American Herping: A Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians in US Zoos

American Herping:
A Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians in US Zoos

In the past 5 years, the forum has amassed a wealth of information on what mammals and birds are held by zoos around the United States – a real accomplishment. Unfortunately (with the exception of crocodilians) no such project has been undertaken for herps. This isn’t surprising – they are one of the more difficult groups to document for a number of reasons, and they receive less attention on the forum than mammals or birds (although this has been improving in the past couple years). With rising interest, I decided - as a herp fan myself - to do some research and see what all kinds of reptile and amphibian are around. Using public information such as the forum and zoo websites, I constructed a survey of reptile and amphibian species displayed across 137 zoos and aquariums in the United States.

I spent a good amount of time trying to decide what the best way to share this data with all of you was. After considering several options, I settled on this: why not use the survey data to create a reptile and amphibian zoo guide for American ZooChatters? There seems to be constant confusion on the forum as to what herps are around, and how easy or difficult it is to find them; having a guide for ID help and species searching could go a long way. So that’s what I intend this thread to be: a general guide to exploring the reptiles and amphibians held in American captive collections.

...

I’ll have an entire post explaining the methodology of the survey tomorrow, so right now I’ll explain how the format of the guide will look. I’ll be going in roughly taxonomic order, giving some information about groups and species as I go. I will include information like relative abundance, identifying features, behavior and ecology, comparisons with other zoo regions, and what types of zoos they tend to be in. I will also include media in every post so that people can have a good sense of what many of these species typically look like. While some photos will be from other countries as needed, most will be from collections in the United States to showcase our ectotherm diversity.

The relative abundance (how common or rare a species or group is) will be based mainly on the numerical results of the survey. For some species I also conducted a “missing data” test (this will be explained in the methodology post) which changes the results for a handful of noted species. All species found were sorted into the following bins:

Abundant: 40+ holders
Very Common: 30-39 holders
Common: 20-29 holders
Prevalent: 10-19 holders
Uncommon: 5-9 holders
Rare: 1-4 holders

The majority of species fall into the Rare category, but these make up a small fraction of the overall holdings: 60% of species qualify as Rare, but they only make up 1 out of every 6 herp holdings. In order to keep this as a single reasonable thread, most of these rarely-seen species won't get featured or discussed individually. However, at the end of each post for a group I will include a list of all the related species found in the survey that didn’t themselves get covered – so you’ll know every single one I found.

My plan for this week is to share the survey methodology tomorrow, then share the first content posts a day or two after that. From next week on I’ll try to do 2-4 content posts a week. Some will be shorter or longer, but I’ve tried to keep them all a reasonably short length for quick reading. I’m hoping to get some good discussion too, so don’t feel any need to hold back questions or comments as I go!


Boyd's Forest Dragon at Los Angeles Zoo (pc @Julio C Castro)

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Guide Table of Contents:​

Survey and Methodology:
Survey & Methodology

Amphibians
Giant Salamanders
Lungless Salamanders
Mole Salamanders
True Newts & Salamanders (2 posts)
Amphiumas, Sirens & Mudpuppies
Poison Dart Frogs Part I, Part II, and Part III
Mantellas
Horned Frogs
Clawed Frogs
Native Tree Frogs
Neotropical Tree Frogs (2 posts)
Australian Tree Frogs
Rhacophoridae
True Frogs (Ranidae) & African Bullfrog
Native Toads
Exotic Toads (2 posts)
Fire-bellied Toads & Spadefoot Toads
Miscellaneous Tiny Frogs
Other Miscellaneous Frogs (2 posts)
Lost Frogs and Extinct Frogs
Caecilians
Amphibian Recap

Tuataras & Lizards
Tuatara
Legless & Alligator Lizards
Beaded Lizards
Agamids (2 posts)
Chameleons
Anoles
Basilisks
Collared & Leopard Lizards
Horned & Spiny Lizards
Green Iguana & Caribbean Iguanas
Fijian Iguanas & Spiny-tailed Iguanas
Desert Iguana & Chuckwallas
Common Tree Geckos (Gekkonidae)
Day Geckos
Leaf-tailed Geckos
Ground Geckos
Other Geckos
Girdled Lizards (Cordylidae)
Plated & Girdled Lizards (Gerrhosauridae)
Skinks (2 posts)
Tegus & Whiptails
Tree Monitors
African Monitors & Water Monitors
Other Monitors
Miscellaneous Lizards (2 posts)
Lizard Recap

Snakes
Neotropical Tree Boas (Chilabothrus & Corallus)
Boa Constrictors, Rainbow Boas & Anacondas
Desert Boas
Malagasy Boas
African Pythons
Large Asian Pythons
Carpet & Green Tree Pythons
Other Pythons
Kingsnakes
North American Ratsnakes
Pine, Gopher & Indigo Snakes
Garter & Water Snakes
Other Native Colubrids
Exotic Colubrids Part I and Part II
Cobras
King Cobra & Mambas
Australian Elapids
Other Elapids
African Adders (Bitis)
Other Pitless Vipers (Viperinae)
Copperheads, Cottonmouths & Cantils
Neotropical Ground Pitvipers
Tree Pitvipers
Asian Ground Pitvipers
Native Rattlesnakes (4 posts)
Exotic Rattlesnakes
Miscellaneous Snakes
Snake Recap

Turtles and Tortoises
African Side-necked Turtles
Australian Side-necked Turtles (2 posts)
South American Side-necked Turtles (Chelidae)
South American & Malagasy Side-necked Turtles (Podocnemididae)
Softshell Turtles & Fly River Turtle
Sea Turtles
American Snapping Turtles
American Mud & Musk Turtles + Miscellaneous Turtles
American Box Turtles
Painted Turtles, Cooters & Sliders
Map Turtles & Other American Freshwater Turtles (2 posts)
Asian Box Turtles & Neotropical Wood Turtles
Asian Freshwater Turtles (Geoemydidae (3 posts)
Mediterranean Tortoises (Testudo)
African Tortoises
Malagasy Tortoises
Asian Tortoises
North American Tortoises
Neotropical & Giant Tortoises
Turtle Recap

Crocodilians
Alligators
Caimans
Crocodiles from the Americas
African Crocodiles
Asian & Australian Crocodiles
Gharials
Crocodilian Recap

Guide Summary and Conclusion:
Guide Summary and Conclusion

 

I am extremely excited for this thread! It sounds like a huge undertaking and I'm glad you did it, I love seeing herps.

 

Fantastic, it really is a lot of work, thanks for taking it on!

 

I've been waiting for this thread since you first revealed you were doing it months ago - it will be an incredible resource once finished, and I'm really looking forward to it!

 

A survey of herps in 137 American zoos and aquariums?
Lots of species lists?
Loads of facts and statistics?

Count me in!

 

I'm looking forward to this one, thanks for doing it and good luck

That said, I imagine herps high rate of turnover and rotating between on-exhibit and bts is going to make this an especially difficult task.

 

Subscribed.

 

Thanks for the early support everyone! This is obviously a project that interests me personally, but I'm glad to see a good number of other people express their interest already.

Those are definitely issues to grapple with if you're trying to keep an updated species list, like the one I do for bats and the ones we have for many other species. Fortunately the way I did the survey and the format I'm presenting this in mostly negates these issues.

That'll probably make more sense shortly, when I share the nuts and bolts of how the survey was done. I wanted to give a day between dense posts to prevent information overload.

 

The Survey & Its Methodology

Before I get into the first guide post, I’ll explain the methodology of the survey. This is a long post; for everyone who is not interested in the nitty-gritty of what I did, I'm hoping to get the first actual guide post up this week - maybe as early as tomorrow. Stay tuned for that!

...

Using a variety of sources - primarily forum data and zoo websites - I compiled a full list of every reptile and amphibian species on display (not bts) at 138 US zoos and aquariums over a 5 year period (2018-2022). After standardizing all of the names in a master document, I used a Search and Find function to count up the holdings for each species and tabulated it into a master spreadsheet organized in taxonomic order. Pretty simple, if incredibly time-consuming!

To be clear, the aim of this survey was not to be comprehensive – it doesn’t contain every zoo and aquarium in the US. While I was able to account for just about every large and mid-sized AZA zoo there are a lot of unfilled gaps, particularly for unaccredited zoos and nature centers. My main concern was casting as wide a species net as I could, so I prioritized including facilities with large herp collections. My benchmark for including a facility was that it must have had 15 herp species on display over the 5 year time-frame. This allowed me to nab many smaller collections along with major league players to pad out the numbers for more common species, while also getting a sense of what rarities are out there.

Besides that I had few specific criteria for what I included: this list contains AZA and non-AZA zoos, aquariums, nature centers, and reptile specialist zoos. I tried to get representation from as many smaller and non-traditional zoos as possible, but unfortunately most of them are 1) poorly documented, and/or 2) don’t meet the 15-species benchmark.

To combat this, I also conducted a simple “missing data” test for several species. This involved doing a search function in ZooChat, tallying up every zoo from the past 5 years referencing the species, and comparing it to the survey number. In most cases this did not change the results much, but for some of the more common native or pet trade species it greatly increased their number. If a species moved into a higher category based on the missing data test, it will have an asterisk (*) next to the category assignment.

For transparency, there were four instances in which I used pre-2018 data; this was mostly done to fill out known gaps in the survey, particularly from native collections in the Western states and from large privately-owned reptile zoos. If a species hasn’t been documented from 2018 or later, it was excluded. There are also two major facilities for which I included partial/incomplete lists because several species would be missing from the survey if I had excluded them.

I've also decided to include any new species reported in 2023, as it's obviously useful information despite being outside the time window.

In the spoiler below I’ve listed every facility included in the survey; the primary sources I used to survey it; what type of facility it is; and what year or time range most of the data is from. In the case of “media gallery”, the range is 2018-2022; in the case of “zoo website”, the year will be 2022. Note that most of the “media gallery” sources are known to be comprehensive for the time period in which they were taken (in other words, effectively species lists in media format rather than in a thread).

You'll see in the list below that there are a few instances of species lists being offered to me privately by people familiar with the project; some of these zoos now have species lists on-forum, and a lot of the rest can be corroborated using the gallery. Over 99% of the survey data can be found by searching through the forum or websites of the zoos listed. So if you're thinking "I wonder what zoos have Wyoming Toad", that information is available for you to go find.

Spoiler Key: Z = traditional AZA zoo, z = traditional non-AZA zoo, A = aquarium, N = native specialist, rep = reptile specialist, O = other; italics = pre-2018 data; bold = partial/incomplete survey

