With special thanks to Zooboy28 and all the other people who have archived the species of animals that are held/kept in zoos/wildlifeparks/aquariums/private facilities etc. I have wanted for so long to find a comprehensive list of all species kept at the Australian Reptile Park. I read a species inventory from the Eric Worrell days in the 60s and 70s from his 2010 published biography 'Snake Bitten' by the talented Nancy Cushing and Kevin Markwell (very worth reading anyone who hasnt already). But from the information on Zooboy28's list of exotic reptiles and amphibians in Australian facilities aswell as the Aus Reptile Park website, I made a list today of the species I could determine that are kept at the park. Please any assistance in adding or removing species would be amazing. Australian Repitle Park, Somersby, NSW. Assumed species list as of 10/11/2020. REPTILES (approx 66 species) American Alligator Saltwater Crocodile Freshwater Crocodile Alligator Snapping Turtle Broad-Shelled Long-Necked Turtle Eastern Long-Neck Turtle Manning River Turtle Murray River Turtle Galapagos Giant Tortoise Star Tortoise Leopard Tortoise Philippine Sailfin Lizard Frilled Neck Lizard Eastern Water Dragon Eastern Bearded Dragon Southern Forest Dragon Central Netted Dragon Schetopusik Veiled Chameleon Bavay's Giant Geckp Madagascan Giant Day Gecko Cuvier's Caledonian Gecko Reticulated Gila Monster Fijian Banded Iguana Fijian Crested Iguana Rhinoceros Iguana Green Iguana Solomon Island Skink Blotched Blue-Tongue Lizard Eastern Blue-Tongue Lizard Shingleback Lizard Land Mullet Cunningham's Skink Hosmer's Skink Eastern Water Skink Black and White Tegu Komodo Dragon Perentie Lace Monitor Merten's Water Monitor Freckled Monitor Short-Tailed Pygmy Monitor Green Anaconda Burmese Python Ball Python Reticulated Python Diamond Python & Jungle Carpet Python Green Tree Python Spotted Python Rough Scaled Python Black-Headed Python Stimson's Python Woma Python Olive Python Corn Snake King Cobra Brown Tree Snake Common Death Adder Fierce Snake Coastal Taipan Eastern Brown Snake King Brown Snake Mainland Tiger Snake Red Bellied Black Snake Lowland Copperhead Snake Western Diamondback Rattlesnake AMPHIBIANS: (approx 8 species) Cane Toad Green and Golden Bell Frog Green Tree Frog Magnificent Tree Frog Peron's Tree Frog Striped Marsh Frog Blue-Poison-Arrow Frog & Dyeing-Poison-Arrow Frog MAMMALS (approx 18 species) Platypus Short-Beaked Echidna Grey Headed Flying Fox Dingo Tasmanian Devil Eastern Quoll Ringtail Possum Mountain Pygmy Possum Feathertail Glider Greater Bilby Bare-Nosed Wombat Koala Red Kangaroo Eastern Grey Kangaroo Kangaroo Island Kangaroo (Western Grey) Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby Parma Wallaby Quokka BIRDS (approx 27 species) Emu Double-Wattle Cassowary Bookbook Owl Barn Owl Tawny Frogmouth Laughing Kookaburra Blue-Winged Kookaburra Major Mitchell Cockatoo King Parrot Rainbow Lorikeet Scaly-Breasted Lorikeet Cape Barren Geese Australian Bustard Black-Winged Stilt Banded Lapwing Bush-Stone Curlew Green Catbird White Browed Woodswallow Satin Bowerbird Brown Cuckoo Dove Common Bronzewing Wonga Pigeon Torresian Imperial Pigeon White Headed Pigeon Topknot Pigeon Regent Honeyeater Blue Faced Honeyeater Spiders (11 species) Mexican Red-Kneed Tarantula Peruvian Pink-Toed Tarantula Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird Eating Spider Australian Bird Eating Spider Sydney Funnel Web Spider Trapdoor Spider Mouse Spider Wolf Spider Red-Backed Spider White Tailed Spider Huntsman Spider Approx 130 species at the Australian Reptile Park
Sorry should also mention I'm sure theres more reptile, amphibian, mammal, bird, arachnids and possibly insect and fish species kept here I just wanted to possibly open a discussion thread about the current and past species that have lived here. I find it a shame that species of Tree Kangaroo, New Guinean Singing Dogs, Marsupial Gliders, Cuscus, Mambas, Vipers, Dragons Lizards, Terrapins, Newt/Salamanders to name a few I know of have been housed here in the past and are no longer.
