Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo species list Dec 2019

Accurate as of December 28, 2019. This is just a species list by area, not broken down by individual enclosures. Species may show up in multiple places, but in the totals at the bottom I only counted every species once.

Asia
Sloth Bear
Clouded Leopard
Fishing Cat
Asian Small-Clawed Otter
Red Panda
Giant Panda
Asian Elephant

African Loop
Maned Wolf
Cheetah
Grevy’s Zebra
Scimitar-horned Oryx
Lesser Kudu
Sitatunga
Dama Gazelle
Red River Hog

Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture

Small Mammal House (Indoor)
Common Opossum
Woylie (Brush-tailed Bettong)
Northern Treeshrew
Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec
Prehensile-tailed Porcupine
Chinchilla
Degu
Red-rumped Agouti
Naked Mole Rat
North Luzon Giant Cloud Rat
Prevost’s Squirrel
Linne’s Two-Toed Sloth
Southern Tamandua
Southern Three-banded Armadillo
Screaming Hairy Armadillo
Rock Hyrax
Red Ruffed Lemur
Geoffroy’s Marmoset
Goeldi’s Monkey
Golden Lion Tamarin
Golden-headed Lion Tamarin
White-faced Saki
Fennec Fox
Sand Cat
Dwarf Mongoose
Meerkat
Black-footed Ferret
Striped Skunk

Green Aracari
Von der Decken’s Hornbill

Small Mammal House (Outdoor)
Black Howler Monkey
White-nosed Coati
Red-necked/Bennett’s Wallaby

Gibbon Ridge
Northern White-cheeked Gibbon
Siamang

Great Ape House
Western Lowland Gorilla
Bornean & Hybrid Orangutan

Reptile Discovery Center (Building)
Spiny-tailed Monitor
Emerald Tree Monitor
Caiman Lizard
Plumed Basilisk
Fiji Banded Iguana
Grand Cayman Blue Iguana
Common Blue-Tongued Skink
Prehensile-tailed Skink
Sheltopusik
Gila Monster
Giant Plated Lizard
Mexican Alligator Lizard
Chinese Crocodile Lizard
Meller’s Chameleon
Smallwood’s Anole
Iranian Fat-tailed Gecko
Madagascar Day Gecko
Henkel’s Leaf-tailed Gecko
Tokay Gecko
New Caledonian Giant Gecko
Green Anaconda
Green Tree Python
Timor Python
Black-headed Python
Northern Pine Snake
Comon Kingsnake
Eastern Indigo Snake
Corn Snake
Western Hognose Snake
False Water Cobra
Rhinoceros Ratsnake
Mangrove Snake
Tentacled Snake
Gaboon Viper
Eyelash Palm-pitviper
King Cobra
Taylor’s Cantil
Bushmaster (labeled as South American but Latin name is for Central American)
Timber Rattler
Copperhead
Lance-headed Rattlesnake
Banded Rock Rattlesnake
Cuban Crocodile
Philippine Crocodile
Gharial
Stinkpot (Common Musk Turtle)
Spotted Turtle
Indochinese Box Turtle
McCord’s Box Turtle
Golden Coin Turtle
Painted Terrapin
Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle
Matamata
Northern Red-faced Turtle
Eastern Long-necked Turtle
Fly River Turtle
Home’s Hingeback Tortoise
Spider Tortoise
Aldabra Tortoise

Red-bellied Salamander
Shenandoah Salamander
Hellbender
Emperor Newt
Lemur Leaf Frog
Coronated Tree Frog
Green-and-Black Poison Dart Frog
Blue Poison Dart Frog
Splashback Poison Dart Frog
Harlequin Poison Dart Frog
Panamanian Golden Frog
Oriental Fire-bellied Toad
Sambava Tomato Frog
Vietnamese Mossy Frog
Japanese Giant Salamander (currently off-exhibit)

Reptile Discovery Center (Outside-Front)
Aldabra Tortoise
American Alligator

Reptile Discovery Center (Outside-Back)
Crocodile Monitor
Komodo Dragon
Chinese Alligator
Tomistoma

