Kinds of Reptiles Found in Ohio
Reptiles, which are clad in scales, shields or plates and have toes bearing claws, live worldwide. Four out of the five classes of reptiles live within Ohio's borders, the only exception being crocodilians. Living throughout a variety of landscapes, types of reptiles are easily distinguishable from one another with a few simple identifying traits.
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Turtles
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All of the species of turtles common to Ohio have a hard shell encasing their body. The turtle can retract its legs, head and tail into the shell if the turtle feels it is endangered. Snapping turtles, common musk turtles, spotted turtles, eastern box turtles, common map turtles, midland painted turtles and eastern spiny softshell turtles are all common to Ohio.
Lizards
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With long, narrow bodies and tails, lizards are distinguishable from amphibious salamanders by their warm dry, scaly skin. Salamanders by contrast have moist, cool skin. No poisonous lizards reside in Ohio. Northern fence lizards are one of the most common lizards native to Ohio, though common wall lizards live along the western border.
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Skinks
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Skinks are a type of lizard and best identified by a tail that will break off when threatened. They also have a thick neck of similar proportion to the size of their bodies, looking almost like a snake with legs. Also unlike common lizards, skinks are mainly terrestrial and will not climb. Common skinks in Ohio include the five-lined skink and the broadhead skink.
Snakes
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Snakes are identifiable by their scaled, legless bodies. Some species found in Ohio are poisonous, including northern copperheads and timber rattlesnakes. Northern and midland water snakes, queen snakes, Kirtland's snakes, northern and midland brown snakes, northern red belly snakes, eastern garter snakes, Butler's garter snakes, northern and eastern ribbon snakes, eastern hognose snakes, northern ringneck snakes, blue and northern black racers, smooth green snakes, corn snakes, black rat snakes and eastern milk snakes are just a few of the numerous species of snakes that live in Ohio.
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References
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- Photo Credit snake image by Grigory Kubatyan from Fotolia.com
