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. Photographs are by Bob Barnes unless otherwise attributed. An asterisk indicates that an annotation has been made by this website. The annotation is within the parenthetical following the frequency and distribution description.
Barred Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium 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.)
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. (*See photo gallery.)
Frogs
American Bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, Common in Open Marshes and Deciduous Riparian zones. (*We use the alternative genus on this site - Lithobates catesbianus, see photo gallery.) 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.
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 Forest Service 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 bimaculosus / S. 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 in the photo gallery 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 Forest Service 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 in the gallery are from east of Hillsboro. This species is not listed on the Forest Service checklist.)
New Mexico Whiptail, Aspidoscelis neomexicana. (*Photographs from the Gila Wilderness, this species is not listed on the Forest Service checklist.)
Common Checkered Whiptail, Aspidoscelis tesselatus. (*Photograph from Black Peak, east of Hillsboro, NM. This species is not listed on Forest Service checklist.)
Anguids
Madrean Alligator Lizard, Elgaria kingii, Fairly Common in Oak-Juniper and Pinyon-Juniper. (*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 the Forest Service checklist.)
Narrowhead Garter Snake, Thamnophis rufipunctatus, Uncommon in Open Marshes and Deciduous Riparian.
Checkered Garter Snake, Thamnophis marcianus, Fairly Common in Deciduous Riparian. Photograph by Travis Perry from the Black Range.
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.
Chihuahuan Hook-nosed Snake, Gyalopion canum.
Chihuahuan Night Snake, Hypsiglena jani.
Mexican Hog-nosed Snake, Heterodon kennerlyi.
Western Long-nosed Snake, Rhinocheilus lecontei.
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 Forest Service 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.
Ringneck Snake, Diadophis punctatus.
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.
