MO coloring book">{{cite web|title=They stand for us. Symbols of Missouri. A resource book for Missouri students|url=http://www.sos.mo.gov/Kids/packet/coloring%20book.pdf|work=Missouri kids!|publisher=Missouri Secretary of State's Office|access-date=February 25, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605125232/http://www.sos.mo.gov/Kids/packet/coloring%20book.pdf|archive-date=June 5, 2011}}</ref>
==Rate of adoption and comparison to other symbols==
[[File:State-reptile-over-years.svg|thumb|300px|alt=line graph showing adoption of state reptiles over time going up gradually over time, with some stairsteppiness|State reptiles versus time]]
In 1969, Oklahoma designated the first state reptile when it chose the common collared lizard or "mountain boomer".<ref name="OK state info">{{cite web|title=Oklahoma state icons |url=http://www.state.ok.us/osfdocs/stinfo.html |publisher=Oklahoma Department of Libraries |access-date=2011-12-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115182454/http://www.state.ok.us/osfdocs/stinfo.html |archive-date=2014-01-15 }}</ref><ref name="Shearer309">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=309}}</ref>  Two states followed suit in the 1970s, seven states in the 1980s, eight states in the 1990s, and eight states in the 2000s.<ref name="nbFloridaSalt" group="nb" /> As of March 2019, twenty-eight of the fifty states have named a state reptile; Utah and New Jersey both adopted an official state repitile in the 2010s.<ref name="Utah" /><ref name="bog"/>
In contrast to state reptiles, state birds have been more rapidly adopted, with the first state designating one in 1927 and the fiftieth in 1973.<ref name="Shearer167">{{Harvnb|Shearer|1994|p=167}}</ref> As of January 2011, other types of animals more popular for state symbolization were [[List of U.S. state mammals|mammals]] (46),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_mammals.htm |title=Official state mammals |access-date=February 13, 2011 |work=netstate.com |publisher=NSTATE, LLC. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303200338/http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_mammals.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[List of U.S. state fish|fish]] (45),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_fish.htm |title=Official state fish |access-date=February 13, 2011 |work=netstate.com |publisher=NSTATE, LLC. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514163022/http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_fish.htm |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[List of U.S. state insects|insects]] (42).<ref name="State Insects" /> Animal symbols less popular than reptiles were [[List of U.S. state butterflies|butterflies]] (17),<ref name="State Insects">{{cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_insects.htm |title=Official state insects |access-date=February 13, 2011 |work=netstate.com |publisher=NSTATE, LLC. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303210748/http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_insects.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[List of U.S. state amphibians|amphibians]] (17),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_amphibians.htm |title=Official state amphibians |access-date=February 13, 2011 |work=netstate.com |publisher=NSTATE, LLC. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514160832/http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_amphibians.htm |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[List of U.S. state dogs|dogs]] (11),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_mammals_dogs.htm |title=Official state dogs |access-date=March 6, 2011 |work=netstate.com |publisher=NSTATE, LLC. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303065359/http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_mammals_dogs.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[List of U.S. state dinosaurs|dinosaurs]] (5),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_dinosaurs.htm |title=Official state dinosaurs |access-date=February 13, 2011 |work=netstate.com |publisher=NSTATE, LLC. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220112913/http://netstate.com/states/tables/state_dinosaurs.htm |archive-date=December 20, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[U.S. state bats|bats]] (3),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_bats.htm |title=Official state bats |access-date=February 13, 2011 |work=netstate.com |publisher=NSTATE, LLC. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220083516/http://netstate.com/states/tables/state_bats.htm |archive-date=December 20, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[List of U.S. state crustaceans|crustaceans]] (3).<ref name="LA crust">{{cite web|title=Louisiana facts|url=http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/217/Default.aspx|work=Other services|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|access-date=March 6, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110102753/http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/217/Default.aspx|archive-date=January 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="MD crust">{{cite web|title=Maryland state crustacean: blue crab|url=http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/crab.html|work=Maryland state symbols: state symbols|publisher=Maryland state archives|access-date=March 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="OR crust">{{cite web|title=House bills: HJR 37|url=http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/pubs/hsemh.html|publisher=Oregon State Legislature|access-date=March 6, 2011|year=2009|format=scroll down|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104174749/http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/pubs/hsemh.html|archive-date=January 4, 2011}}</ref>
In their almanac of U.S. state symbols, Benjamin and Barbara Shearer spend comparatively little text on state reptiles. They spend a full chapter each on state birds, [[List of U.S. state trees|trees]] and [[List of U.S. state flowers|flowers]]; within those chapters, they take about a half page to describe the campaign to establish each state's specific symbol.<ref name="Shearer97–146">{{Harvnb|Shearer|2003|pp=97–146}}</ref> Reptiles, on the other hand, are shown only in list format in a chapter titled "Miscellaneous", where the other non-bird animals (and many non-animals) are listed. Shearer and Shearer consider the state reptiles to be part of a "last thirty years" phenomenon (written in 2003) that includes such particular items as a state's "official beverage".<ref name="Shearer225–248">{{Harvnb|Shearer|2003|pp=225–248}}</ref>
==Geography==
[[File:Official Reptile States.svg|300px|right|thumb|alt=A map of the United States highlighting the 26 current U.S., states that have designated a reptile.|U.S. states with dark green shading have a state reptile.{{Clarify|date=May 2023 |reason=Map needs to be updated.}}]]