Think Tank
Bornean & Hybrid Orangutan
Allen’s Swamp Monkey
Brown Rat

Hermit Crab

Big Cats
Tiger (2 subspecies)
African Lion

Lemurs
Ring-tailed Lemur
Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur

American Trail
American Beaver
Spectacled Bear
Gray Wolf
North American River Otter
Gray Seal
Harbor Seal
California Sea Lion

Bald Eagle
Wood Duck
Brown Pelican
Common Raven

Amazonia
Emperor Tamarin
Bolivian Gray Titi
Linne’s Two-Toed Sloth

Roseate Spoonbill
Sunbittern
Ringed Teal
Hawk-headed Parrot
Green Aracari
Yellow-rumped Cacique
Blue-gray Tanager*
Silver-beaked Tanager*

Brazilian Rainbow Boa
Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle
Arrau River Turtle
Matamata
Red-footed Tortoise

Amazon Milk Frog
Phantasmal Poison Dart Frog*
Smooth-sided Toad*

Largespot River Stingray
White-blotched River Stingray
Vermiculate River Stingray (unclear if this is still considered distinct species or now grouped with P. falkneri)
South American Lungfish
Shovelnose Catfish
Ripsaw Catfish
Redtail Catfish
Suckermouth Catfish
Pseudoplatystoma sp. (Catfish)
Panda Cory
Golden Whiptail Catfish
Marbled Whiptail Catfish
Chocolate-colored Catfish
Twig Catfish
Electric Eel
Black Ghost Knifefish
Bluntnose Knifefish
Elephant-nosed Knifefish
Glass Knifefish
Blue Whale Catfish (Cetopsis coecutiens)
Tambaqui (Pacu)
Red-bellied Piranha
Violet Line Piranha
Redhook Myleus
Arapaima (A. gigas)
Silver Arowana
Banded Leporinus
Brycon sp.
Peacock Cichlid
Oscar
Neon Tetra
Kitty Tetra
Lemon Tetra
Silver Hatchetfish

Goliath Bird-eating Tarantula

Education/Labs in Amazonia Building
Rubber Eel
Eastern Red Newt
California Tiger Salamander
Fowler’s Toad
Panamanian Golden Frog
African Clawed Frog
Blue & Dyeing Poison Dart Frog
Strawberry Poison Dart Frog
Yellow-banded Poison Dart Frog
Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog
Bicolor Poison Dart Frog
Golden Poison Dart Frog (currently off-exhibit)

Multiple species of coral

Other Exhibits
Patagonian Mara
American Bison

Indian Peafowl (in the former Bobcat/Caracal area)

Totals
Mammals: 67
Birds: 14*
Reptiles: 66
Amphibians: 27*
Fish: 34**
Invertebrates: 2 (excl. corals)

Total: 210

*2 unconfirmed for each
**some of the fish in the big Amazonia tanks may not be present anymore, couldn't confirm all of them

 

For further reading, here is an incomplete list of species that have been lost or gained since 2013 (2016 for the Reptile House and Amazonia building's lab/education area). Lost are first and in red; gained are second and in blue bold. Obviously the Bird House closed too, so nearly all of those species were lost while we await the new, renovated House.

African Loop
Maned Wolf

Amazonia
Discus
Multiple species of Tarantula
Titi (C. moloch)
Goeldi's Monkey (now in Small Mammal House)

Electric Eel
Emperor Tamarin
Titi (C. donacophilus)
Hawk-headed Parrot
Ringed Teal

Some changes have also occurred in the Lab section, mostly gains in Poison Dart Frog species and the loss of caecilians except Rubber Eel

American Trail
Hooded Merganser

Brown Pelican
Wood Duck (possibly moved from currently closed Bird House)

Asian Trail
Japanese Giant Salamander (moved to RDC)

