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66 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2006

We need two new symbols in America — a national rep-
tile and a national amphibian. For the reptile, I nominate

the garter snake. For the amphibian, I propose the leopard frog.
Together they would symbolically represent America’s commit-
ment to our natural heritage of native animals, including the
reptiles and amphibians, the herpetofauna. Herpetofauna for the
most part are not game species and are unfamiliar to most peo-
ple. Also a few can be dangerous when they defend themselves.
But they are part of our natural environments and deserve our
respect and protection. Designating representatives that every-
one in America can be as familiar with as the bald eagle would
go a long way toward shifting attitudes positively toward our
native, nongame wildlife.

A mechanism for choosing a national reptile and amphib-
ian has already been set up through Partners in Amphibian and
Reptile Conservation (PARC). The national steering committee
could readily set up a discussion of the selection process on their
listserve. Membership to PARC is free and access to the PARC
Web site (www.parcplace.org) is open to anyone. The final choice
of the national reptile and amphibian could be done by a Web
site vote, as was done recently in Illinois. In that election, the east-
ern tiger salamander was chosen as the state amphibian and the
painted turtle became the state reptile. For the national reptile

and amphibian, after the PARC Web site election, the national
steering committee would begin the political process of getting
approval through Congress, a final step to make it official.

Every state has an officially recognized bird, flower, and tree.
Thirty-five have a state mammal. More than half have a state
insect. All are animals or plants that are special in some way to
the state. An official state organism presumably represents the
natural or cultural heritage of the state (but keep reading for some
puzzling exceptions). We should celebrate our native wildlife on
a national scale. This includes reptiles and amphibians.

The environmental sentiment of the country has developed
to the point that we recognize that birds, mammals, trees, and
flowers are not the only important natural resources in a region,
state, or nation. Every state should have an official reptile, such
as a turtle, snake, or lizard, and an amphibian, a frog or sala-
mander. So should the nation.

Why should nongame, noncommercial animals get this
kind of attention? Because when people feel something belongs
to them, their concern for its welfare increases. Officially recog-

COMMENTARIES

We need a National Reptile and 
National Amphibian1

J. Whitfield Gibbons

Savannah River Ecology Lab, Aiken, South Carolina

1 Reprinted with permission by the author and Partners in Amphibian
& Reptile Conservation (http://www.parcplace.org/).

A Red-sided Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) from Holt County, Missouri. Some type of garter snake occurs in every one of the 48
continguous states.

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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2006 67COMMENTARIES

nized national species would enhance awareness of the natural
heritage of our country and in the case of herpetofauna bring
attention to a beleaguered group of animals.

Selecting a national reptile and amphibian may stir debate
among herpetologists, members of PARC, and others. Although
some states have shown a creative and progressive spirit in pro-
moting native animals as symbols of their natural heritage, many
state plants and animals surprisingly are not native species.
Choosing an introduced species to represent one’s state does not
support our natural heritage. Nonetheless, 11 states have selected
the European honeybee as their official insect.

Picking nonnative species does not stop with honeybees.
South Dakota’s bird is the Chinese ring-necked pheasant. For
state mammals Missouri has a mule and five states have the
horse, neither of which is native to the United States. Alabama
may hold the record for the most perplexing change in a state
species, changing its state flower from the native and gorgeous
goldenrod (which contrary to conventional wisdom does not
cause hay fever) to the camellia, an East Asian import.

But garter snakes and leopard frogs are as native as you can
get, occurring in every one of the 48 contiguous states. It’s true
that no single species of reptile or amphibian is found in all of
the states; so quibblers may point out that the species of garter
snakes and leopard frogs found in Alabama are not the same

ones as those found in Arizona. Nonetheless, each represents a
group of closely related, recognizable species. The fact that no
species of garter snake or leopard frog occurs naturally in Hawaii
should not be a concern in the debate about how to select a
national animal, because neither does the bald eagle.

Southern Leopard Frogs (Rana sphenocephala) are one in a complex of
related species found throughout the continental United State.

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