List of U.S. state reptiles

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.

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.

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

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.

[77] In 1969, Oklahoma designated the first state reptile when it chose the common collared lizard or "mountain boomer".

[78] As of January 2011, other types of animals more popular for state symbolization were mammals (46),[79] fish (45),[80] and insects (42).

[81] Animal symbols less popular than reptiles were butterflies (17),[81] amphibians (17),[82] dogs (11),[83] dinosaurs (5),[84] bats (3),[85] and crustaceans (3).

[57] In the Great Lakes region, there is a cluster of three states (Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio) that named a reptile.

[90] The District of Columbia lacks a state reptile although it does have an official tree, flower, bird,[92] fish,[93] amphipod,[94] and bat,[95] and an amphibian is under consideration.

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.

[101] The timber rattlesnake is also famous for appearing on the First Navy Jack, a red and white striped flag.

However, although traditionally believed to have been used by the Continental Navy, recent scholarship asserts that the snake on that jack was a late 19th-century invention.

[55] A 2009 article, "West Virginia's state reptile", in the state wildlife magazine drew a connection to the older American rattlesnake symbol: Actually, the warning on the early flags was not meant to depict the timber rattlesnake as being ferocious or the American people as being warlike.

This response would be much like that of a timber rattlesnake, which is peaceable and slow to anger, but will attack aggressively when provoked and will not stop fighting until the enemy retreats.

Benjamin Franklin, writing as an anonymous person, submitted the following statement concerning the disposition of the timber rattlesnake to the Pennsylvania Journal in 1775: "She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage...she never wounds ‘till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.

Published in 1808 in Federalist protest of the Jeffersonian Embargo Act of 1807, the cartoon showed a snapping turtle, jaws locked fiercely to the rear of an American trader, who was attempting to carry a barrel of goods onto a British ship.

[47][57] Writing in 1988, naturalist J. Whitfield Gibbons asserted that awareness of the conservation needs of reptiles had lagged that of large mammals and game species.

[114] However, comparison of different editions of the Golden Guide does show increasing sensitivity to U.S. reptile conservation over the last half of the 20th century.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) maintains a system of ratings, going from Extinct to Least Concern.

Nevertheless, based on healthy populations in other parts of the West, especially New Mexico, the IUCN rates the animal Least Concern.