Perhaps owing to the greater presence of cold-blooded ([[ectotherm]]ic) reptiles in warmer climates,<ref name="Smith">{{cite book|author1=Smith, Hobart M.|title=Reptiles of North America: a guide to field identification|year=1982|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-58238-123-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f2hq_RNbebsC&q=reptiles+of+north+america|author2=Brodie, Edmund|page=6|quote=In North America, reptiles are most abundant in the warmer southern regions.}}</ref> the states in the southern half of the United States have more commonly designated a state reptile. From the twenty-four of the [[contiguous states]] roughly south of the [[Mason-Dixon|Mason–Dixon]] line,{{#tag:ref|The line does not perfectly separate north and south states because some states extend across it. For example, Missouri, generally considered southern, has territory above the line, and Illinois, generally considered northern, has territory below it.|group="nb"}} only four lack a state reptile. From east to west, they are Delaware, Virginia, Kentucky, and Arkansas.<ref name="Shearer225–248"/>{{#tag:ref|The nineteen southern or southwestern states with state reptiles were Alabama,<ref name="ADAH" /><ref name="Shearer310" /> Arizona,<ref name="Shearer310" /><ref name="Shearer311" /> California,<ref name="Shearer312" /> Colorado,<ref name="Colorado" /> Florida,<ref name="Shearer313" /> Georgia,<ref name="Shearer314" /> Kansas,<ref name="Shearer315" /> Louisiana,<ref name="Shearer319"/> Maryland,<ref name="Maryland 2010" /> Mississippi,<ref name="SB 2060" /> Missouri,<ref name="Missouri" /> Nevada,<ref name="Shearer319" /> New Mexico,<ref name="New Mexico" /> North Carolina,<ref name="Shearer321" /> Oklahoma,<ref name="Shearer322" /> South Carolina,<ref name="Shearer323" /> Tennessee,<ref name="Tennessee" /> Texas,<ref name="Texas" /> Utah,<ref name="Utah" /> and West Virginia.<ref name="West Virginia" />|group="nb"}}
In contrast, in the north half of the central and western states, only one, Wyoming, has named a state reptile.<ref name="Wyoming 2011" /> In the [[Great Lakes]] region, there is a cluster of three states (Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio) that named a reptile.<ref name="Illinois" /><ref name="Michigan"/><ref name="Ohio 2008" /> In the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]], there is another cluster of three participating states (Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont).<ref name="CIS" /><ref name="New York" /><ref name="Vermont" />
Neither of the noncontiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii, have named a state reptile.<ref name="Shearer225–248"/> The [[District of Columbia]] lacks a state reptile although it does have an official tree, flower, bird,<ref name="District of Columbia">{{cite web|url=http://about.dc.gov/symbols.asp |title=Official symbols of the District of Columbia |access-date=February 4, 2011 |publisher=District of Columbia Government |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205140540/http://about.dc.gov/symbols.asp |archive-date=February 5, 2006 }}</ref> fish,<ref name="DC-fish">{{cite web|url=https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/21-282#%C2%A7101|title=Official fish of the District of Columbia |access-date=August 29, 2024 |publisher=Council of the District of Columbia}}</ref> amphipod,<ref name ="DC-amphipod">{{cite web|url=https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/21-282#%C2%A7102|title=Official amphipod of the District of Columbia |access-date=August 29, 2024 |publisher=Council of the District of Columbia}}</ref> and bat,<ref name="DC-bat">{{cite web|url=https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/23-160 |title=D.C. Law 23-160. Big Brown Bat Official State Mammal Designation Act of 2020 |access-date=August 29, 2024 |publisher=Council of the District of Columbia}}</ref> and an amphibian is under consideration.<ref name="DC-amphibian">{{cite web|url=https://dccouncil.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/9.18-COW-PUN-HRNG-Red-Backed-Salamander-Offical-Amphibian-B25-811.pdf |title=Hearing notice: Red-backed salamander official state amphibian designation act of 2024 |access-date=August 29, 2024 |publisher=Council of the District of Columbia}}</ref> None of the organized [[territories of the United States]] have state reptiles, although all four have designated official flowers.<ref name="Shearer245–246">{{Harvnb|Shearer|2003|pp=245–246}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/collections/statetreeflower.html | title = State trees and state flowers | access-date = February 4, 2011 | work = usna.usda.gov | publisher = The United States National Arboretum | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101206125016/http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/collections/statetreeflower.html | archive-date = December 6, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://ns.gov.gu/details.html | title = Details about Guam | access-date = February 4, 2011 | work = ns.gov.gu | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110218052729/http://ns.gov.gu/details.html | archive-date = February 18, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:L_3ZVANkdJkJ:bsp.guam.gov/Guam%2520Facts%2520&%2520Figures%25202005%2520Fnl%2520%255BR5%255D.pdf+Intsia+bijuga+site:guam.gov&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShsszAbjFpIKOf3uUiymIHW7IyHS2_mRBup6LXOyMQbh_fx7zSVqYoXQ2Fs42qCkiqXjJ8ZfYVqoN9gO8qWtwuX9ixuYb7IKX60auOvcKaeWy-WRv3-egpogdE1YaTA0b9oLN7m&sig=AHIEtbQ9_0Mvd_XwaxEEjW2oMM-5ojKjgA | title = Social and economic indicators | access-date = February 4, 2011 | year = 2005 | work = Guam's facts and figures at a glance | publisher = Bureau of Statistics and Plans: Office of the Governor}}</ref>
Six states chose reptiles named after the state. In [[common name]]s, Arizona and Texas were represented by the [[Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake]] and Texas horned lizard.<ref name="Shearer310" /><ref name="Shearer311" /><ref name="Texas" /> Mississippi and North Carolina appeared in [[binomial nomenclature|scientific names]]: ''Alligator mississippiensis'' and ''Terrapene carolina carolina''.<ref name="SB 2060"/><ref name="Shearer321"/> Alabama and New Mexico appeared in both common names (Alabama red-bellied turtle and [[New Mexico whiptail lizard]]) and scientific names (''Pseudemys alabamensis'' and ''Cnemidophorus neomexicanus'').<ref name="ADAH" /><ref name="Shearer310" /><ref name="New Mexico" />
==Previous symbology==
===Politics===
Although there is [[List of official United States national symbols|no official reptile of the United States]], some of the state reptiles have had previous appearances in American politics.  In particular, the timber rattlesnake (West Virginia) has had close association with American independence.
