List of reptiles of Canada facts for kids

This is a list of the reptiles species recorded in Canada. Most species are confined to the southernmost parts of the country. Canadian reptiles are composed of squamates and testudines.

Conservation status - IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:

- Extinct, - Extinct in the Wild

- Critically Endangered, - Endangered, - Vulnerable

- Near Threatened, - Least Concern

- Data Deficient, - Not Evaluated

(v. 2013.2, the data is current as of March 5, 2014)

Order Squamata

The Western Skink, Plestiodon skiltonianus skiltonianus, is found in southern British Columbia

The Five-lined Skink, Plestiodon fasciatus, finds home in the Great Lakes region of Ontario

Of the order Squamata, lizards and snakes are represented. There are no known amphisbaenids native to Canada.

Snakes (Suborder Serpentes)

Snakes are the best-represented group of reptiles in Canada, with 35 varieties in three families. They can be found in all provinces and territories except Yukon, Nunavut, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

• Charina bottae (Rubber boa) – southern British Columbia, but not Vancouver Island
• Coluber constrictor foxii (Blue racer) – Pelee Island in Ontario
• Coluber constrictor flaviventris (Eastern yellow-bellied racer) – southern Saskatchewan
• Coluber constrictor mormon (Western yellow-bellied racer) – south-central British Columbia
• Contia tenuis (Common sharp-tailed snake) – southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia
• Crotalus horridus (Timber rattlesnake) – southern Ontario, possibly extirpated
• Crotalus oreganus oreganus (Northern Pacific rattlesnake) – south-central British Columbia
• Crotalus viridis viridis (Prairie rattlesnake) – southern Alberta, southwestern Saskatchewan
• Diadophis punctatus edwardsii (Northern ring-necked snake) – southeastern Ontario, southern Quebec, most of New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia
• Hypsiglena torquata (Desert night snake) – extreme south-central British Columbia
• Heterodon nasicus nasicus (Western hog-nosed snake) – southeastern Alberta. southern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba
• Heterodon platirhinos (Eastern hog-nosed snake) – southwestern Ontario
• Lampropeltis triangulum (Eastern milk snake) – southern Ontario southern Quebec
• Nerodia sipedon insularum (Lake Erie watersnake) – islands in western Lake Erie
• Nerodia sipedon sipedon (Northern watersnake) – southern and central Ontario, southern Quebec
• Opheodrys vernalis (Smooth green snake) – southeast Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, central and southern Ontario, southern Quebec, most of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island
• Pantherophis gloydi (Eastern foxsnake) – southwestern Ontario
• Pantherophis obsoleta obsoleta (Black ratsnake) – southern Ontario
• Pantherophis spiloides (Gray ratsnake) – southeastern Ontario
• Pituophis catenifer deserticola (Great Basin gophersnake) – south-central British Columbia
• Pituophis catenifer sayi (Bullsnake) – southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan
• Regina septemvittata (Queen snake) – southwestern Ontario
• Sistrurus catenatus (Eastern massasauga) – Bruce Peninsula and some parts of southwestern Ontario
• Storeria dekayi (Dekay's brownsnake) – southern Ontario, southern Quebec
• Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata (Northern Red-bellied Snake) - southeastern Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, southwestern and southeastern Ontario, southern Quebec, most of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island
• Thamnophis butleri (Butler's gartersnake) – southwestern Ontario
• Thamnophis elegans vagrans (Wandering gartersnake) – most of British Columbia, most of Alberta, southwestern Saskatchewan, and possibly the Liard River Valley in southwestern Northwest Territories
• Thamnophis ordinoides (Northwestern gartersnake) – southwestern British Columbia, including Vancouver Island
• Thamnophis radix haydeni (Plains gartersnake) – eastern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba
• Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis (Northern ribbonsnake) – southern Ontario and southwestern Nova Scotia
• Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi (Valley garter snake) – central mainland British Columbia almost up to the Yukon border, and northern Vancouver Island
• Thamnophis sirtalis pallidulus (Maritime garter snake) – southern half of Quebec, most of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island
• Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis (Red-sided gartersnake) – eastern plains of British Columbia, most of Alberta, extreme southern Northwest Territories around the Fort Smith region, most of Saskatchewan, southern half of Manitoba, and northwestern Ontario
• Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringi (Puget Sound gartersnake) – southwest corner of British Columbia, including southern Vancouver Island
• Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis (Eastern gartersnake) – most of Ontario and Quebec, and the southeast corner of Manitoba

Lizards (Suborder Lacertilia)

Lizard diversity is low in Canada, with six native species and one introduced species:

• Elgaria coerulea principis (Northwestern alligator lizard) – southern British Columbia, including most of Vancouver Island
• Plestiodon skiltonianus (Western skink) - southern interior of British Columbia
• Plestiodon fasciatus (Five-lined skink) – southern Ontario
• Plestiodon septentrionalis septentrionalis (Northern prairie skink) – southwestern Manitoba
• Phrynosoma douglasii (Pygmy horned lizard) – extreme south-central British Columbia
• Phrynosoma hernandesi (Short-horned lizard) – extreme southeastern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan
• Podarcis muralis (Common wall lizard) - introduced - southeastern Vancouver Island, Denman Island, single records in Vancouver, Summerland and Osoyoos but no populations on BC mainland.

Order Testudines

Of the order Testudines, pond turtles are common in all of Canada's provinces, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, which has sea turtles off its shores as does British Columbia.

Land and pond turtles

• Actinemys marmorata (Pacific pond turtle) (extirpated from Canada)
• Apalone spinifera (Spiny softshell turtle)
• Chelydra serpentina (Common snapping turtle)
• Chrysemys picta (Painted turtle)
• Clemmys guttata (Spotted turtle)
• Emydoidea blandingii (Blanding's turtle)
• Glyptemys insculpta (Wood turtle)
• Graptemys geographica (Northern map turtle)
• Sternotherus odoratus (Stinkpot turtle)
• Terrapene carolina (Eastern box turtle) (probably escapes)

Sea turtles

• Caretta caretta (Loggerhead sea turtle)
• Chelonia mydas (Green sea turtle)
• Dermochelys coriacea (Leatherback sea turtle)
• Lepidochelys kempii (Kemp's ridley sea turtle)
• Lepidochelys olivacea (Olive ridley sea turtle)