Here are some additions to the list from the park's Facebook page over the past year. I have added scientific names for the lesser-known species: Mammals: *Fat-tailed Dunnart [most recent mention was June 2020] *Tiger Quoll [most recent mention was June 2020] *Rufous Bettong [most recent mention was November 2020] *Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo – 1.1 pair [last mentioned in September 2020] Note: They also received Red-tailed Phascogales (Phascogale calura) a few years ago but it seems like they are no longer at the park probably because they are such a short-lived species. Birds: *Red-browed Fig Parrot [mentioned in October 2020] *Eclectus Parrot [bred in August 2020] *Sacred Kingfisher [mentioned in June 2020] *Eastern Grass Owl [their pair had a chick which was announced in July 2020] Reptiles: *Pig-nosed Turtle [mentioned in June 2020] *Red-faced Turtle (Emydura victoriae) [mentioned in May 2020, on-display in Lost World of Reptiles area] *Worrells’s Turtle (Emydura subglobosa worrelli) [on-display in Lost World of Reptiles area] *Midline Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus vertebralis) [mentioned in April 2020] *Night Skink (Liopholis striata ) [on-display in Lost World of Reptiles area] *Pygmy Bearded Dragon (Pogona minor) [on-display in Lost World of Reptiles area] *Pygmy Mulga Snake (Pseudechis weigeli) [on-display in Lost World of Reptiles area] Amphibians: *Northern Corroboree Frog (Pseudophryne pengilleyi) [mentioned in April 2020]
While it's an impressive collection, they have possibly got a bigger range of herps offshow. I remember post-fire that they received donations from collections around the world. I once saw some Boelen's pythons (never seen them anywhere else), which never went on display. Massive collection of venomous stock - spiders and snakes. For example, I'd imagine they would have a number of the different death adder species.
Yeah that makes total sense come to think of it considering their iextemely mpressive venom milking work in supplying the serum anti-venom labs (wow more than 70 years now I realise while typing this, having started at Mr Worrell's first facility 'Ocean Beach Aquarium' at Umina in '48 or '49. Even though this next comment is a bit of a tangent from the thread subject itself I just wanted to share it. Have been curious for ages about the specific location of the original park and found when looking it up the archived brochures always said to just turn right before the 'Ploddy the Dinosaur' model and Pacific Hwy, Wyoming. Found an archived map from 1970s (tried uploading it but got reminded of copyright) from a Gosford history flickr site. But the map shows Wingello Creek running through the western portion of the park. So when looking on googleearth/googlemaps, found the spot and found that sometime after 1996 it became the site of new streets and houses (not surprising) but was nice to see they named a crescent street after Eric Worrell (Worrell Circuit) and on the side of the street Wingello Crescent that borders the creek there is a crocodile statue and benches as a memorial to the park and I assume Eric Worrell himself. It almost seems like the current location of Aldi Wyoming at 489 Pacific Hwy would have been the original main entrance building. Btw it was really sad to hear about that fire, the poor animals that died. P.S I believe the address of Mr Worrell's Ocean Beach Aquarium betwen '49 and '58 was 198 West Street, Umina Beach (now a real estate agency). Oh and I just found out apparently he started milking snake venom for the serum lab in 1951 and by mid 1954 had milked 10,000 snakes.
Bit cheeky being hauled up for copyright violation when there is no way the owner of the flickr site could be the copyright holder.
Its a great map (in terms of a small wildlife facility in Australia in 1970s). I was thinking of posting link to it here but I might get in trouble for that too.
Hey this is the Reptile Park's snake and lizard species inventory list from January 1979. The list provided by Nancy Cushing and Kevin Markwell from their brilliant biography of Eric Worrell and the Park 'Snake Bitten' (2010) I counted approx' 64 names on the species inventory list though some are specific subspecies of species like multiple Tiger Snakes subspecies for example. I noticed it doesn't include the testudinidaes or crocodilians the park would have had like a large number of American Alligators, Freshwater and Saltwater Crocodiles, and I think maybe New Guinean Crocodiles and False Gharials still. Obviously too the inventorywasnt meant to list the various mammals, birds and fish the park kept. Its a cool list Imust say and again its from 1979 still during Eric Worrell's proprietorship and when the park was still located at its Wyoming/North Gosford site. It does list bullfrogs on list even though it seems to be specifically about lizards and snakes: SINGLE ANIMALS 1 frilled lizard 1 Bengal monitor 1 tegu 1 mangrove monitor 1 western rattlesnake 1 western diamondback rattlesnake 1 black mamba 1 sidewinder 1 speckled rattlesnake 1 rhinoceros viper 1 Gaboon viper 1 tuatara 1 black head python 1 carpet python 1 boa constrictor 1 Indian python 1 amethystine python 1 Haitian boa 1 tokay gecko 1 red blacksnake 1 juvenile brown tree snake 1 Gould’s monitor 1 Gippsland water dragon PAIRS 2 taipans 2 king browns 2 blue-bellied black snakes 2 King Island tiger snakes 2 Flinders tiger snakes 2 kraits 2 wagglers pit vipers 2 black mambas 2 monocled cobras 2 speckled rattlesnakes 2 western diamondback rattlesnakes 2 red rattlesnakes 2 Gila monsters 2 anacondas 2 prehensile-tailed skinks 2 pink-tongue skinks 2 death adders 2 Burtons legless lizards 2 swamp snakes 2 bullfrogs 2 green iguanas MULTIPLE 3 king cobras 3 water moccasins 3 Chappell Island tiger snakes 3 western brown snakes 3 puff adders 3 reticulated pythons 3 boa constrictors 3 mangrove snakes 3 carpet pythons 4 African pythons 4 southern blotched blue-tongues 4 Children’s pythons 5 sand monitors 5 diamond pythons 5 Gillen’s pygmy monitors 5–6 shinglebacks 9 lace monitor 5 brown snakes 25 tiger snakes 30 black snakes
& sorry should have mentioned that the Tuatara mentioned is not a lizard. Apparently two were given to the park as a gift from the NZ government in 1965.