Spoiler: List of Survey Facilities

1. Abilene Zoo (Z) – 2022 species list on forum
2. ABQ Biopark (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
3. Adventure Aquarium (A) – media gallery
4. Aggieland Safari (z) – 2019 species list on forum
5. Akron Zoo (Z) – zoo website
6. Alexandria Zoo (Z) – zoo website
7. Alligator Alley (rep) – 2019 species list on forum
8. Animal Adventures Family Zoo, Mass. (z) – species list provided off-forum (species list has since been posted)
9. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (N) – 2018 and 2022 species lists on forum
10. Zoo Atlanta (Z) – zoo website
11. Audubon Zoo (Z) – 2018 species list on forum
12. Bays Mountain State Park (N) – media gallery
13. Binder Park Zoo (Z) – 2019 species list on forum
14. Biomes Marine Biology Center (A,N) – 2019 species list on forum
15. Birmingham Zoo (Z) – zoo website
16. Blank Park Zoo (Z) – 2019 and 2021 species lists on forum
17. Zoo Boise (Z) – zoo website
18. Brevard Zoo (Z) – zoo website
19. Bronx Zoo (Z) – 2021 and 2022 species lists on forum
20. Brookfield Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
21. Buffalo Zoo (Z) – 2022 species list in this thread
22. California Academy of Sciences (O) – 2021 species list on forum
23. California Living Museum (N) – 2022 species list on forum
24. Cape May County Zoo (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
25. Catoctin Zoo (z) – multiple species lists on forum
26. Central Florida Zoo (Z) – zoo website
27. Chattanooga Zoo (Z) – 2018 species list on forum
28. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Z) – 2018 species list on forum
29. Chiricahua Desert Museum (N) – zoo website
30. Cincinnati Zoo (Z) - multiple species lists on forum
31. Claws ‘n Paws Animal Park (z) – media gallery
32. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (Z) – species list provided off-forum (species list has since been posted)
33. Columbus Zoo (Z) – 2019 species list on forum
34. Como Zoo (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
35. Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo (Z) – species list provided off-forum
36. Dallas Zoo (Z) – media gallery
37. Dallas World Aquarium (O) – 2021 species list on forum
38. Denver Zoo (Z) – partial list; media gallery + news thread & ZooChat Challenge updates
39. Detroit Zoo (Z) – 2019 species list on forum
40. Discovery Place Nature (O) – 2019 species list on forum
41. Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Z) – 2022 species lists on forum
42. Electric City Aquarium & Reptile Den (rep) – media gallery
43. Elmwood Park Zoo (Z) – media gallery
44. El Paso Zoo (Z) – 2022 species list on forum
45. Florida Aquarium (A) – 2019 species list on forum
46. Fort Worth Zoo (Z) – media gallery
47. Fresno Chaffee Zoo (Z) – 2019 species list on forum
48. Gladys Porter Zoo (Z) – 2022 species list on forum
49. Great Lakes Aquarium (A) – 2021 species list on forum
50. Greensboro Science Center (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
51. Greenville Zoo (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
52. Henry Vilas Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
53. High Desert Museum (N) – 2015 species list on forum
54. Utah’s Hogle Zoo (Z) – zoo website
55. Honolulu Zoo (Z) – media gallery
56. Houston Zoo (Z) – 2022 species list on forum
57. Iguanaland (rep) – 2022 species list on forum
58. Indianapolis Zoo (Z) – 2019 and 2020 species lists on forum
59. Jack Facente Serpentarium (rep) – multiple species lists on forum
60. Jacksonville Zoo (Z) – 2022 species list on forum
61. Jenkinson’s Aquarium (A) – media gallery
62. Kansas City Zoo (Z) -2022 species list on forum
63. Kentucky Reptile Zoo (rep) – 2022 species list on forum
64. Zoo Knoxville (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
65. Lakeside Nature Center, Missouri (N) – 2022 species list on forum
66. Lake Superior Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
67. Lehigh Valley Zoo (Z) – media gallery
68. Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago (Z) – 2022 species list on forum
69. Little Rock Zoo (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
70. Living Desert, California (Z) – 2019 and 2022 species lists on forum
71. Living Desert, New Mexico (N) – 2015 species list on forum
