This list of reptiles of Mexico is made up of 995 species of reptiles registered in Mexico. Listing is based on The Reptile Database. The reptiles of Mexico are grouped into 3 orders and 35 families, and include snakes, lizards, crocodilians and turtles.
Table of contentsTurtles: Cheloniidae · Dermochelyidae · Chelydridae · Dermatemydidae · Emydidae · Geoemydidae · KinosternidaeCrocodilians: Crocodylidae · AlligatoridaeLizards: Anguidae · Diploglossidae · Gekkonidae · Eublepharidae · Phyllodactylidae · Sphaerodactylidae · Helodermatidae · Corytophanidae · Iguanidae · Phrynosomatidae · Dactyloidae · Scincidae · Teiidae · Gymnophthalmidae · Xantusiidae · XenosauridaeSnakes: Anomalepididae · Leptotyphlopidae · Typhlopidae · Boidae · Loxocemidae · Colubridae · Dipsadidae · Natricidae · Elapidae · ViperidaeSee also Notes References
Turtles (Testudines) Mexico has a total of 54 species of turtle, grouped into 7 families and 20 genera. Among them, there are 6 marine species, almost all of them in danger of extinction.
Cheloniidae
Order: Testudines · Family: Cheloniidae
Sea turtles (Cheloniidae) are a family of large turtles found in all tropical seas and some subtropical and temperate seas. Sea turtles developed from land turtles about 120 million years ago and are well adapted to life in the sea. They feed mainly on jellyfish, crustaceans and squid. There are 5 or 6 species in the world, of which at least 5 are currently in danger of extinction.
Loggerhead sea turtle - Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) EN Green sea turtle - Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) EN Hawksbill sea turtle - Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766) CR Kemp's ridley sea turtle - Lepidochelys kempii Garman, 1880 CR Olive ridley sea turtle - Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829) VU
Dermochelyidae
Order: Testudines · Family: Dermochelyidae
The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of all existing turtles and can reach a length of 2 meters and a weight of more than 600 kg. It is found in all tropical or subtropical seas. Unlike most sea turtles, leatherbacks are often found in the colder waters of temperate zones. It is the only extant species of the Dermochelyidae family and is considered critically endangered. All other species in this family are only known as fossils.
Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761) CR
Chelydridae
Order: Testudines · Family: Chelydridae
Chelydrids (Chelydridae) are a family of freshwater turtles that is made up of seven extinct genera and two extant genera, both native to the American continent. The existing genera are the snapping turtles (Chelydra) with three species, and the alligator turtles (Macrochelys) with a single species. Of the total of four existing species, 2 occur in Mexico.
Central American snapping turtle - Chelydra rossignonii (Bocourt, 1868) VU Common snapping turtle - Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Dermatemydidae
Order: Testudines · Family: Dermatemydidae
The white turtle is the only existing species in the Dermatemydidae family. It is a nocturnal, aquatic turtle that lives in large rivers and lakes in Central America, from southern Mexico to northern Honduras. It is one of the most exploited turtles in the world and is classified as a critically endangered species by the IUCN. It is quite large and can weigh around 20 kg. Its flattened shell can reach a length of 65 cm and is generally gray or almost black in color. Its plastron is normally cream colored.
Dermatemys mawii Gray, 1847 CR
Emydidae
Order: Testudines · Family: Emydidae
The emydids (Emydidae) are a family of carnivorous aquatic and semi-aquatic turtles. They live most of the time in ponds, reservoirs and rivers, coming to land when they have to find suitable places to lay their eggs. This family is made up of 10 genera that contain more than 50 species. 18 species occur in Mexico.
