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The following data is taken from the US Forest Service publication entitled “Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles and Mammals…A Species Checklist for the Gila National Forest” unless otherwise indicated. An asterisk (*) prior to the common name of a species indicates that we have annotated the frequency and distribution description provided by the USFS. Bolded text is a link to our photo or video gallery entries for the species.
Salamanders
- Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum: Common in Open Marshes
Spadefoot Toads
- *New Mexico Spadefoot, Spea multiplicatus: Common in Desert, Oak-Woodland, & Oak-Juniper (Genus changed from Scaphiopus [on the FS checklist] to the current Spea.) (Photo below)
Toads
- Woodhouse’s Toad, Bufo woodhousii: Fairly Common in Oak-Juniper and Deciduous Riparian zones
- Southwest Toad, Bufo microscaphus: Fairly Common in Pinyon-Juniper and Ponderosa Pine
- Red-spotted Toad, Bufo puncatus: Fairly Common in Oak Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, and Ponderosa Pine
Hylid Frogs
- Western Chorus Frog, Pseudacris triseriata: Fairly Common in Ponderosa Pine and Spruce-Fir
- Mountain Treefrog, Hyla eximia: Fairly Common in Ponderosa Pine and Spruce-Fir
- Canyon Treefrog, Hyla arenicolor: Fairly Common in OakWoodland, Oak-Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, & Coniferous Riparian (photo below)
Frogs
- *American Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana: Common in Open Marshes and Deciduous Riparian zones (We use the alternative genus on this site - Lithobates catesbianus)
- Chiricahua Leopard Frog, Rana chiricahuensis: Rare in Pinyon-Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, & Deciduous Riparian zones
- Lowland Leopard Frog, Rana yavapaiensis: Rare in Open Marshes
Turtles
- Sonora Mud Turtle, Kinostemon sonoriense: Fairly common in Open Marshes and Deciduous Riparian zones
Box Turtles
- Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata: Fairly common in Deseret, Oak-Juniper, and Pinyon-Juniper. (Subspecies Terrapene ornata luteola shown in photo gallery.)
Softshell Turtles
- Spiny Softshell, Trionyx spiniferus: Rare in Open Marshes and Deciduous Riparian zones
Beaded Lizards
- Gila Monster, Heloderma suspectus: Rare in Desert and Oak Woodland
Geckos
- Western Banded Gecko, Coleonyx variegatus: Unusual in Desert and Oak Woodland
Iguanas
- Collared Lizard, Crotaphytus collaris: Fairly common in Oak-Juniper and Pinyon-Juniper
- *Long-nosed Leopard Lizard, Gambelia wislizeni: (Not on the F.S. checklist for the Gila. Recorded in the southern Cooke’s Range in Frying Pan Canyon and at Cooke’s Spring south of the Gila Forest.)
- Lesser Earless Lizard, Holbrookia maculata: Fairly Common in the desert
- Greater Earless Lizard, Cophosaurus texanus: Common in Oak Woodland and Oak-Juniper (photo above - subspecies C. t. scitulus, the Chihuahuan Greater Earless Lizard is shown in the photo gallery)
- Crevice Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus poinsetti: Fairly Common in Oak-Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, Pondrosa Pine, & Spruce-Fir
- Eastern Fence Lizard, Sceloporus undulatus: Common in Desert, Oak Woodland, Oak-Juniper, and Pinyon-Juniper
- *Southwestern Fence Lizard, Sceloporus cowlesi: (Not on F. S. list. Split from S. undulatus.)
- Clark’s Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus clarkii: Fairly Common in Oak-Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, and Deciduous Riparian (subspecies shown in photo gallery is nominate form, S. c. c.)
- Plateau Lizard, Sceloporus virgatus: Fairly Common in Pinyon-Juniper and Ponderosa Pine
- *Twin-spotted Spiny Lizard, Sceleoporus bimaculosusS. magister (The Tucson Herpetological Society has a good description of the taxonomy determinations made for this species, , and S. clarkii. Speciation and distribution is subject to disagreement.)
- Desert Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus magister: Fairly Common in Pinyon-Juniper
- Tree Lizard, Urosaurus ornatus: Common in Oak Woodland, Oak-Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, & Spruce-Fir (Sub-species shown here is Urosaurus ornatus schottii.)
- Short-horned Lizard, Phrynosoma douglassii: Common in Oak-Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, & Mt. Grassland
- Texas Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum: Uncommon in desert.
- Round-tailed Lizard, Phrynosoma modestum: Uncommon in desert.
- Greater Short-horned Lizard, Phrynosoma hernandesi. Not listed on the F. S. checklist.
