Species atlas
Species recorded in Georgia — reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, spiders, scorpions, and insects. Descriptions, photos, and identification notes.
135
species in the atlas
929 photos · 12 regions
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Birds, mammals, spiders, scorpions, and insects are in the catalog under the same standard. Reptiles and amphibians are still the most complete layer.
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Search by name, or refine by type, risk, habitat, and region.
135 species
Vipera dinniki
Dinnik's viper (Vipera dinniki) in Georgia — Greater Caucasus range, identification marks, habitat, size, and medical risk from bites.
Found in
Abkhazia, Samegrelo — Zemo Svaneti, Racha — Lechkhumi — Kvemo Svaneti +1
Macrovipera lebetinus
Eastern Georgia’s high-risk venomous snake — Levantine viper; do not confuse with Montpellier snake.
Found in
Kvemo Kartli, Kakheti, Tbilisi
Vipera kaznakovi
The Caucasus viper (Vipera kaznakovi) is a venomous snake found in Georgia mainly in the humid Colchic forests of the west and in zones near the Black Sea coast. Adults are usually about 45–60 cm long. It has a relatively stout body, a vertical pupil, and often bright reddish-orange colouring.
Found in
Abkhazia, Samegrelo — Zemo Svaneti, Guria +5
Vipera ammodytes
Venomous nose-horned viper of the Lesser Caucasus — high risk in this atlas; not a Black Sea coast species.
Found in
Adjara, Samtskhe — Javakheti, Shida Kartli +3
Vipera darevskii
A critically endangered highland viper endemic to the Javakheti Ridge, Erusheti Mountains, and Akhaltsikhe Highland.
Found in
Samtskhe — Javakheti
Vipera renardi
A small venomous steppe viper — rare in Georgia; found in open steppes and foothills.
Found in
Kakheti, Tbilisi
Coronella austriaca
A harmless, smooth-scaled snake of Georgia — secretive and often mistaken for a viper.
Found in
Abkhazia, Samegrelo — Zemo Svaneti, Guria +9
Elaphe urartica
A harmless blotched ratsnake of dry eastern Georgia. Formerly treated as Elaphe sauromates; a candidate species in the 2026 Georgian checklist.
Found in
Samtskhe — Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Kakheti +1
Elaphe dione
A harmless patterned ratsnake of Georgia’s drier habitats. Non-venomous and not dangerous to people.
Found in
Kvemo Kartli, Kakheti, Tbilisi
Natrix tessellata
Dice snake (Natrix tessellata) in Georgia — how to identify it, where it occurs, how large it gets, what it eats, and why this water snake is harmless to people.
Found in
Abkhazia, Samegrelo — Zemo Svaneti, Guria +9
Natrix natrix
Non-venomous grass snake in Georgia — yellow collar; not a viper.
Found in
Abkhazia, Samegrelo — Zemo Svaneti, Guria +9
Dolichophis schmidti
A fast, non-venomous racer of dry eastern Georgia. The belly is red or orange; it is not a viper.
Found in
Samtskhe — Javakheti, Shida Kartli, Mtskheta — Mtianeti +3
Showing 12 of 135
Regional atlas
Hover a region to see species counts and common residents, then open the full regional guide.
Freshness
Profiles refreshed with new text, taxonomy notes, or photography.
Field context
Georgia sits between the Black Sea, the Greater Caucasus, and the arid east — a short geographic span that supports vipers of high mountains and Colchic forests, water snakes of rivers and wetlands, racers of dry foothills, and a widespread legless lizard often mistaken for a snake. Reptile profiles here are bilingual, with Georgia-specific range notes and field photography.
Species richness here is shaped by elevation, humidity, and refuge habitats. Western Colchic landscapes favor moisture-linked snakes such as Natrix; eastern semi-arid basins hold Macrovipera lebetina and fast colubrids; alpine and subalpine belts hold Caucasus endemics including Vipera dinniki. This section is about reptiles — snakes, lizards, and turtles.
Frogs, toads, newts, and the Caucasian salamander sit in the same catalog, with dedicated guides. This is not a complete national list — only published profiles.
Bird profiles follow the same rule: named sources, no invented maps. The list is growing and does not replace the national avifauna checklist.
Mammal pages use the same profile structure. Few are published yet — absence from this catalog does not mean the species is absent from Georgia.
Spider pages follow the same rule: named sources, no invented maps. The list grows with new profiles when a sourced page is ready.
Only a minority of Georgia’s snakes are medically significant. In this atlas, “venomous” means moderate or high risk to humans: the Levantine viper (Macrovipera lebetina), Caucasus viper (Vipera kaznakovi), Dinnik’s viper (Vipera dinniki), Transcaucasian long-nosed viper (Vipera transcaucasiana), Darevsky’s viper (Vipera darevskii), and steppe viper (Vipera renardi). Most other snakes here — grass snake, dice snake, racers, smooth snake, cat snake — are harmless to people, though several are frequently misidentified.
Safe encounter practice is simple: do not handle wild snakes, keep distance, and learn the lookalikes common in your region. Open each profile for identification traits, habitat, and conservation status. This is educational natural-history guidance, not emergency medical advice.
Distribution in the atlas is recorded by Georgia’s administrative regions as a practical field layer — from Abkhazia and Adjara on the humid west to Kakheti and Kvemo Kartli in the dry east, plus the capital district of Tbilisi. A species may appear in several regions; endemics and elevational specialists are more narrowly placed.
Use the map to move from place to fauna, then open regional pages for habitats, safety notes, and the local species list. For research-grade occurrence data, profiles also cite databases such as GBIF and the Reptile Database alongside IUCN assessments where available.
Trust
Reptiles.ge compiles bilingual species accounts for Georgia with field photos, regional maps, and cited biodiversity sources — for hikers, students, and researchers.
Catalog last updated 19 September 2026
Each profile combines taxonomic identity, Georgia-relevant habitat and behavior notes, conservation status, identification traits, and FAQs. Accounts are reviewed as new literature and Red List changes appear.
Primary references include IUCN Red List assessments, GBIF, the Reptile Database, and peer-reviewed herpetological literature cited on each species page.
Images are selected for identification value and field context. Credits appear on species pages when photographer attribution is available.
Reptiles builds a bilingual atlas of animals of Georgia — from established biodiversity sources, updated as taxonomy and conservation data change. Reptiles remain the deepest layer.
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