A United States flag with a timber rattlesnake predates the stars and stripes flag.  In 1775, [[Christopher Gadsden]] developed an emblem with a coiled rattlesnake with the words "Don't tread on me" on a yellow background.  Versions of the [[Gadsden flag]] were used by the Continental Navy's first commodore, early [[Continental Marines|Marines]], and [[minutemen]] and regular [[Continental Army|army]] units in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.<ref name="LeepsonDeMille2006">{{cite book|last1=Leepson|first1=Marc|last2=DeMille|first2=Nelson|title=Flag: an American biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqjzyyZjYTEC&pg=PA12|year=2005|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-32309-7|pages=12–13}}</ref>
The timber rattlesnake is also famous for appearing on the [[First Navy Jack]], a red and white striped flag.  However, although traditionally believed to have been used by the [[Continental Navy]], recent scholarship asserts that the snake on that jack was a late 19th-century invention.  Nevertheless, in 1975, the [[U.S. Navy]] brought back the traditional (snake-showing) jack for the service's bicentennial.  After 1980, the oldest commissioned vessel in the U.S. Navy was designated to use the traditional jack.  Since 2002, in response to the [[September 11 attacks|9/11 terrorist attacks]], the U.S. Navy has all its ships using the First Navy Jack.<ref name=USN>{{cite web|title=The U.S. Navy's First Jack |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq122-1.htm |work=Frequently asked questions |publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy |access-date=March 19, 2011 |date=July 28, 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121004082423/http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq122-1.htm |archive-date=October 4, 2012 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="margin: 1em auto; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Gadsden Flag
! scope="col" | First Navy Jack
|-
| style="border: 0;" | [[File:Gadsden flag.svg|250px|border|yellow flag with coiled rattlesnake]]
| style="border: 0;" | [[File:Naval jack of the United States (2002–2019).svg|250px|border|Red and white stripes with diagonal outstretched rattlesnake across them]]
|}
West Virginia named the timber rattlesnake as its state reptile in 2008.<ref name="West Virginia"/> A 2009 article, "West Virginia's state reptile", in the state wildlife magazine drew a connection to the older American rattlesnake symbol:
[[File:Ograbme.jpg|thumb|right|Political cartoon depicting merchants attempting to dodge the "Ograbme"]]
<blockquote>
Actually, the warning on the early flags was not meant to depict the timber rattlesnake as being ferocious or the American people as being warlike. The true message was that the citizens of the Colonies were a peaceable and freedom-loving people, but if England's King George III continued with his oppressive policies toward the Colonies, then they would respond with great wrath. This response would be much like that of a timber rattlesnake, which is peaceable and slow to anger, but will attack aggressively when provoked and will not stop fighting until the enemy retreats.
Benjamin Franklin, writing as an anonymous person, submitted the following statement concerning the disposition of the timber rattlesnake to the Pennsylvania Journal in 1775: "She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage...she never wounds ‘till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her."<ref name=Waggy>{{cite journal|last=Waggy|first=Chuck|title=State reptile|journal=West Virginia Wildlife|date=Summer–Fall 2009|volume=9|issue=2|pages=13–16|url=http://www.wvdnr.gov/wildlife/magazine/archive/09Sum-Fall/WV%20Reptiles.pdf}}</ref>
</blockquote>
In contrast to the positive symbology of the rattlesnake, some political use has been for criticism.  The snapping turtle (New York) was the central feature of a famous American [[political cartoon]]. Published in 1808 in [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] protest of the [[Embargo Act of 1807|Jeffersonian Embargo Act of 1807]], the cartoon showed a snapping turtle, jaws locked fiercely to the rear of an American trader, who was attempting to carry a barrel of goods onto a British ship. The trader was seen whimsically uttering the words "Oh! this cursed Ograbme" (the backwards spelling of "embargo").<ref name=DeFord>{{cite book|last=DeFord|first=Deborah H.|title=The American Revolution|year=2007|publisher=Gareth Stevens|location=Pleasantville, New York|isbn=978-0-8368-7298-9|page=39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQrPOV8Qx-IC&q=ograbme+cartoon+embargo+act+1807&pg=PA39}}</ref><ref name=Boller>{{cite book|last=Boller|first=Paul F.|title=Presidential campaigns: from George Washington to George W. Bush|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-19-516716-0|pages=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MpCTZQywq0YC&q=ograbme+cartoon+embargo+act+1807&pg=PA23}}</ref>   Also, during the [[Great Depression]], the [[gopher tortoise]] (Georgia, Florida's official tortoise) was known as the "Hoover chicken" (a sarcastic reference to President [[Herbert Hoover]]) because it was eaten by poor people out of work.<ref name=Smithsonian>{{cite journal|title=Recipes from another time|journal=Smithsonian|date=October 2001|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/journeys_recipe.html?c=y&page=2}}</ref><ref name=Livingsont>{{cite book|last=Livingston|first=A. D.|title=Complete fish & game cookbook|year=1996|publisher=Stackpole books|location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-0-8117-0428-1|page=103|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PxrTdYAjGe0C&q=gopher+tortoise+game+cookbook&pg=PA103}}</ref>
===Athletics===
[[File:Albert and Alberta.jpg|thumb|upright|right|alt=Two alligator mascots with their arms wrapped around each other posing for a photo.|Gator mascots]]
Three states chose reptiles that were already prominently associated with a major university in the state:
*Florida honored the American alligator in 1987, but the [[Florida Gators|Gators]] have titled the [[University of Florida]]'s teams since 1911. In that year, a printer made a spur-of-the-moment decision to print an alligator emblem on a shipment of the schools football pennants; the mascot stuck, perhaps because the team captain's nickname was Gator.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ufl.edu/history/1906.html |title=History: 1906–1927, early Gainesville |access-date=February 13, 2011 |publisher=University of Florida |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227123225/http://www.ufl.edu/history/1906.html |archive-date=December 27, 2008 }}</ref>
*Maryland honored the diamondback terrapin in 1994, but the mascot of Maryland's [[University of Maryland, College Park|main state university in College Park]] has been the [[Maryland Terrapins|Terrapins or "Terps"]] since 1932. In that year, the football coach, who had encountered the animal as a boy near the [[Chesapeake Bay]], proposed it as a mascot to oppose the Wildcats, Tigers, and such of enemy teams.<ref name="Maryland Terrapins">{{Cite web|title=Testudo: Tale of the Top Shell |access-date=March 9, 2011 |url=http://www.umterps.com/trads/md-m-fb-mas.html |publisher=CBSSports.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516033155/http://www.umterps.com/trads/md-m-fb-mas.html |archive-date=May 16, 2011 }}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The school newspaper was already named the ''Diamondback''.<ref name="Maryland Terrapins" />|group="nb"}}
*Texas honored the Texas horned lizard in 1993, but private [[Texas Christian University]] has had the associated mascot the [[TCU Horned Frogs|Horned Frog]] since 1896. According to legend, the football team identified with the lizards found on the practice field as the athletes and reptiles were similarly scrappy. The college founder's son, [[Addison Clark Jr.]], a faculty member and the initiator of the football team, had been fascinated by the creatures. By 1897, the lizard appeared as a logo on the front of the school yearbook, which Clark had also started and was managing.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.magarchive.tcu.edu/articles/2001-03-CV3.asp | title = Frog of ages | access-date = February 13, 2011 | last = Nancy | first = Bartosek | work = The TCU Magazine | publisher = Texas Christian University}}</ref>
==Biology==
[[File:Another state reptile collage.png|right|thumb|alt=A collage of four reptile images: a gopher tortoise in the upper left corner, a garter snake in the upper right, a collared lizard in the lower right, and an American alligator in the bottom left.|Turtles, snakes, lizards, and crocodilians are all represented as U.S. state reptiles.]]