Great Cats
Caracal
Bobcat

Small Mammal House
Short-eared Elephant Shrew
Banded Mongoose
Rock Cavy
Damaraland Mole Rat
Greater Hedgehog Tenrec
Greater Mouse Deer
Malagasy Giant Rat
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Titi (C. moloch)

Common Opossum
North Luzon Giant Cloud Rat
Bennett's/Red-necked Wallaby
Linne's Two-Toed Sloth
Green Aracari
Von der Decken's Hornbill
Goeldi's Monkey (moved from Amazonia)

Lemurs
Red-fronted Lemur

Think Tank
Schmidt's Red-tailed Monkey

Reptile Discovery Center
Radiated Tortoise
Galapagos Tortoise
Everglades Ratsnake
Lined Gecko
Indian Flapshell Turtle
Boa Constrictor
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Gray-banded Kingsnake
Lowland Leopard Frog
Chameleon Forest Dragon? (I feel like I saw it just recently, maybe I missed it?)
Veiled Chameleon
Alligator Snapping Turtle? (I feel like I saw it just recently, maybe I missed it?)
Impressed Tortoise
Pancake Tortoise
Golden Mantella

Caiman Lizard
Mexican Alligator Lizard
Chinese Crocodile Lizard
Crocodile Monitor
Meller’s Chameleon
Smallwood’s Anole
Iranian Fat-tailed Gecko
Green Anaconda
Green Tree Python
Home’s Hingeback Tortoise
Mangrove Snake
Western Hognose Snake
Timber Rattler
Sambava Tomato Frog
3 new Poison Dart Frogs
Oriental Fire-bellied Toad (moved from Amazonia)

Other Exhibits
Giant Anteater
North American Porcupine
Przewalski's Horse

Patagonian Mara
Indian Peafowl (possibly moved from currently closed Bird House)

 

What is the status of the Japanese giant salamander exhibit on the Asia Trail? Do they have it boarded up so that you wouldn't even know it was there if you had no prior knowledge of it?

 

It's not boarded up, they just drained the water and put a sign in it saying "Animals temporarily off-exhibit". The signage for the salamanders is gone, so I guess they'll either put something else in it or leave it empty. If I had to bet money I would do so on leaving it empty.

 

Just realized that I forgot to list some fish species in Amazonia. I took one look at the signage for the last big mixed-species tank - with enough fish to warrant a full sign on both sides of the tank - and decided to just use photos rather than writing them down.

Emerald Catfish
Slender Hemiodus
Sunshine Pleco
Bleeding Heart Tetra
Flagtail Characin
Pictus Catfish
Porthole Catfish
Pinktail Chalceus
Turquoise Severum
Adonis Catfish
Redheaded Eartheater
Redhook Pacu
Silver Dollar
Spotted Metynnis

That ups the fish species count to 48 and the total species count to 224.

 

Does the zoo not have North American porcupines anymore? Or Black-tailed Prairie dogs? They're basically right next to each other at the bottom of lion and tiger hill, next to the gift by lemur island. Was their signage removed, or did you just not see them?

I think the Prairie dogs were removed from the SMH awhile ago, and were only exhibited in their outdoor sandpit thingy exhibit.

These guys, and the Schmidt's red-tailed monkeys are still on the website, and while in the case of the latter, a few people (myself included) have said they haven't seen them, the zoo has been good at changing species to "not currently on exhibit" when they're gone.

 

I actually have no idea what exhibits you are talking about. I have never seen either species at the zoo and assumed they had departed before I started visiting. I think I see the spot you're referring to on the map, but have never noticed any enclosures before reaching the petting zoo. Maybe I've just been walking past them this whole time (that lemur plaza is a bit of a zoo every time I visit - pun intended).

Then it's possible I've just been missing the porcupines and prairie dogs completely, in which case the zoo has two more mammal species. I know where the red-tailed monkeys used to be, though. Their signage is gone and I haven't seen any on either of my recent visits - just the swamp monkeys. Nothing indicates that they are still there.

 

I plan on going tomorrow, I'll check if I make it to the bottom of the hill.