72. Long Island Aquarium (A) – media gallery
73. Los Angeles Zoo (Z) – 2022 species list on forum + media gallery
74. Louisville Zoo (Z) – 2019 and 2022 species lists on forum
75. Loveland Living Planet Aquarium (A) – 2018 species list on forum
76. Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa (Z) – 2019 species list on forum
77. Luray Zoo (z) – media gallery
78. Maryland Zoo (Z) – media gallery
79. Memphis Zoo (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
80. Metro Richmond Zoo (z) – multiple species lists on forum
81. Zoo Miami (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
82. Milwaukee County Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
83. Minnesota Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
84. Moody Gardens (Rainforest Pyramid only) (O) – 2021 species list on forum
85. Mystic Aquarium (A) – species list provided off-forum
86. Nashville Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
87. National Aquarium in Baltimore (A) – 2021 species list on forum
88. Newport Aquarium, Kentucky (A) – 2021 species list on forum
89. North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (A,N) – 2022 species list on forum
90. North Carolina Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
91. Oakland Zoo (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
92. Oklahoma City Zoo (Z) – 2018 and 2021 species lists on forum
93. Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
94. Orange County Zoo (z) – 2022 species list on forum
95. Oregon Zoo (Z) – 2020 species list on forum
96. Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo (z) – 2017 species list on forum
97. Peggy Notebaert Nature Center, Illinois (N) – species list provided off-forum (species list has since been posted)
98. Philadelphia Zoo (Z) – media gallery and species list nested within news thread
99. Phoenix Zoo (Z) – partial list; media gallery
100. Pittsburgh Zoo (Z) – media gallery
101. Pocono Snake & Animal Farm (z, R) – media gallery
102. Point Defiance Zoo (Z) – 2021 species list on forum
103. Pueblo Zoo (Z) – 2022 species list on forum + zoo website
104. Rainforest Adventures (z) – media gallery
105. Reptiland, Penn. (rep) – media gallery
106. Reptile Gardens (rep) – 2014 species list + media gallery
107. Reptile Lagoon (rep) – 2022 species list on forum
108. Reptile World Serpentarium (rep) – 2022 species list on forum
109. Riverbanks Zoo (Z) – 2019 species list on forum
110. Riverside Reptiles (rep) – media gallery
111. Rosamond Gifford Zoo (Z) – media gallery
112. Sacramento Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
113. Saint Louis Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
114. San Antonio Zoo (Z) – 2022 species list on forum
115. San Diego Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
116. San Francisco Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
117. Santa Barbara Zoo (Z) – zoo website
118. Scovill Zoo (Z) – 2019 species list on forum
119. Sedgwick County Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum + media gallery
120. Seneca Park Zoo (Z) – zoo website
121. Shedd Aquarium (A) – multiple species lists on forum
122. Shell Factory & Nature Park (z) – 2022 species list on forum
123. Smithsonian National Zoo (Z) – 2019 and 2021 species lists on forum
124. South Carolina Aquarium (A,N) – 2019 species list on forum
125. Staten Island Zoo (Z) – media gallery
126. St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoo (rep) – 2020 species list on forum
127. Tennessee Aquarium (A) – 2018 species list on forum + media gallery
128. Toledo Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
129. Tulsa Zoo (Z) – 2018 and 2021 species lists on forum
130. Turtle Back Zoo (Z) – media gallery + 2022 species list on forum
131. Turtle Bay Exploration Park (z) – multiple species lists on forum
132. Virginia Aquarium (A) – 2018 species list on forum + media gallery
133. Virginia Living Museum (N) – media gallery
134. Virginia Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
135. Western North Carolina Nature Center (N) – 2020 species list on forum
136. Wildwood Wildlife Park (z) – 2021 species list on forum
137. Woodland Park Zoo (Z) – multiple species lists on forum
138. ZooAmerica (N) – species list on forum + media gallery

