Twenty-eight U.S. states have named an official state reptile. As with other 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 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. 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 alligator, Maryland's terrapin, and Texas's 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

State State reptile Scientific name Year adopted Conservation status Photograph Alabama Alabama red-bellied turtle Pseudemys alabamensis 1990 Arizona Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake Crotalus willardisubspecies willardi 1986 California Desert tortoise(state reptile) Gopherus agassizii 1972 Leatherback sea turtle(state marine reptile) Dermochelys coriacea 2012 Giant garter snake (state snake)Thamnophis gigas2025Vulnerable Colorado Western painted turtle Chrysemys pictasubspecies bellii 2008 Florida American alligator(state reptile) Alligator mississippiensis 1987 Loggerhead sea turtle(state saltwater reptile) Caretta caretta 2008 Gopher tortoise(state tortoise) Gopherus polyphemus 2008 Georgia Gopher tortoise Gopherus polyphemus 1989 Illinois Painted turtle Chrysemys picta 2005 Kansas Ornate box turtle Terrapene ornata 1986 Louisiana American alligator Alligator mississippiensis 1983 Maine Wood turtle Glyptemys insculpta 2025 Maryland Diamondback terrapin Malaclemys terrapin 1994 Massachusetts Garter snake Thamnophis(whole genus) 2006 Michigan Painted turtle Chrysemys picta 1995 Minnesota Blanding's turtle Emydoidea blandingii 1998, proposed Mississippi American alligator Alligator mississippiensis 2005 Missouri Three-toed box turtle Terrapene carolinasubspecies triunguis 2007 Nebraska Ornate box turtle Terrapene ornata ornata 1986 Nevada Desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii 1989 New Jersey Bog turtle Glyptemys muhlenbergii 2018 New Mexico New Mexico whiptail lizard Cnemidophorus neomexicanus 2003 New York Common snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina 2006 North Carolina Eastern box turtle Terrapene carolinasubspecies carolina 1979 Ohio Northern black racer Coluber constrictorsubspecies constrictor 1995 Oklahoma Common collared lizard Crotaphytus collaris 1969 South Carolina Loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta 1988 Tennessee Eastern box turtle Terrapene carolinasubspecies carolina 1995 Texas Texas horned lizard(state reptile) Phrynosoma cornutum 1993 Kemp's ridley sea turtle(state sea turtle) Lepidochelys kempii 2013 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. Utah Gila monster Heloderma suspectum 2019 Vermont Painted turtle Chrysemys picta 1994 Virginia Eastern garter snake(state snake) Thamnophis sirtalissubspecies sirtalis 2016 West Virginia Timber rattlesnake Crotalus horridus 2008 Wyoming Horned lizard Phrynosoma(whole genus) 1993

Governmental aspects

Legislation

A reptile becomes the official state symbol after it is voted in by the state legislature. Although many states require the bill to be signed by the governor, in some the enabling act is a 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.

Schoolchildren often start the campaigns for state reptiles. Three of the four states choosing the painted turtle credit school classes with initiating the process. 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." 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 had sponsored the turtle election to interest students in politics and said of the results, "as with every election, every vote is important".

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. In Pennsylvania in 2009, the House passed an eastern box turtle bill which died in the Senate without a vote. 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.

Justification

Like other state symbols, a state reptile is intended to show state pride. The designation has no economic or wildlife protection effect. 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." 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." Ohio touts the ubiquity and practical benefits of its reptile: "The 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." 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."

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. Many Secretaries of State have a "kids page" describing the reptile. Some, such as Missouri's Robin Carnahan, tout state-provided coloring books.

Rate of adoption and comparison to other symbols

In 1969, Oklahoma designated the first state reptile when it chose the common collared lizard or "mountain boomer". Two states followed suit in the 1970s, seven states in the 1980s, eight states in the 1990s, and eight states in the 2000s. 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.

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. As of January 2011, other types of animals more popular for state symbolization were mammals (46), fish (45), and insects (42). Animal symbols less popular than reptiles were butterflies (17), amphibians (17), dogs (11), dinosaurs (5), bats (3), and crustaceans (3).

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, trees and flowers; within those chapters, they take about a half page to describe the campaign to establish each state's specific symbol. 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".

Geography

Perhaps owing to the greater presence of cold-blooded (ectothermic) reptiles in warmer climates, 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 line, only four lack a state reptile. From east to west, they are Delaware, Virginia, Kentucky, and Arkansas.

In contrast, in the north half of the central and western states, only one, Wyoming, has named a state reptile. In the Great Lakes region, there is a cluster of three states (Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio) that named a reptile. In the Northeast, there is another cluster of three participating states (Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont).

Neither of the noncontiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii, have named a state reptile. The District of Columbia lacks a state reptile although it does have an official tree, flower, bird, fish, amphipod, and bat, and an amphibian is under consideration. None of the organized territories of the United States have state reptiles, although all four have designated official flowers.

Six states chose reptiles named after the state. In common names, Arizona and Texas were represented by the Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake and Texas horned lizard. Mississippi and North Carolina appeared in scientific names: Alligator mississippiensis and Terrapene carolina carolina. 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).

Previous symbology

Politics

Although there is 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 marines, and minutemen and regular army units in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.