In terms of common divisions of reptiles, turtles are most popular. Fifteen of the twenty-seven states give them official status.<ref name="nbFloridaSalt" group="nb" />{{#tag:ref|Alabama,<ref name="ADAH" /><ref name="Shearer310" /> California,<ref name="Shearer312" /> Colorado,<ref name="Colorado" /> Georgia,<ref name="Shearer314" /> Illinois,<ref name="Illinois" /> Kansas,<ref name="Shearer315" /> Maryland,<ref name="Maryland 2010" /> Michigan,<ref name="Michigan" /> Missouri,<ref name="Missouri" /> Nevada,<ref name="Shearer319" /> New York,<ref name="New York" /> North Carolina,<ref name="Shearer321" /> South Carolina,<ref name="Shearer323" /> Tennessee,<ref name="Tennessee" /> and Vermont.<ref name="Vermont" />|group="nb"}} The rest of the state reptiles comprise four [[snake]]s,{{#tag:ref|Arizona,<ref name="Shearer310" /><ref name="Shearer311" /> Massachusetts,<ref name="CIS" /> Ohio,<ref name="Ohio 2008" /> and West Virginia.<ref name="West Virginia" />|group="nb"}} five [[lizard]]s,{{#tag:ref|New Mexico,<ref name="New Mexico" /> Oklahoma,<ref name="Shearer322" /> Texas,<ref name="Texas" /> Utah,<ref name="Utah" /> and Wyoming.<ref name="Wyoming 2011" />|group="nb"}} and three [[crocodilian]]s.{{#tag:ref|Florida,<ref name="Shearer313" /> Louisiana,<ref name="Shearer319"/> and Mississippi.<ref name="SB 2060" />|group="nb"}}{{#tag:ref|Formal taxonomy of reptiles combines lizards and snakes into one order, [[Squamata]], and adds [[Tuatara]]s (lizard-like creatures from New Zealand, not found in the United States) as an order of reptiles, along with turtles and crocodilians.|group="nb"}} Eighteen states name a reptile at the [[species]] level,{{#tag:ref|Alabama,<ref name="ADAH" /><ref name="Shearer310" /> California,<ref name="Shearer312" /> Florida,<ref name="Shearer313" /> Georgia,<ref name="Shearer314" /> Illinois,<ref name="Illinois" /> Kansas,<ref name="Shearer315" /> Louisiana,<ref name="Shearer319"/> Maryland,<ref name="Maryland 2010" /> Michigan,<ref name="Michigan" /> Nevada,<ref name="Shearer319" /> New Mexico,<ref name="New Mexico" /> New York,<ref name="New York" /> Oklahoma, South Carolina,<ref name="Shearer323" /> Texas,<ref name="Texas" /> Vermont,<ref name="Vermont" /> and West Virginia.<ref name="West Virginia" />|group="nb"}} two a [[genus]],{{#tag:ref|Massachusetts,<ref name="CIS" /> and Wyoming.<ref name="Wyoming 2011" />|group="nb"}} and seven a [[subspecies]].{{#tag:ref|Arizona,<ref name="Shearer310" /><ref name="Shearer311" /> Colorado,<ref name="Colorado" /> Missouri,<ref name="Missouri" /> North Carolina,<ref name="Shearer321" /> Ohio,<ref name="Ohio 2008" /> and Tennessee.<ref name="Tennessee" />|group="nb"}}
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.<ref name="Colorado" /><ref name="Illinois" /><ref name="Michigan" /><ref name="Vermont" /> Three southern states—Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi—represent themselves with the American alligator.<ref name="Shearer313" /><ref name="Shearer319"/><ref name="SB 2060" /> 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,<!-- capitalization of carolina and eastern is correct --><ref name="Shearer321" /><ref name="Tennessee" /> and with Missouri using the ''Terrapene carolina triungus'' ([[three-toed box turtle]]) subspecies.<ref name="Missouri" /> Two bordering western states, California and Nevada, chose the [[desert tortoise]].<ref name="Shearer312" /><ref name="Shearer319" /> The loggerhead sea turtle was named by South Carolina as state reptile, while Florida chose it as state ''saltwater'' reptile.{{#tag:ref|Florida gives a more specialized saltwater reptile, in addition to its state reptile. For comparison, see marine mammals in "[[List of U.S. state mammals]]".|group="nb"}}<ref name="Florida" /><ref name="Shearer323" /> Florida also named an official tortoise, the gopher tortoise, the same animal as Georgia's state reptile.<ref name="Shearer313" /><ref name="FL tortoise news" /><ref name="Florida tortoise law" />
Four [[genera]] are represented with different species in the list. ''[[Terrapene]]'' (box turtles) has ''[[Terrapene ornata]]'' (Kansas) along with ''Terrapene carolina'' (Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee).<ref name="Shearer315" /><ref name="Missouri" /><ref name="Shearer321" /><ref name="Tennessee" /> Under ''[[Gopherus]]'' (gopher tortoises), there are ''Gopherus polyphemus'' (Georgia's state reptile and Florida's state tortoise) and ''Gopherus agassizii'' (California and Nevada).<ref name="Shearer312" /><ref name="Shearer314" /><ref name="Shearer319" /> Under ''[[Crotalus]]'' (one of two rattlesnake genera),<ref name="Klauber">{{cite book|last=Klauber|first=Laurence Monroe|title=Rattlesnakes: their habits, life histories, and influence on mankind, volume 1|year=1972|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-01775-7|pages=12–13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ijblNZQrk_wC&q=what+are+the+two+genuses+of+rattlesnakes&pg=PA13}}</ref> Arizona named ''Crotalus willardi willardi'', while West Virginia chose ''Crotalus horridus''.<ref name="Shearer310" /><ref name="Shearer311" /><ref name="West Virginia" /> With ''[[Phrynosoma]]'' (horned lizards), Wyoming specified the entire genus, but Texas specified ''Phrynosoma cornutum''.<ref name="Texas" /><ref name="Wyoming 2011" />
==Conservation==
===General reptile declines and state reptile examples===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; width: 35em; margin-left: 1em; font-size: 100%; margin-right: 0; vertical-align: top;"
! 1953 Golden Guide !! 2001 Golden Guide
|-
| width="50%" | "As a group [reptiles] are neither 'good' nor 'bad', but are interesting and unusual, although of minor importance. If they should all disappear it would not make much difference one way or the other."<ref name="Golden guide 1953">{{cite book|title=Reptiles and amphibians: a guide to familiar American species|year=1953|publisher=Golden Press|location=New York|author1=Smith, Hobart M.|author-link1=Hobart M. Smith|author2=Zim, Herbert Spencer|page=9|author-link2=Herbert Zim}} as cited by {{cite web|title=The management of amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals in North America: the need for an environmental attitude adjustment|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_rm/rm_gtr166/rm_gtr166_004_010.pdf|work=Symposium as titled, Flagstaff, Arizona, July, 1988|access-date=March 11, 2011|author=Gibbons, J. Whitfield|author-link=J. Whitfield Gibbons}}</ref>
