Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
3.8 Reptiles 3.8.1 Introduction
Taxonomic Class Reptilia represents crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and turtles. The North Carolina Biodiversity Project reports there are 75 species of reptiles in the state; 70 are native and five are established nonnative species (NCBP 2025) . Reptiles and amphibians are collectively known as herpetofauna and are commonly referred to as “herps”, for short. Like amphibians, they are often very difficult to find and even the best available survey techniques may have limited success for detecting many species. This makes it essential to conduct survey and monitoring efforts over many years to collect sufficient information to understand the population status of each of the state’s native reptile species. North Carolina is home to numerous imperiled species of reptiles, ranging from the Bog Turtle in the western part of the state to the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Southern Hognose Snake, Northern Pine Snake, and many others in the Sandhills and Coastal Plain. Some of these species, like the Bog Turtle, rely on small, interspersed, very specific habitats, such as mountain bogs, for survival. Other species, like the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake and Northern Pine Snake, require very large tracts of intact, high-quality Longleaf Pine forests managed with fire to maintain an open and diverse understory. There are unique populations of reptiles in North Carolina currently referred to by various subspecies or clades. These may represent distinct species and need further investigation using modern genomic methods (NCBP 2025) . Many species of reptiles remain common in North Carolina and appear to be able to tolerate some levels of urbanization. Examples of urban-tolerant species include the Green Anole and Eastern Rat Snake. Some species, such as the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake and Southern Hognose Snake, are generally intolerant of urbanization and the conversion of natural habitat to other uses. Still other species of reptiles have been little studied because of their rarity or secretive nature. Some examples of understudied species include the Mimic Glass Lizard, Coal Skink, and Eastern Coral Snake. It is important to continue efforts to survey the state for reptiles and conduct research and monitoring to increase our knowledge of the status of reptiles in North Carolina, for both common and uncommon species. Reptiles are an important component of Cherokee ancestral lands in North Carolina, contributing to ecological balance, cultural knowledge, and landscape diversity. Yet their conservation is often overlooked. Recent global models suggest that extinction risks for reptiles are widely underestimated, particularly for species in regions with complex topography and limited monitoring (Caetano et al. 2022) . Across the southern Appalachians, reptile populations are threatened by development, habitat alteration, direct persecution, climate change, and emerging infectious diseases (Roll et al. 2017) . In response, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) has developed a conservation strategy that expands beyond state and federally listed species to also include those that are locally rare, culturally significant, at the edge of their range, or endemic to the region. The EBCI’s
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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