Amphibians

The adder (Vipera berus) is the UK’s only venomous snake. However, their secretive nature and camouflaged markings mean they often go unnoticed.

The common lizard is most frequently seen on commons, heaths, moorland, dry stone walls, embankments and sea cliffs around the British Isles.

The common toad (Bufo bufo) is a widespread amphibian found throughout Britain. Common toads are absent from Ireland.

Possibly our most recognisable amphibian, the common frog is distributed throughout Britain and Ireland.

Pool frogs were presumed extinct in the wild in 1995, but have since been reintroduced at a single site in East Anglia.

Grass snakes (Natrix natrix) are found throughout England and Wales. Feeding primarily on fish and amphibians.

Great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) are widely distributed throughout Britain, though absent from Ireland.

These spectacular reptiles are seasonal visitors to UK seas, migrating from their tropical nesting beaches.

In Britain the natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) is almost exclusively confined to coastal sand dune systems, coastal grazing marshes and sandy heaths

Due to vast habitat loss the sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) now only occurs naturally in Surrey, Dorset, Hampshire and Merseyside. 

The slow-worm (Anguis fragilis) is often found in gardens and is widespread throughout the British Isles; it is naturally absent from Ireland.

The smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) is the UK's most widespread newt species, found throughout Britain and Ireland.

The smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) is Britain's rarest reptile, found only on heathlands in Dorset and Hampshire and on one or two heaths in Surrey and West Sussex.