| "Reptiles and amphibians are an important part of the environment...They help control harmful pests and are prey for other creatures. Needless killing...must stop. Wild areas...should be preserved."<ref name="Golden guide 2001">{{cite book|title=Reptiles and amphibians: a guide to familiar American species|year=2001|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-58238-131-2|location=New York|author1=Smith, Hobart M.|author-link1=Hobart M. Smith|author2=Zim, Herbert Spencer|pages=9–10|author-link2=Herbert Zim}}</ref>
|}
Writing in 1988, naturalist [[J. Whitfield Gibbons]] asserted that awareness of the [[Conservation movement|conservation]] needs of reptiles had lagged that of large mammals and game species.<ref name="Gibbons 1988">{{cite web|title=The management of amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals in North America: the need for an environmental attitude adjustment|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_rm/rm_gtr166/rm_gtr166_004_010.pdf|work=Symposium as titled, Flagstaff, Arizona, July, 1988|access-date=March 11, 2011|author=Gibbons, J. Whitfield|author-link=J. Whitfield Gibbons}}</ref> However, comparison of different editions of the [[Golden Guide]] does show increasing sensitivity to U.S. reptile conservation over the last half of the 20th century.
In their 2000 review article "The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians", Gibbons and colleagues argue that while the general public is more sympathetic to [[amphibian]]s (perhaps because of their soft skin), reptile species are actually more endangered. Although populations can decline from natural causes, and it is difficult to prove the exact reason for a specific reptile's decline, human actions are behind most of the species' problems. Gibbons ''et al.'' describe six causes of reptile reductions, incidentally furnishing several examples of state reptile species impacted.<ref name="Gibbons 2000">{{cite journal|last=Gibbons|first=J. W.|author2=Scott, D. E.|author3=Ryan, T. J.|author4=Buhlmann, K. A.|author5=Tuberville, T. D.|author6=Metts, B. S.|author7=Greene, J. L.|author8=Mills, T.|author9=Leiden, Y.|author10=Poppy, S.|author11=Winne, C.T.|title=The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians|journal=BioScience|date=August 2000|volume=50|issue=8|pages=653–666|url=http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719091228/http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref>
* '''[[Overexploitation|Overharvesting]]'''. Overcollection by humans has strongly hurt many reptile species, especially turtles.<ref name="Rhodin 1999">{{cite conference|last=Rhodin|first=A.|title=Celebrate the turtle: perception and preservation|date=August 13–16, 1999|conference=4th occasional freshwater turtle conference|location=Laughlin, NV}} as cited by {{cite journal|last=Gibbons|first=J. W.|author2=Scott, D. E.|author3=Ryan, T. J.|author4=Buhlmann, K. A.|author5=Tuberville, T. D.|author6=Metts, B. S.|author7=Greene, J. L.|author8=Mills, T.|author9=Leiden, Y.|author10=Poppy, S.|author11=Winne, C.T.|title=The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians|journal=BioScience|date=August 2000|volume=50|issue=8|pages=653–666|url=http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719091228/http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref> The diamondback turtle (Maryland), once extremely common, dropped sharply in the beginning of the 20th century because of its popularity in [[Turtle soup|soup]] but is gradually recovering now that harvesting for food has mostly stopped.<ref name="Gibbons 2000" /><ref name="Carr">{{cite book
| last = Carr
| first = Archie
| author-link1 = Archie Carr
| title = Handbooks of American Natural History: Handbook of Turtles: The Turtles of the United States, Canada, and Baja California
| year = 1952
| publisher = Comstock Publishing Associates a Division of Cornell University Press
| location = Binghamton, New York
| isbn = 978-0-8014-8254-0}} as cited by {{cite journal|last=Gibbons|first=J. W.|author2=Scott, D. E.|author3=Ryan, T. J.|author4=Buhlmann, K. A.|author5=Tuberville, T. D.|author6=Metts, B. S.|author7=Greene, J. L.|author8=Mills, T.|author9=Leiden, Y.|author10=Poppy, S.|author11=Winne, C.T.|title=The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians|journal=BioScience|date=August 2000|volume=50|issue=8|pages=653–666|url=http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719091228/http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref><ref name="Roosenburg">{{cite book|title=New perspectives in the Chesapeake system: a research and management partnership|year=1991|publisher=Chesapeake Research Consortium|location=Baltimore, MD|pages=227–234|url=http://www.dtwg.org/Bibliography/Publications/Roosenburg%201991.pdf|author=Roosenburg, W. M.|editor1=Mihurskey, J. A. |editor2=Chaney, A. |chapter=The diamondback terrapin: population dynamics, habitat requirements, and opportunities for conservation}}</ref> Capture for the [[Wildlife trade|pet trade]] has been strongly implicated in the decline of box turtles (Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee).<ref name="Lieberman">{{cite journal|last=Lieberman|first=Susan|title=Can CITES save the box turtle?|journal=Endangered Species Technical Bulletin|year=1994|volume=19|issue=1|pages=16–17}} as cited by {{cite journal|last=Gibbons|first=J. W.|author2=Scott, D. E.|author3=Ryan, T. J.|author4=Buhlmann, K. A.|author5=Tuberville, T. D.|author6=Metts, B. S.|author7=Greene, J. L.|author8=Mills, T.|author9=Leiden, Y.|author10=Poppy, S.|author11=Winne, C.T.