 

They're between the gift shop near lemur island, and the police station.
(Photo by @BeardsleyZooFan)

Obviously its not covered in grass now. Behind that fence is the "Prairie Playground", which is basically a place for kids to pretend to be Prairie dogs.

And a little to the right of the playground is where the porcupines are exhibited.

(Photo by me, posted on an old account that I used during a period of my life I tend to try and forget about)

Neat and somewhat depressing fact about this exhibit, at one point a pair of red pandas that were kept in here died from eating rat poison that was buried in their exhibit. The reason rat poison was buried in the exhibit was because whoever the hell was in charge of that kinda stuff didn't know red pandas dig.

Yeah I suspect these guys are gone and the website just was never updated.

 

Thanks @TinoPup... if you could take any photos of them as well that would be great. I can say with reasonable certainty that I have no recollection of ever seeing that porcupine exhibit @Andrew_NZP; additionally, the "Prairie Playground" you describe is also a complete unknown to me. In fairness, I don't frequent that portion of the zoo much; I always come in and out of the entrance by Asian Trail, and often don't go that far down Olmsted Walk, preferring to stop at the Reptile House then cut through and walk the American Trail rather than visit the big cats, lemurs or petting zoo.

 

I was at the zoo last week. The ravens are in an exhibit above the otters, and prairie dogs are still at the zoo - their enclosure is an open-air pit near the as you walk towards the exit by Rock Creek Park. The porcupine exhibit is behind it, although we didn't see any.

 

Yo, the snapping turtle is definitely still there! Saw it on Friday being extra active/aggressive.

Also, pancake tortoise is still there too. It's in a shared terrarium with the plated lizard.

 

Thanks to contributors, an updated list:

Asia
Sloth Bear
Clouded Leopard
Fishing Cat
Asian Small-Clawed Otter
Red Panda
Giant Panda
Asian Elephant

African Loop
Maned Wolf
Cheetah
Grevy’s Zebra
Scimitar-horned Oryx
Lesser Kudu
Sitatunga
Dama Gazelle
Red River Hog

Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture

Small Mammal House (Indoor)
Common Opossum
Woylie (Brush-tailed Bettong)
Northern Treeshrew
Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec
Prehensile-tailed Porcupine
Chinchilla
Degu
Red-rumped Agouti
Naked Mole Rat
North Luzon Giant Cloud Rat
Prevost’s Squirrel
Linne’s Two-Toed Sloth
Southern Tamandua
Southern Three-banded Armadillo
Screaming Hairy Armadillo
Rock Hyrax
Red Ruffed Lemur
Geoffroy’s Marmoset
Goeldi’s Monkey
Golden Lion Tamarin
Golden-headed Lion Tamarin
White-faced Saki
Fennec Fox
Sand Cat
Dwarf Mongoose
Meerkat
Black-footed Ferret
Striped Skunk

Green Aracari
Von der Decken’s Hornbill

Small Mammal House (Outdoor)
Black Howler Monkey
White-nosed Coati
Red-necked/Bennett’s Wallaby

Gibbon Ridge
Northern White-cheeked Gibbon
Siamang

Great Ape House
Western Lowland Gorilla
Bornean & Hybrid Orangutan

Reptile Discovery Center (Building)
Spiny-tailed Monitor
Emerald Tree Monitor
Caiman Lizard
Plumed Basilisk
Fiji Banded Iguana
Grand Cayman Blue Iguana
Common Blue-Tongued Skink
Prehensile-tailed Skink
Sheltopusik
Gila Monster
Giant Plated Lizard
Mexican Alligator Lizard
Chinese Crocodile Lizard
Meller’s Chameleon
Smallwood’s Anole
Iranian Fat-tailed Gecko
Madagascar Day Gecko
Henkel’s Leaf-tailed Gecko
Tokay Gecko
New Caledonian Giant Gecko
Green Anaconda
Green Tree Python
Timor Python
Black-headed Python
Northern Pine Snake
Comon Kingsnake
Eastern Indigo Snake
Corn Snake
Western Hognose Snake
False Water Cobra
Rhinoceros Ratsnake
Mangrove Snake
Tentacled Snake
Gaboon Viper
Eyelash Palm-pitviper
King Cobra
Taylor’s Cantil
Bushmaster (labeled as South American but Latin name is for Central American)
Timber Rattler
Copperhead
Lance-headed Rattlesnake
Banded Rock Rattlesnake
Cuban Crocodile
Philippine Crocodile
Gharial
Stinkpot (Common Musk Turtle)
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Spotted Turtle
Indochinese Box Turtle
McCord’s Box Turtle
Golden Coin Turtle
Painted Terrapin
Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle
Matamata
Northern Red-faced Turtle
Eastern Long-necked Turtle
Fly River Turtle
Home’s Hingeback Tortoise
Pancake Tortoise
Spider Tortoise
Aldabra Tortoise

