Although a few species of amphibians, especially some of the poison dart frogs and tree frogs, are commonly seen in zoos that is only a small part of the total diversity of this group. What other species have you seen in captivity?
That's actually a fair point- outside of those two groups, I see relatively few other exotic amphibians in American zoos. Native species are a bit more common- especially American bullfrogs and hellbenders. Some of the SSP species are more common, though only a few species are managed. These are: Puerto Rican crested toad Panamanian golden frog Wyoming toad Houston toad Dusky gopher frog Here's the Amphibian TAG's most recent Regional Collection Plan that I could find: http://saveamphibians.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ATAGRCPFinal2014_DBarber.pdf The recommended species for exhibit start on page 36. Some zoos also specialize in the conservation of whichever species. For example, the National Zoo has a large on-exhibit lab for Appalachian salamanders. The Toledo Zoo has a room containing a large portion of the world's Kihansi spray toad population. The collection really varies significantly by institution.
On the American side again: of the amphibian species Jay listed, my experience is that Panamanian golden frogs are quite common; the rest I'm not sure about, although my guess is that Wyoming and Houston toads are only kept in a small number of places. Some exotic species that I have seen frequently listed are: - Surinam Toad - Tomato Frog - Vietnamese Mossy Frog - Cane Toad - Kaiser's newt (endangered) - Anderson's newt - Aquatic caecilian - Mandarin newt - Both species that vogelcommando named - Axolotls as Zygodactyl mentioned And then also tree frogs and PDFs.
The best collection of amphibs I ever saw used to be held at Artist zoo in the Netherlands, it inspired me to have my own collection. sadly it was lost years ago in a new aquarium set up. Of course apart from Dart frogs that are diurnal most amphibs are nocturnal and difficult to display to the visitor. Although anurans remain my no 1 animal group.
How different are the perception from a USA point of view and european one! Hellbender and panamanian golden frog are extremely rare at this side of the Atlantic.