|title=The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians|journal=BioScience|date=August 2000|volume=50|issue=8|pages=653–666|url=http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719091228/http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref> The timber rattlesnake (West Virginia) is threatened by "[[rattlesnake roundup]]s" because females take nine years to mature and only produce four young per year.<ref name="Brown, Will">{{cite book|last=Brown|first=William S.|title=Biology, status, and management of the timber rattlesnake|year=1993|publisher=Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles|isbn=978-0-916984-29-8|editor=Collins, Joseph T.|series=Herpetological Circular |volume=22}}</ref> However, not all reptile usage is unsustainable. Since the late 20th century recovery of the American alligator (Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi), its numbers have been successfully managed by [[Wildlife management|game restrictions]] and [[Alligator farm|commercial ranching]].<ref name="Gibbons 2000" /><ref name="David">{{cite book|title=Proceedings of the thirteenth working meeting of crocodile specialist group.|year=1996|publisher=IUCN|location=Gland, Switzerland|pages=410–428|author1=David, D. |author2=Brunell, A. M. |author3=Carbonneau, D. A. |author4=Dutton, H.J. |author5=Hord, L. J. |author6=Wiley, N. |author7=Woodward, A.R. |chapter=Florida's alligator management program, an update — 1987–1995}} as cited by {{cite journal|last=Gibbons|first=J. W.|author2=Scott, D. E.|author3=Ryan, T. J.|author4=Buhlmann, K. A.|author5=Tuberville, T. D.|author6=Metts, B. S.|author7=Greene, J. L.|author8=Mills, T.|author9=Leiden, Y.|author10=Poppy, S.|author11=Winne, C.T.|title=The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians|journal=BioScience|date=August 2000|volume=50|issue=8|pages=653–666|url=http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719091228/http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref><ref name="King">{{cite book|title=Crocodiles and alligators|year=1989|publisher=Checkmark Books|isbn=978-0-8160-2174-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/crocodilesalliga0000unse/page/216 216–229]|location=New York|author=King, F. W.|chapter=Conservation and management|editor1=Ross, C. A.|editor2=Garnett, S.|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/crocodilesalliga0000unse/page/216}} as cited by {{cite journal|last=Gibbons|first=J. W.|author2=Scott, D. E.|author3=Ryan, T. J.|author4=Buhlmann, K. A.|author5=Tuberville, T. D.|author6=Metts, B. S.|author7=Greene, J. L.|author8=Mills, T.|author9=Leiden, Y.|author10=Poppy, S.|author11=Winne, C.T.|title=The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians|journal=BioScience|date=August 2000|volume=50|issue=8|pages=653–666|url=http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719091228/http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref>
* '''[[Habitat loss]].''' Gopher tortoises (Georgia, Florida's official tortoise) have been impacted by the loss of 97% of the Southeast's [[Pinus palustris|longleaf pine forest]].<ref name="Gibbons 2000" /><ref name="Guyer">{{cite book|title=The longleaf pine ecosystem:ecology, restoration and management. Proceedings of the tall timber fire ecology conference, number 18|year=1993|publisher=Tall Timbers Research Station|pages=139–158|author1=Guyer, C. |author2=Bailey, M. A. |chapter=Amphibians and reptiles of longleaf pine communities|editor=Herman, S. M.}} as cited by {{cite journal|last=Gibbons|first=J. W.|author2=Scott, D. E.|author3=Ryan, T. J.|author4=Buhlmann, K. A.|author5=Tuberville, T. D.|author6=Metts, B. S.|author7=Greene, J. L.|author8=Mills, T.|author9=Leiden, Y.|author10=Poppy, S.|author11=Winne, C.T.|title=The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians|journal=BioScience|date=August 2000|volume=50|issue=8|pages=653–666|url=http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719091228/http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref>
* '''[[Invasive species|Introduced invasive species]].''' New plant species have harmed the desert tortoise (California, Nevada) and gopher tortoise (Georgia, Florida's official tortoise).<ref name="Lovich">{{cite magazine|last=Lovich|first=J. E.|title=Wildlife and weeds: life in an alien landscape|magazine=CalEPCC News|date=Summer 1995|volume=3|issue=3|pages=4–5|url=http://www.cal-ipc.org/resources/news/pdf/CalEPPCNews_Summer95.pdf|access-date=March 15, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725123430/http://www.cal-ipc.org/resources/news/pdf/CalEPPCNews_Summer95.pdf|archive-date=July 25, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Stewart">{{cite journal|last=Stewart|first=M. C.|author2=Austin, D. F. |author3=Bourne, J. R. |title=Habit structure and the dispersion of gopher tortoises on a nature preserve|journal=Florida Scientist|year=1993|volume=56|pages=70–81}} as cited by {{cite journal|last=Gibbons|first=J. W.|author2=Scott, D. E.|author3=Ryan, T. J.|author4=Buhlmann, K. A.|author5=Tuberville, T. D.|author6=Metts, B. S.|author7=Greene, J. L.|author8=Mills, T.|author9=Leiden, Y.|author10=Poppy, S.|author11=Winne, C.T.|title=The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians|journal=BioScience|date=August 2000|volume=50|issue=8|pages=653–666|url=http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719091228/http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref> Egg-eating [[fire ants]] have reduced the Texas horned lizard (Texas) from part of its range.<ref name="Gibbons 2000" /><ref name="Goin">{{cite magazine|last=Goin|first=J. W.|title=Requim or recovery?|magazine=Texas Parks Wildlife|date=August 1992|pages=28–35}} as cited by {{cite journal|last=Gibbons|first=J. W.|author2=Scott, D. E.|author3=Ryan, T. J.|author4=Buhlmann, K. A.|author5=Tuberville, T. D.|author6=Metts, B. S.|author7=Greene, J. L.|author8=Mills, T.|author9=Leiden, Y.|author10=Poppy, S.|author11=Winne, C.T.|title=The global decline of reptiles, deja vu amphibians|journal=BioScience|date=August 2000|volume=50|issue=8|pages=653–666|url=http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0653:tgdord]2.0.co;2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719091228/http://stonelab.osu.edu/_media/stonelab/courses/51/gibbons-declining.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref>
* '''[[Environmental pollution]].''' Water pollution is primarily seen in turtles and crocodilians and can affect their eggs and sex characteristics.<ref name="Gibbons 2000" /> Male American alligators (Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi) have been found with lowered testosterone and altered gonads in a chemically contaminated lake.<ref name="Gibbons 2000" /><ref name="Guilette">{{Cite journal|title=Developmental abnormalities of the gonad and abnormal sex hormone concentrations in juvenile alligators from contaminated and control lakes in Florida|last=Guillette|first=L. J.|author2=Gross, T. S.|author3=Masson, G. R.|author4=Matter, J. M.|author5=Percival, H. F.|author6=Woodward, A. R.|journal=Environmental Health Perspectives|date=August 1994|volume=102|issue=8|pages=680–688|url=http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/1994/102-8/guillette-full.html|doi=10.1289/ehp.94102680|pmid=7895709|pmc=1567320|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219181848/http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/1994/102-8/guillette-full.html|archive-date=2006-02-19}}</ref>
* '''[[Disease]]'''. Increased disease in wild populations often follows weakening from other environmental stressors, such as habitat loss.<ref name="Gibbons 2000" /> Upper lung infection and shell diseases have been implicated in the decline of the desert tortoise (California, Nevada) and gopher tortoise (Georgia, Florida's state tortoise).<ref name="Gibbons 2000" /><ref name="Jacobson1993">{{cite journal|last=Jacobson|first=E. R.|title=Implications of Infectious Diseases for Captive Propagation and Introduction Programs of Threatened/Endangered Reptiles|journal=Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine|date=March 1993|volume=24|issue=3|pages=2–17 and 245–255 |jstor=20095276}}</ref><ref name="Jacobson1994">{{cite journal|last=Jacobson|first=E. R.|title=Causes of mortality and disease in tortoises: a review|journal=Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine|date=September 1994|pages=2–17|volume=25|issue=1|url=http://www.vetmed.ufl.edu/college/departments/sacs/research/documents/94JacobsonCausesofMortalityofTortoises.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724062721/http://www.vetmed.ufl.edu/college/departments/sacs/research/documents/94JacobsonCausesofMortalityofTortoises.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-24}}</ref><ref name="Smith1998">{{cite journal|title=Occurrence of upper respiratory tract disease in gopher tortoise populations in Florida and Mississippi|last=Smith|first=R.B.|author2=Seigel, R. A. |author3=Smith, K. R. |journal=Journal of Herpetology|volume=32|issue=3|date=September 1998|pages=426–430 |jstor=1565458|doi=10.2307/1565458}}</ref>
* '''[[Effects of climate change|Climate change]]''' represents a future threat by changing habitat. Reptiles are more unsafe than birds because they have less ability to move large distances.<ref name="Schneider">{{cite book|author1=Schneider, S. H.|author2=Root, T. L.|year=1998|chapter=Impacts of climate changes on biological resources|pages=89–116|editor1=Mac, M. J. |editor2=Opler, P. A. |editor3=Puckett, C. E. |editor4=Haecker |editor5=Doran, P. D. |title=Status and trends of the nation's biological resources volume 1|location=Reston, Virginia|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey| url=http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/sandt/Climate.pdf}}</ref> Gibbons and colleagues do not describe any examples of impact on specific state reptile species, although they mention a general concern for turtles and crocodilians having their populations become imbalanced—the animals sexes are [[Temperature-dependent sex determination|determined by temperature of the eggs]].<ref name="Gibbons 2000" />
===IUCN ratings===
[[File:Loggerhead nesting area.jpg|thumb|right|240px|alt=An orange diamond sign with the words "Loggerhead Turtle Nesting Area" is blocking off a roped-off area on the beach where a loggerhead has laid eggs.|Conservation at [[Hilton Head, South Carolina]]]]
In keeping with the general issues of reptiles, some of the U.S. state reptiles are dwindling species. The [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) maintains a [[Conservation status|system of ratings]], going from Extinct to Least Concern. None of the U.S. state reptiles are in the most extreme categories of Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, or Critically Endangered. Two species are IUCN Endangered: the Alabama red-bellied turtle (Alabama) and the loggerhead sea turtle (South Carolina, also the state saltwater reptile of Florida).<ref name="IUCN AL" /><ref name="IUCN FL salt SC" /> However, in the United States, only the Alabama red-bellied turtle is [[Endangered Species Act|legally an endangered species]].<ref name="USFWS ART">{{cite web|title=Species profile: Alabama red-belly turtle (''Pseudemys alabamensis'')|url=http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=C01W|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|access-date=March 11, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015032314/http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=C01W|archive-date=October 15, 2011}}</ref> The loggerhead sea turtle is only considered "threatened" under U.S. regulations.<ref name="USFWS loggerhead">{{cite web|title=Species profile: loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'')|url=http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=C00U|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|access-date=March 11, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307075300/http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=C00U|archive-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref>