Skinks
- Many-linked Skink, Eumeces multivirgatus: Uncommon in Ponderosa Pine and Spruce-Fir
- Great Plains Skink, Eumecus obsoletus: Fairly common in Oak Woodland, Oak-Juniper, & Pinyon-Juniper
Whiptails
- Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail, Cnemidorphorus exsanguis: Fairly Common in Pinyon-Juniper and Ponderosa Pine (listed in photo gallery as Aspidoscelis exsanguis)
- *Desert-grassland Whiptail, Cnemidophorus uniparens: Common in Desert, Oak Woodland, Oak-Juniper, and Pinyon-Juniper (Listed in photo gallery under the synonym of Aspidoscelis uniparens.)
- Western Whiptail, Cnemidophorus tigris: Common in Desert and Oak Woodland
- Gila Spotted Whiptail, Cnemidophorus flagellicaudus: Fairly Common in Oak-Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, & Ponderosa Pine
- *Little (Plains) Striped Whiptail, Aspidoscelis inornata llanuras. Photographs from east of Hillsboro, not listed on the F.S. checklist.
- *New Mexico Whiptail, Aspidoscelis neomexicana. Photographs from the Gila Wilderness, not listed on the F.S. checklist
- *Common Checkered Whiptail, Aspidoscelis tesselatus. Photograph from Black Peak, east of Hillsboro, NM. Not listed on F.S. checklist.
Anguids
- Madrean Alligator Lizard, Elgaria kingii: Fairly Common in Oak-Juniper and Pinyon-Juniper . Two videos, one from Hillsboro, New Mexico on October 18, 2015 (embedded above) and the other from Hillsboro in October 2017 (Subspecies E. k. nobilis shown in photo gallery and in videos.)
Slender Blind Snakes
- Texas Blind Snake, Leptotyphlops dulcis: Rare in Oak-Juniper and Pinyon Juniper
- Western Blind Snake, Leptotyphlops humilis: Uncommon in Oak Woodland, Oak-Juniper, and Pinyon Juniper
Colubrids
- *Black-necked Garter Snake, Thamnophis c. cyrtopsis: Common in Deciduous Riparian (Subspecies added here, does not appear on FS checklist.)
- Narrowhead Garter Snake, Thamnophis rufipunctatus: Uncommon in Open Marshes and Deciduous Riparian
- Checkered Garter Snake, Thamnophis rufipunctatus: Fairly Common in Deciduous Riparian
- Western Terrestrial Garter Snake, Thamnophis elegans: Common in Deciduous Riparian and Coniferous Riparian
- *Desert Striped Whipsnake, Masticophis t. taeniatus: Common in Oak-Juniper and Pinyon-Juniper (Subspecies information added by this website).
- Ring-necked Coachwhip Snake, Masticophis flagellum: Common in Oak Woodland and Oak-Juniper
- *Bull Snake, Pituphis melanoleucus: Common in Desert, Oak Woodland, Oak-Juniper, and Pinyon-Juniper (This is most likely an erroneous entry resulting from the use of the common name of Bull Snake for Gopher snake - see below.)
- *Sonoran Gopher Snake, Pituphis catenifer affinis. (Not listed on F.S. checklist, Bull Snake entry above probably refers to this species.)
- Big Bend Patchnose Snake, Salvadora deserticola: Fairly Common in Oak Woodland and Oak-Juniper
- Mountain Patchnose Snake, Salvadora grahamiae: Uncommon in Pinyon-Juniper
- Plains Blackhead Snake, Tantilla nigriceps: Uncommon in Desert, Oak Woodland, Oak-Juniper, & Pinyon-Juniper
- Southwestern Blackhead Snake, Tantilla hobartsmithi: Rare in Desert, Oak Woodland, & Oak-Juniper
- Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getulus: Uncommon in Oak Woodland, Oak-Juniper, & Pinyon-Juniper
- Sonora Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana: Uncommon in Pinyon-Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, & Spruce-Fir
Coral Snakes
- Arizona Coral Snake, Micruroides euryxanthus: Rare in Oak-Juniper and Pinyon-Juniper
Pit Vipers
- Black-tailed Rattlesnake, Crotalus molossus: Common in Oak-Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, & Spruce-Fir
- Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox: Common in Desert, Oak Woodland, & Oak Juniper (photo below) Video
- Western Rattlesnake, Crotalus viridis: Common in Desert, Oak Woodland, Oak-Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, & Ponderosa Pine
- Rock Rattlesnake, Crotalus lepidus: Uncommon in Oak-Juniper, Pinyon-Juniper, and Ponderosa Pine
