The Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to many species of reptiles and amphibians. Reptiles are air-breathing vertebrates that have scaly skin and spend much of their time on land. Most species have a three-chambered heart. The class Reptilia includes turtles, snakes, alligators, lizards and crocodiles. Amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrates without scales that evolved from fishes and live on land and in water.

In the Bay ecosystem, the most common reptiles are turtles and snakes, primitive relatives of the birds. While birds use frequent meals and their cloak of feathers to maintain stable body temperatures, feeding often does not increase reptiles’ metabolic rates; instead they feed less frequently and bask in the sun as often as possible.

Turtles are the only reptiles that do not have teeth and that have hard carapaces. Two turtle species commonly found in the Bay watershed are the diamondback terrapin (also the symbol of the University of Maryland) and the snapping turtle. The diamondback–once favored by chefs for making terrapin soup–is no longer overharvested and lives near the Bay’s tidal waters, in brackish marshes. It feeds on soft clams, snails, crabs and the roots of submerged plants. Females grow to a mature length of about nine inches; males are usually smaller. The diamondback’s webbed feet and claws allow it to paddle efficiently through water and then climb muddy riverbanks. The fearsome snapping turtle–the largest species of turtle in the Bay, reaching 35 pounds or more–has a large head, long tail and thick neck. It is primarily carnivorous and has been known to strike at humans, sometimes inflicting terrible wounds. It also releases a foul-smelling anal musk when agitated.

Another turtle, which visits the lower Bay to feed during summer months, is the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). This sea turtle is omnivorous, feeding on a wide range of prey such as mollusks, blue crabs, eelgrass and even jellyfish. Unfortunately, they also mistake floating trash and debris in the Bay for jellyfish. Consumption of this trash can cause problems with ingestion and metabolic processes and can ultimately cause the turtle to die.

All snakes are capable of swimming and live in a variety of habitats. Only four of the nearly 40 species of snakes that are found in Maryland and Virginia are poisonous: the copperhead, the timber and canebrake rattlesnakes, and the cottonmouth–also called the water moccasin. The common northern water snake–a frequent swimmer in the shallows whose bite is painful but not poisonous–often is mistaken for the far more dangerous water moccasin. Conversely, the venomous copperhead often can be mistaken for the more benign water snake, although its coloration is much brighter. Copperheads tend to prefer drier habitats in woods, grasses and old sheds.

The most abundant Bay region amphibians are frogs, toads and salamanders and newts. All species share a moist, absorbing glandular skin without scales, small lungs, and they all have gills during some stage of their development. They lay their eggs in water. Unlike frogs, salamanders have tails; frogs and toads are tailless and instead have powerful hind legs for leaping.

Of the two classes, reptiles require more protection from environmental stressors. Regulations currently exist at both the state and federal levels to preserve populations of certain species of turtles and snakes.

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410 Severn Avenue, Suite 109, Annapolis, MD 21403 / Tel: (800) YOUR-BAY / Fax: (410) 267-5777.

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Last modified: 1/5/04