Two species are IUCN Vulnerable: the desert tortoise (California and Nevada) and the gopher tortoise (Georgia, also the official tortoise of Florida).<ref name="IUCN CA NV" /><ref name="IUCN FL tort GA" /> Three species are Near Threatened: the diamondback terrapin (Maryland), the ornate box turtle (Kansas), and the common box turtle (Missouri with the three-toed subspecies, North Carolina and Tennessee with the eastern subspecies).<ref name="IUCN KS" /><ref name="IUCN MD" /><ref name="IUCN MO NC TN" /> All the remaining state reptile species are Least Concern. All the non-turtle reptiles fall into this category,{{#tag:ref|Non-turtle Least Concern species: Arizona;<ref name="IUCN AZ" /> Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi;<ref name="IUCN FL LA MS" /> Massachusetts;<ref name="IUCN VA MA" /> New Mexico;<ref name="IUCN NM" /> Ohio;<ref name="IUCN OH" /> Oklahoma;<ref name="IUCN OK" /> Texas;<ref name="IUCN TX" /> Virginia;<ref name="IUCN VA MA" /> West Virginia;<ref name="IUCN WV" /> Wyoming.<ref name="IUCN WY" />|group="nb"}} but the only two turtles in relative safety are the common snapping turtle (New York) and the painted turtle (Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Vermont).{{sfn|Rhodin et al.|2010|p=000.99}}{{sfn|Rhodin et al.|2010|p=000.92}}
The tabulated [[IUCN Red List|IUCN ratings]] for the state reptiles all reflect species-level assessments; for most state reptiles, the IUCN does not discuss the subspecies situations. With the Arizona ridge-backed rattlesnake, the IUCN notes the subspecies has similar safety to the overall species, but does not formally rate the subspecies.<ref name="IUCN AZ" />
The ratings also do not reflect state-specific population conditions. For instance, for the Texas horned lizard, much of eastern Texas has lost the animal. Nevertheless, based on healthy populations in other parts of the West, especially New Mexico, the IUCN rates the animal Least Concern.<ref name="IUCN TX" /> For the timber rattlesnake (West Virginia), the IUCN notes the animal as losing range in many parts of the northeastern U.S., but because the animal is numerous in the southern Appalachians, it is also Least Concern.<ref name="West Virginia" />
The IUCN status of state reptiles at the genus level is ambiguous. For Massachusetts's [[garter snake]], the listed Least Concern represents the status of the pictured [[common garter snake]], the species found throughout much of North America and residing in Massachusetts.<ref name="IUCN VA MA" /> Within that genus, there are twenty-three species at Least Concern and two each at Vulnerable, Endangered and Data Deficient.<ref name="IUCN Thamnophis">{{cite web|title=IUCN search ''Thamnophis'' |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?taxonomies=113759&searchType=species |work=The IUCN red list of threatened species |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |access-date=March 13, 2011}}</ref>  For Wyoming's horned lizard state reptile, the rating reflects that of the pictured [[short-horned lizard]], which occurs over much of the central United States and almost all of Wyoming.<ref name="IUCN WY" /><ref name="Pianka">{{cite web|last=Pianka |first=Erik R. |title=Horned lizards |url=http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~varanus/phryno.html |work=Varanus : the Pianka lab page |publisher=University of Texas at Austin |access-date=March 12, 2011 |author2=Hodges, Wendy L. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429110851/http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~varanus/phryno.html |archive-date=April 29, 2011 }}</ref> Within that genus, there are ten species at Least Concern and one at Near Threatened and one at Data Deficient.<ref name="IUCN Phrynosoma">{{cite web|title=IUCN search ''Phrynosoma'' |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?taxonomies=105698&searchType=species |work=The IUCN red list of threatened species |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |access-date=March 13, 2011}}</ref>
==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist
| group="nb"
| refs =
<ref name="nbFloridaSalt">
Excluding Florida's state ''saltwater'' reptile and official tortoise from the tally.
</ref>
}}
===Citations===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal
|last1=Rhodin
|first1=Anders G.J.
|last2=van Dijk
|first2=Peter Paul
|last3=Inverson
|first3=John B.
|last4=Shaffer
|first4=H. Bradley
|title=Turtles of the world, 2010 update: Annotated checklist of taxonomy, synonymy, distribution and conservation status
|pages=000.89–000.138
|date=2010-12-14
|journal=Chelonian Research Monographs
|volume=5
|url=http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Accounts/crm_5_000_checklist_v3_2010.pdf
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717125632/http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Accounts/crm_5_000_checklist_v3_2010.pdf
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|url-status=dead
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* {{Anchor|CITEREFShearer1994}}{{cite book | last1 = Shearer | first1 = Benjamin F. | last2 = Shearer | first2 = Barbara S. | title = State names, seals, flags, and symbols | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | year = 1994 | location = Westport, Connecticut | isbn = 978-0-313-28862-3 | edition = 2nd | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/statenamessealsf00shea }}
* {{Anchor|CITEREFShearer2003}}{{cite book|last=Shearer|first=Benjamin F.|title=State names, seals, flags, and symbols|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-313-31534-3|edition=3rd|author2=Shearer, Barbara S. }}
{{refend}}
==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|Reptiles of the United States|position=left}}
{{state symbols}}
{{state insignia}}
{{USStateLists}}
{{featured list}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Us State Reptiles}}
[[Category:Lists of reptiles of the United States|*State]]
[[Category:Lists of United States state symbols|Reptiles]]
[[Category:Reptiles of the United States|.State]]
[[Category:Reptiles in culture]]