Hey all, I have a backlog of species lists for zoos and aquariums in the Houston area from when I was there in late April of this year. They might be a bit out of date, but hopefully they should be pretty accurate still. This list is for Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX, and includes both the aquarium and rainforest pyramids. I tried to make the list as comprehensive as possible, but I had to leave out at least a few species of fish due to lack of signage. Other than that, it should be mostly complete. I was able to ID 102 species at the aquarium pyramid, and 94 species at the rainforest pyramid for a total of at least 196 species for both. AQUARIUM Gulf of Mexico Lookdown Palomito Atlantic sergeant-major Spotfin butterflyfish French angelfish Highhat Rock beauty Four eyed butterflyfish Cocoa damselfish North Pacific California sea lion Harbor seal Smoothhound shark Swellshark Gopher rockfish Monkeyface prickleback Kelp surfperch Plumose anemone Giant green anemone Painted anemone Bat star Purple sea star Garibaldi Giant Pacific octopus Flag rockfish Black rockfish Copper rockfish South Pacific Yellow tang Orbiculate batfish Emperor angelfish Laced moray eel Spotted wobbegong Whitespotted bamboo shark Raccoon butterfyfish Powder blue tang Longnose rabbitfish Shortspine unicornfish Blacktip reef shark Convict tang Palette tang Sailfish tang Eye-stripe surgeon Halfmoon angelfish Copperband butterflyfish Bignose unicornfish Bluespine unicornfish Japan surgeonfish Magpie perch Blue-green chromis Ocellaris anemonefish Threeband anemonefish Plainhead filefish Blueside wrasse Red lionfish Leaf scorpionfish Pacific spotted scorpionfish Banana wrasse Flame angelfish Pajama cardinalfish Sunburst butterflyfish Threadfin butterflyfish Bird wrasse Sixline wrasse Reef triggerfish Lined seahorse Bay pipefish South Atlantic King penguin Gentoo penguin Chinstrap penguin Macaroni penguin Humboldt penguin Chain catshark Giant isopod Caribbean Atlantic stingray Cownose ray French grunt Bluehead wrasse Clown wrasse Queen angelfish Yellow hooded wrasse Spanish hogfish Yellow headed jawfish Chocolate chip sea star Pencil urchin Cleaner wrasse Cleaner shrimp Slipper lobster Atlantic tarpon Crevalle jack Common snook Ocean surgeonfish Sandbar shark Atlantic spadefish Gray angelfish Lookdown Atlantic sergeant major Nurse shark Roughtail stingray Green moray eel Jellies Moon jelly Pacific sea nettle Cannonball jelly Warty comb jelly RAINFOREST Rainforest Symphony Giant river otter Humphead cichlid Bornean eared frog Skunk gecko Meller’s chameleon Tomato frog Amazon milky frog Solomon Islands skink Prevost’s squirrel Nightfall Gallery Blue poison frog Yellow striped poison frog Golden mantella Common basilisk Panamanian golden frog Mandarin rat snake Jackson’s chameleon Eyelash viper Brazilian porcupine Pygmy slow loris Main Pyramid exhibits and free flying birds Linneaus’ two toed sloth White faced saki Cotton top tamarin Scarlet ibis Great blue turaco Pied imperial pigeon Venezuelan troupial Hadada ibis Bali myna Bernier’s teal Blue gray tanager Guira cuckoo Montezuma oropendola Blue bellied roller Rodrigues fruit bat Chestnut breasted malkoha Henkel’s leaf tailed gecko Trinidad chevron tarantula Spotted scat Seven spot archerfish African mono Green naped pheasant pigeon Gray headed swamphen Mandarin duck Madagascar teal Komodo dragon Baikal teal Laysan teal Falcated duck Asian clown knifefish Asian arowana Giant gourami Fly River turtle Western crowned pigeon Bruce’s green pigeon Crested partridge Diamond dove Violet turaco Scarlet macaw Sulawesi ground dove Green imperial pigeon Nicobar pigeon Rose crowned fruit dove Freshwater prawn Red Devil cichlid Ocelot Yellow rumped cacique Chestnut headed oropendola Bearded barbet Luzon bleeding heart Blue faced honeyeater Egyptian fruit bat Black pacu Ripsaw catfish Arapaima Silver arowana Scarlet macaw Xingu River ray White faced Amazon turtle Black spot piranha Four eyed fish Green anaconda Banded leporinus Red bellied piranha Vampire bat Von der Decken’s hornbill Wrinkled hornbill Blue duiker Hissing cockroach Nile perch Marbled lungfish Rock kribensis Lake Victoria squeaker Obliquidens zebra Mbiri
I think the experience is worth it, especially if you haven’t been before. Their collection, while smaller than some, is still impressive in my eyes. I’m a huge sucker for birds, and I really like their free flight collection in the rainforest. I think they also just recently redid the rainforest pyramid after I went in April, so there are probably new species and exhibits that I haven’t seen. I’d compare it to the Dallas World Aquarium in some ways if that helps at all. I’ve been to Moody Gardens a few times and have enjoyed my visit everytime
Thanks for the list @David Peden! A couple quick questions: Did you happen to note what exact species these were? Or if not, do you recall if the basilisk was bright green or brownish-green?
The basilisk was Basiliscus basiliscus and the turtle was Podocnemis unifilis I believe. I just copied the common name directly from the sign
