List of reptiles of Israel

Note that this list only includes non-avian reptiles. For birds, visit list of birds of Palestine.

A Negev tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni) in its natural environment in the Negev Desert. Negev tortoises were once a recognized subspecies of Testudo kleinmanni, or Kleinmann's tortoise, but are now considered their own species.

Israel has 95 species of reptiles, almost a third of which live in its northern areas. Reptiles in Israel live in environments ranging from the Negev Desert to the Red Sea, from the Jordan River to the Judaean Mountains.

Turtles and tortoises

Pond turtles

• Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta)
• Balkan pond turtle (Mauremys rivulata)

Sea turtles

• Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)
• Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)
• Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
• Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
• Olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)

Softshell turtles

• African softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis)

Tortoises

• Spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca)
• Negev tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni)

Lizards

Agamid lizards

• Egyptian rock agama (Laudakia vulgaris)
• Pseudotrapelus aqabensis
• Sinai agama (Pseudotrapelus sinaitus)
• Trapelus agnetae
• Savigny's agama (Trapelus savignii)
• Egyptian mastigure (Uromastyx aegyptia)
• Ornate mastigure (Uromastyx ornata)

A bright blue male Sinai agama during the breeding season.

Chameleons

• Common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon)

Geckos

• Arabian desert gecko (Bunopus tuberculatus)
• Rough-tailed gecko (Cyrtopodion scabrum)
• Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)
• Lebanese thin-toed gecko (Mediodactylus amictopholis)
• Mediterranean Thin-toed gecko (Mediodactylus orientalis)
• Sinai fan-fingered gecko (Ptyodactylus guttatus)
• Fan-footed gecko (Ptyodactylus hasselquistii)
• Israeli fan-fingered gecko (Ptyodactylus puiseuxi)
• Middle Eastern short-fingered gecko (Stenodactylus doriae)
• Dune gecko (Stenodactylus petrii)
• Elegant gecko (Stenodactylus sthenodactylus)
• White-spotted wall gecko (Tarentola annularis)
• Tropiocolotes nattereri
• Tropiocolotes yomtovi

Glass lizards

• European glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus)

Lacertid lizards

• Acanthodactylus aegyptius
• Be'er Sheva fringe-fingered lizard (Acanthodactylus beershebensis)
• Bosc's fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus boskianus)
• Arnold's Fringe-fingered Lizard (Acanthodactylus opheodurus)
• Lacerta media
• Mesalina bahaeldini
• Olivier's Sand Lizard (Mesalina olivieri)
• Snake-eyed lizard (Ophisops elegans)
• Kulzer’s Rock Lizard (Phoenicolacerta kulzeri)
• Lebanon lizard (Phoenicolacerta laevis)

Ophisops elegans

Monitor lizards

• Desert monitor (Varanus griseus)

Skinks

• Juniper skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii)
• Rüppell's snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus rueppellii)
• Günther's cylindrical skink (Chalcides guentheri)
• Ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus)
• Wedge-snouted skink (Chalcides sepsoides)
• Schneider's skink (Eumeces schneiderii)
• Bridled mabuya (Heremites vittatus)
• Latast's snake skink (Ophiomorus latastii)
• Sandfish (Scincus scincus)

Snakes

Blindsnakes

• Long-nosed worm snake (Leptotyphlops macrorhynchus)
• Israeli Worm Snake (Letheobia simoni)
• Eurasian blindsnake (Xerotyphlops vermicularis)

Boas

• Javelin sand boa (Eryx jaculus)

Colubrid snakes

• Black whipsnake (Dolichophis jugularis)
• Crowned dwarf racer (Eirenis coronella)
• Ten-striped dwarf racer (Eirenis decemlineatus)
• Levantine dwarf racer (Eirenis levantinus)
• Eirenis lineomaculatus
• Roth's dwarf racer (Eirenis rothii)
• Blotched snake (Elaphe sauromates)
• Coin-marked snake (Hemorrhois nummifer)
• Crowned leafnose snake (Lytorhynchus diadema)
• False smooth snake (Macroprotodon cucullatus)
• Dice snake (Natrix tessellata)
• Red whip snake (Platyceps collaris)
• Elegant racer (Platyceps elegantissimus)
• Rogers's racer (Platyceps rogersi)
• Platyceps saharicus
• Sinai racer (Platyceps sinai)
• Dayan's kukri snake (Rhynchocalamus dayanae)
• Palestine kukri snake (Rhynchocalamus melanocephalus)
• Diadem snake (Spalerosophis diadema)
• Arabian cat snake (Telescopus dhara)
• Mediterranean cat snake (Telescopus fallax)
• Hoogstraal's cat snake (Telescopus hoogstraali)
• Transcaucasian ratsnake (Zamenis hohenackeri)

A black whipsnake (Dolichophis jugularis) preying on a European glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus) in the Valley of Elah.

Elapid snakes

• Desert black snake (Walterinnesia aegyptia)

Lamprophiid snakes

• Eastern Montpellier snake (Malpolon insignitus)
• False cobra (Malpolon moilensis)
• Müller's black-headed snake (Micrelaps muelleri)
• Psammophis aegyptius
• Schokari sand racer (Psammophis schokari)

Mole Vipers

• Israeli mole viper (Atractaspis engaddensis)

Vipers

• Desert horned viper (Cerastes cerastes)
• Arabian horned viper (Cerastes gasperettii)
• Saharan sand viper (Cerastes vipera)
• Painted saw-scaled viper (Echis coloratus)
• Field's horned viper (Pseudocerastes fieldi)
• Lebanon viper (Montivipera bornmuelleri)
• Palestine viper (Daboia palaestinae)

See also

• Wildlife of Israel
• Biodiversity in Israel
• List of birds of Israel
• List of endemic flora of Israel
• List of mammals of Israel
• Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel