# List of reptiles of Metropolitan France

Metropolitan France refers to the area of France located on the European continent, including mainland France and Corsica. It is home to 20 native species of lizards, 13 species of snakes and 3 species of terrestrial and freshwater turtles. 3 species of marine turtles are regularly present in the region, while 3 other have a transient presence. Introduced species include the Italian wall lizard, the pond slider and the common snapping turtle.

## Lizards

Native lizard species of Metropolitan France :
| Common name | Scientific name | IUCN status (France) | IUCN status (worldwide) |
| Fitzinger's algyroides | Algyroides fitzingeri (Wiegmann, 1834) | LC | LC |
| Slow worm | Anguis fragilis Linnaeus, 1758 | LC | LC |
| Italian slow worm | Anguis veronensis Pollini, 1818 | DD | NE |
| Bedriaga's rock lizard | Archaeolacerta bedriagae (Camerano, 1885) | NT | NT |
| Western three-toed skink | Chalcides striatus (Cuvier, 1829) | LC | LC |
| European leaf-toed gecko | Euleptes europaea (Gené, 1839) | LC | NT |
| Mediterranean house gecko | Hemidactylus turcicus (Linnaeus, 1758) | LC | LC |
| Aran rock lizard | Iberolacerta aranica (Arribas, 1993) | EN | EN |
| Aurelio's rock lizard | Iberolacerta aurelioi (Arribas, 1994) | EN | EN |
| Pyrenean rock lizard | Iberolacerta bonnali (Lantz [fr], 1927) | VU | NT |
| Sand lizard | Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758 | NT | LC |
| Western green lizard | Lacerta bilineata Daudin, 1802 | LC | LC |
| Columbretes wall lizard | Podarcis liolepis (Boulenger, 1905) | LC | LC |
| Common wall lizard | Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768) | LC | LC |
| Tyrrhenian wall lizard | Podarcis tiliguerta (Gmelin, 1789) | LC | LC |
| Algerian psammodromus | Psammodromus algirus (Linnaeus, 1758) | LC | LC |
| East Iberian sand racer | Psammodromus edwarsianus (Dugès, 1829) | NT | LC |
| Common wall gecko | Tarentola mauritanica (Linnaeus, 1758) | LC | LC |
| Ocellated lizard | Timon lepidus (Daudin, 1802) | VU | LC |
| Viviparous lizard | Zootoca vivipara (Lichtenstein, 1823) | LC | LC |

### Introduced species

The Italian wall lizard is believed to have been introduced in Corsica in antiquity. It is a more recent introduction in other parts of Southern France.
Non-native lizard species of Metropolitan France :
| Common name | Scientific name | Range | IUCN status (France) | IUCN status (worldwide) | Refs. |
| Italian wall lizard | Podarcis siculus (Rafinesque, 1810) | | NA | LC | |

## Snakes

Snake species of Metropolitan France :
| Common name | Scientific name | IUCN status (France) | IUCN status (worldwide) |
| Smooth snake | Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768 | LC | LC |
| Southern smooth snake | Coronella girondica (Daudin, 1803) | LC | LC |
| Green whip snake | Hierophis viridiflavus (Lacépède, 1789) | LC | LC |
| Montpellier snake | Malpolon monspessulanus (Hermann, 1804) | LC | LC |
| Iberian grass snake | Natrix astreptophora (Seoane, 1885) | | |
| Barred grass snake | Natrix helvetica (Lacépède, 1789) | | |
| Viperine water snake | Natrix maura (Linnaeus, 1758) | NT | LC |
| Ladder snake | Rhinechis scalaris (Schinz, 1822) | LC | LC |
| Asp viper | Vipera aspis (Linnaeus, 1758) | LC | VU |
| Common European adder | Vipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758) | VU | LC |
| Meadow viper | Vipera ursinii (Bonaparte, 1835) | EN | VU |
| Baskian viper | Vipera seoanei Lataste, 1879 | VU | LC |
| Aesculapian snake | Zamenis longissimus (Laurenti, 1768) | LC | LC |

## Turtles

Native turtle species of Metropolitan France :
| Common name | Scientific name | IUCN status (France) | IUCN status (worldwide) |
| Loggerhead sea turtle | Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) | DD | EN |
| Leatherback sea turtle | Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761) | DD | CR |
| European pond turtle | Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) | LC | NT |
| Kemp's ridley sea turtle | Lepidochelys kempii (Garman, 1880) | DD | CR |
| Spanish pond turtle | Mauremys leprosa Schweigger, 1812 | VU | NE |
| Hermann's tortoise | Testudo hermanni Gmelin, 1789 | VU | NT |

### Transient species

The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) has been sporadically reported in the French Mediterranean Sea. The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) was observed for the first time in Metropolitan France in 2017, on the Atlantic coast near the Isle of Oléron.
Transient turtle species of Metropolitan France :
| Common name | Scientific name | IUCN status (France) | IUCN status (worldwide) |
| Green sea turtle | Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) | NA | EN |
| Hawksbill sea turtle | Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766) | NA | CR |
| Olive ridley sea turtle | Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829) | | VU |

### Introduced species

The pond slider (Trachemys scripta) was introduced in France through the pet trade, having been imported in large numbers starting in the 1980s. It has since been reported in nearly all French departments, and acts as a competitor to the native European pond turtle, with which it shares an ecological niche. After import of pond sliders was banned in 1997, the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) was commercialized in France, with former pets being released in the wild. Nests and juveniles have been reported in the departments of Gard, Haute-Garonne, Gironde and Loire-Atlantique.
Non-native turtle species of Metropolitan France :
| Common name | Scientific name | Range | IUCN status (France) | IUCN status (worldwide) | Refs. |
| Common snapping turtle | Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758) | | | LC | |
| Pond slider | Trachemys scripta (Thunberg and Schoepff, 1792) | | NA | LC | |