Actinemys marmorata (Baird & Girard, 1852) VU Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783) Deirochelys reticularia (Latreille, 1801) Pseudemys concinna (Le Conte, 1830) Pseudemys gorzugi Ward, 1984 Terrapene carolina (Linnaeus, 1758) Terrapene coahuila Schmidt & Owens, 1944 EN Terrapene mexicana (Gray, 1849) Terrapene nelsoni Stejneger, 1925 Terrapene ornata (Agassiz, 1857) NT Trachemys gaigeae (Hartweg, 1939) Trachemys grayi (Bocourt, 1868) Trachemys nebulosa (Van Denburgh, 1895) Trachemys ornata (Gray, 1831) VU Trachemys scripta (Thunberg in Schoepff, 1792) Trachemys taylori (Legler, 1960) Trachemys venusta (Gray, 1855) Trachemys yaquia (Legler & Webb, 1970)
Geoemydidae
Orden: Testudines · Familia: Geoemydidae
Rhinoclemmys areolata (Duméril & Bibron, 1851) NT Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima (Gray, 1855) NT Rhinoclemmys rubida (Cope, 1870)
Kinosternidae
Order: Testudines · Family: Kinosternidae
Chinosternids (Kinosternidae), or mud turtles, are a family of turtles native to the Americas. They are mostly small turtles that inhabit bodies of water with soft, muddy bottoms with an abundance of vegetation. All members of the family are carnivores and feed on crustaceans, aquatic insects, mollusks, annelids, amphibians, small fish and sometimes carrion. The Kinosternidae family has a total of 4 genera and 25 species. 18 species occur in Mexico.
Claudius angustatus Cope, 1865 NT Cryptochelys acuta (Gray, 1831) NT Cryptochelys creaseri (Hartweg, 1934) NT Cryptochelys herrerai (Stejneger, 1925) VU Cryptochelys leucostomum Duméril & Bibron, 1851 VU Kinosternon alamosae Berry & Legler, 1980 Kinosternon stejnegeri (Gilmore, 1923) Kinosternon chimalhuaca Berry, Seidel & Iverson, 1997 Kinosternon durangoense Iverson, 1979 VU Kinosternon flavescens (Agassiz, 1857) Kinosternon hirtipes (Wagler, 1830) VU Kinosternon integrum Le Conte, 1854 VU Kinosternon oaxacae Berry & Iverson, 1980 Kinosternon scorpioides (Linnaeus, 1766) Kinosternon sonoriense Le Conte, 1854 VU Staurotypus salvinii Gray, 1864 NT Staurotypus triporcatus (Wiegmann, 1828) NT Sternotherus odoratus (Latreille, 1802)
Crocodilians (Crocodylia)
Crocodylidae
Order: Crocodylia · Family: Crocodylidae
Crocodiles (Crocodylidae) are a family of archosaur sauropsids. This family includes 14 species of large semi-aquatic reptiles that inhabit tropical areas of the world. Crocodiles tend to congregate in freshwater habitats, such as rivers, lakes, wetlands, and sometimes brackish water. They are ambush hunters who usually wait for their prey, generally fish or land animals, to approach, before attacking them. They feed mainly on vertebrates such as fish, reptiles and mammals, and sometimes invertebrates such as mollusks and crustaceans, depending on the species. As cold-blooded predators, they have a slow metabolism and can therefore survive long periods without food. Despite their slow appearance, crocodiles are very fast over short distances, even out of water.
Crocodylus acutus Cuvier, 1807 VU Crocodylus moreletii Duméril & Bocourt, 1851
Alligatoridae
Order: Crocodylia · Family: Alligatoridae
The alligatorids (Alligatoridae) are a family of crocodilian sauropsids (reptiles) native to the Americas. It includes the extant genera Alligator, Caiman, Melanosuchus and Paleosuchus, as well as numerous extinct genera. Of the 7 species that inhabit America, 2 occur in Mexico.
Alligator mississippiensis (Daudin, 1802) Caiman crocodilus Linnaeus, 1758
Lizards (Squamata - suborders Dibamidae, Laterata, Gekkota, Iguania, Anguimorpha, Scincomorpha)
Anguidae Order: Squamata · Family: Anguidae
Anguids (Anguidae) are a family of anguimorphic scaly sauropsids that includes glass lizards, snapdragons, northern alligator lizards, and alicante lizards. Species of the Anguinae subfamily are characterized by leg atrophy, despite the fact that they are not directly related to snakes or amphisbaenae, as this is a notable case of evolutionary convergence. The family was described by the English naturalist John Edward Gray in 1825. The distribution of Anguidae spans the Old and New Worlds. It is only absent in Australia. Most species are terrestrial, living in the leaf litter on the forest floor. The anguid family is divided into four subfamilies (one extinct), 10 non-extinct genera, and contains 94 species. In Mexico there are 50 species.
Abronia antauges Cope, 1866 Abronia aurita Cope, 1869 EN Abronia bogerti Tihen, 1954 DD Abronia chiszari Smith & Smith, 1981 EN Abronia cuetzpali Campbell, Solano-Zavaleta, Flores-Villela, Caviedes-Solis & Frost, 2016 NE Abronia deppii Wiegmann, 1828 EN Abronia fuscolabialis Tihen, 1944 EN Abronia gadovii Boulenger, 1913 Abronia graminea Cope, 1864 VU Abronia juarezi Karges & Wright, 1987 Abronia leurolepis Campbell & Frost, 1993 DD Abronia lythrochila Smith & Álvarez del Toro, 1963 LC Abronia martindelcampoi Flores-Villela & Sánchez-H., 2003 EN Abronia matudai Hartweg & Tihen, 1946 EN Abronia mitchelli Campbell, 1982 DD Abronia mixteca Bogert & Porter, 1967 Abronia moreletii Bocourt, 1872 LC Abronia morenica Clause, Luna-Reyes & Nieto-Montes De Oca, 2020 NE Abronia oaxacae Günther, 1885 VU Abronia ochoterenai Martín del Campo, 1939 DD Abronia ornelasi Campbell, 1984 DD Abronia ramirezi Campbell, 1994 DD Abronia reidi Werler & Shannon, 1961 DD Abronia smithi Campbell & Frost, 1993 LC Abronia taeniata Wiegmann, 1828 EN Abronia viridiflava Bocourt, 1873 Abronia zongolica García-Vázquez, Clause, Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, Cazares-Hernández & de la Torre-Loranca, 2022 NE Barisia herrerae Zaldîvar-Riverón & Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2002 Barisia imbricata Wiegmann, 1828 Barisia levicollis Stejneger, 1890 Barisia rudicollis (Wiegmann, 1828) Desertum lugoi McCoy, 1970 Elgaria kingii Gray, 1838 Elgaria multicarinata (Blainville, 1835) Elgaria paucicarinata (Fitch, 1934) Elgaria velazquezi Grismer & Hollingsworth, 2001 Gerrhonotus farri Bryson & Graham, 2010 Gerrhonotus infernalis Baird, 1859 Gerrhonotus lazcanoi Banda-Leal, Nevárez-de los Reyes, Bryson, 2017 Gerrhonotus liocephalus Wiegmann, 1828 Gerrhonotus mccoyi García-Vázquez, Contreras-Arquieta, Trujano-Ortega & Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2018 Gerrhonotus ophiurus Cope, 1867 Gerrhonotus parvus Knight & Scudday, 1985 Ophisaurus ceroni Holman, 1965 Ophisaurus incomptus McConkey, 1955
Diploglossidae Orden: Squamata · Familia: Diploglossidae Celestus enneagrammus (Cope, 1860) Celestus rozellae (Smith, 1942) Diploglossus atitlanensis (Smith, 1950) Diploglossus ingridae Werler & Campbell, 2004 Diploglossus legnotus Campbell & Camarillo, 1994 Diploglossus microcephalus (Hallowell, 1856) Diploglossus owenii Duméril & Bibron, 1839
Gekkonidae
Order: Squamata · Family: Gekkonidae
Geconids or geckos (Gekkonidae) are a family of scaly sauropsids (reptiles), which includes small to medium-sized species found in temperate and tropical climates around the world. They have several peculiar features that clearly distinguish them from other lizards. They are unique in their vocalization, as they make screeching noises in their interactions with other geckos. They are nocturnal, with large eyes and equipped with vertical lobed pupils that allow an extraordinary margin of variation in their opening. Many species have sticky pads on the soles of their feet that allow them to climb smooth vertical surfaces and even navigate roofs. The gecko family has a global distribution. 6 species occur in Mexico.
Gehyra mutilata (Wiegmann, 1834) Hemidactylus brookii Gray, 1845 Hemidactylus frenatus Schlegel, 1836 Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818) Hemidactylus turcicus (Linnaeus, 1758) Lepidodactylus lugubris (Duméril & Bibron, 1836)
Eublepharidae
Order: Squamata · Family: Eublepharidae