There's a lot more minutiae that went into the survey design and results, but that's already a lot more information than most people need so I'll leave it there and let people ask whatever questions they want. The first content post for the guide should be up sometime soon, and we'll be starting with the amphibians.


Golden Poison Dart Frog at Bronx Zoo (pc @Andrew_NZP)

 

I find all this in-depth info interesting, at least.

 

FYI Buffalo Zoo's website is extremely out of date species-wise. I visit the zoo often, so let me know if you'd like an up to date list.

 

Thanks, I appreciate the offer I have technically finished the survey portion of this project, so I don't need more data at this time. That being said, if anybody wants to post or send me lists you're welcome to do so; if any new species not in the survey come up - or if the list looks dramatically different than what I had - I can make some edits.

Re: zoo websites... including them as a source was something I did hesitantly, given how incomplete or out-of-date they tend to be. I tried my best to include ones that seemed well-curated, but I'm not surprised to hear that at least one is not. I did ultimately decide that having a larger sample size was worth some less reliable data.

 

Use (or don't use) this list at your own discretion, but here are all the herps I have seen at the Buffalo Zoo between September and now. I have omitted a few education snakes I've seen around with handlers. There are three species signed in the reptile and amphibian center I haven't seen this year, those being the Eastern Indigo Snake, Argentine Horned Frog, and Eastern Hellbender. I do not know if these are notorious hiders or no longer present in the collection.

Here is the list of herps I have seen though:

Spoiler: Buffalo Zoo Herp List

In Rainforest Falls:

• Yellow-Spotted Amazon River Turtle (P. unifilis)
• Arrau River Turtle (P. expansa)
• Green Anaconda (E. murinus)
• Red-footed Tortoise (C. carbonaria)
• Brown Anole (A. sagrei)- there is at least one brown anole free-ranging in Rainforest Falls that accidentally arrived in a plant shipment. Count this if you want to, but do note that they are hard to spot and not signed. I've only seen it once, out of many visits.

In the hallway between Gorillas and Ecostation:

• Tentacled Snake (E. tentaculatus)
• Emerald Tree Swift (S. malachiticus)

In Reptile and Amphibian Center (each bullet point is an exhibit):

• African Pancake Tortoise (M. tornieri), Sudanese Plated Lizard (B. major)
• Hermann's Tortoise (T. hermanni), Scheltopusik (P. apodus)
• Fly River Turtle (C. insculpta), Carpet Python (M. spilota)
• Reticulated Python (M. reticulatus)
• Matamata (C. fimbriata)
• Jamaican Boa (C. subflavus)
• Mangrove Snake (B. dendrophila)
• Chinese Crocodile Lizard (S. crocodilurus), Annam Leaf Turtle (M. annamensis), Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle (C. trifasciata), Indochinese Box Turtle (C. galbinifrons)
• Fiji Banded Iguana (B. fasciatus)
• Henkel's Leaf-tailed Gecko, Malagasy Leaf-tailed Gecko (U. henkeli, fimbriatus)
• Dumeril's Monitor (V. dumerilii)
• Gopher Tortoise (G. polyphemus)
• South American Bushmaster (L. muta)
• Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (C. adamanteus)
• King Cobra (O. hannah)
• Mexican Lance-headed Rattlesnake (polystictus)
• Sidewinder (C. cerastes)
• Mexican Beaded Lizard (H. horridum)
• Eastern Massasauga (S. catenatus), Spotted Turtle (C. guttata)
• Puerto Rican Crested Toad (P. lemur)
• Panamanian Golden Frog (A. zeteki)
• Prehensile-Tailed Skink (C. zebrata), Solomon Islands Leaf Frog (C. guentheri)
• Eyelash Viper (B. schlegelii), Poison Dart Frogs (D. auratus, leucomelas, tinctoris 'azureus', E. anthonyi)
• Komodo Dragon (V. komodensis)

 

Just so you know, I did make a species list late last year and I have been posting turnover updates on the news threads. You are more than welcome to use them for reference.

 

Thanks to everyone who has given me additional info or pointed out errors in the survey list sources; I've made some edits. Now let's get started with some content!

Class Amphibia
The survey found 218 species of amphibians – 153 frogs, 63 salamanders and 2 caecilians. To start off this thread, we’ll cover the squirmy, slimy little creatures many of us found underneath rocks and in streams as children – the salamanders and newts.

Order Urodela – Newts and Salamanders
The United States happens to be the country where diversity is highest for this group; 68% of salamanders and newts in the survey were natives, compared to less than 20% of frogs. Today we'll start with just a handful of species - mostly well-known - to get everyone familiar with the guide style.

Family Cryptobranchidae
Genus Andrias – giant salamanders
Species: Chinese Giant Salamander (A. davidianus) and Japanese Giant Salamander (A. japonicus)
Status in US Zoos: Uncommon

With the largest Andrias salamanders reaching nearly 6 ft in length, these are impressive amphibians – even if they are camouflaged to look like a muck-covered plank of wood. Both Chinese and Japanese giant salamanders are rare in American zoos, with only 3 current holders of each (Chinese – Los Angeles, Brookfield, and San Diego; Japanese – National Zoo, Detroit, and Honolulu). A. davidianus was recently split into multiple species; I don’t know what type any of the North American ones are.

The Japanese species is (unsurprisingly) common in Japanese zoos and aquariums. Meanwhile, European zoos lack japonicus but have close to a dozen holders of davidianus.


Chinese Giant Salamander at Los Angeles Zoo (pc @jayjds2)

Japanese Giant Salamander at Shedd Aquarium (pc @Milwaukee Man)

Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleghaniensis) – Very Common

A brown, wrinkly American treasure. These large salamanders are similar in appearance to their Asian cousins, but much smaller (though can still grow to over 2 ft long). Found in upland streams of the Eastern US, a number of factors have threatened this species in the wild (pollution, overharvesting, chytrid fungus, etc.). Several zoos are involved in both breeding and supplementation of wild populations with captive-raised animals. There are two subspecies, the nominate and Ozark (C. a. bishopi); both are held in American collections, but the Ozark subspecies is rare. Only 2 zoos in Europe have hellbenders.


Hellbender at Aquarium of the Pacific (pc @ThylacineAlive)

Hellbender at Cincinnati Zoo (pc @BerdNerd)

Family Hynobiidae – Asiatic salamanders
Status in US Zoos: Rare

A basal group of salamanders related to the giants, many of these species are from Japan (where they are commonly found in captivity). The only species that came up in the survey was Shangcheng Stout Salamander (Pachyhynobius shangchengensis), native to the Chinese highlands and only seen at the Detroit Zoo. An educational video posted on the zoo website also revealed their breeding of another species, Tokyo Salamander (Hynobius tokyoensis) though I have not seen that reported as being on exhibit.

 

Great way to start what will be an extremely valuable resource going forward. Giant salamanders are a personal favorite and a species that will always catch my eye, even when they're doing absolutely nothing. Is anyone aware of facilities that display full grown individuals? All of the ones in captivity that I'm aware of are much smaller juveniles. I will note that Omaha also keeps giant salamanders (not sure of the species), although they are currently off-exhibit.

 

This thread is going to help make it a lot easier for me to figure out what I (and others) can use to complete the "Bonafide Rarity Hunter" in this year's Zoo Chat Challenge Global, thank you! I'm planning on visiting Detroit (and two other large zoos) on a trip this October, and while I thought it was a reasonable assumption the zoo would have at least something they were the only holder of in the Amphibian Center, I had no clue where to even start trying to figure out what zoos keep different amphibians. I'll have to watch out for the stout salamanders when I visit.

 

FYI a lot of the amphibian species in the NACC are really hard to find. You probably won't see most of the species present, and the stout salamanders are among the more difficult species to locate.

 

That does not surprise me with amphibians. They seem to be difficult to locate in most exhibits I've seen. I'm fairly certain all three zoos I'm planning to visit have at least something they're the only holder of (if not multiple), and I only need two more species to finish the challenge. I wouldn't be surprised to find out Detroit has more amphibians they're the only holder of later on in this thread as well.

 

They're a personal favorite of mine as well; for me they invoke an image of the extinct crocodile-sized amphibians of the dinosaur age. Even smaller individuals are an impressive size. Not the most interesting to watch usually though, that's for sure

I like the hellbender too, I think it's one of the more neat amphibians we have here in the States.

I should have specified "currently on display" rather than "current holders", that was a technical error on my part. As I don't include bts holdings in my survey - and I rarely know what any zoo has off-exhibit - I try to be clear in these posts that I mean on-display holders and not all holders - but sometimes I slip into shorthand while writing these.

I also will rarely be that precise about what zoos hold something; I did so for giant salamanders because it's a well-documented, popular, uncommon species that tends to stick around for a long time.

Certainly. Remember to use this as a guide/resource and not a decisive roster though, as 1) there are plenty of zoos and aquariums I didn't account for in here, and 2) many specific holdings may no longer be accurate because of the 5 year time span. I don't even know for sure if that salamander is still there or not, that'd be a question for someone who has been recently.