Red-bellied Salamander
Shenandoah Salamander
Hellbender
Emperor Newt
Lemur Leaf Frog
Coronated Tree Frog
Green-and-Black Poison Dart Frog
Blue Poison Dart Frog
Splashback Poison Dart Frog
Harlequin Poison Dart Frog
Panamanian Golden Frog
Oriental Fire-bellied Toad
Sambava Tomato Frog
Vietnamese Mossy Frog
Japanese Giant Salamander (currently off-exhibit)

Reptile Discovery Center (Outside-Front)
Aldabra Tortoise
American Alligator

Reptile Discovery Center (Outside-Back)
Crocodile Monitor
Komodo Dragon
Chinese Alligator
Tomistoma

Think Tank
Bornean & Hybrid Orangutan
Allen’s Swamp Monkey
Brown Rat

Hermit Crab

Big Cats
Tiger (2 subspecies)
African Lion

Lemurs
Ring-tailed Lemur
Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur

American Trail
American Beaver
Spectacled Bear
Gray Wolf
North American River Otter
Gray Seal
Harbor Seal
California Sea Lion

Bald Eagle
Wood Duck
Brown Pelican
Common Raven

Amazonia
Emperor Tamarin
Bolivian Gray Titi
Linne’s Two-Toed Sloth

Roseate Spoonbill
Sunbittern
Ringed Teal
Hawk-headed Parrot
Green Aracari
Yellow-rumped Cacique
Blue-gray Tanager*
Silver-beaked Tanager*

Brazilian Rainbow Boa
Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle
Arrau River Turtle
Matamata
Red-footed Tortoise

Amazon Milk Frog
Phantasmal Poison Dart Frog*
Smooth-sided Toad*

Largespot River Stingray
White-blotched River Stingray
Vermiculate River Stingray (unclear if this is still considered distinct species or now grouped with P. falkneri)
South American Lungfish
Shovelnose Catfish
Ripsaw Catfish
Redtail Catfish
Suckermouth Catfish
Pseudoplatystoma sp. (Catfish)
Panda Cory
Golden Whiptail Catfish
Marbled Whiptail Catfish
Chocolate-colored Catfish
Twig Catfish
Electric Eel
Black Ghost Knifefish
Bluntnose Knifefish
Elephant-nosed Knifefish
Glass Knifefish
Blue Whale Catfish (Cetopsis coecutiens)
Tambaqui (Pacu)
Red-bellied Piranha
Violet Line Piranha
Redhook Myleus
Arapaima (A. gigas)
Silver Arowana
Banded Leporinus
Brycon sp.
Peacock Cichlid
Oscar
Neon Tetra
Kitty Tetra
Lemon Tetra
Silver Hatchetfish
Emerald Catfish
Slender Hemiodus
Sunshine Pleco
Bleeding Heart Tetra
Flagtail Characin
Pictus Catfish
Porthole Catfish
Pinktail Chalceus
Turquoise Severum
Adonis Catfish
Redheaded Eartheater
Redhook Pacu
Silver Dollar
Spotted Metynnis

Goliath Bird-eating Tarantula

Education/Labs in Amazonia Building
Rubber Eel
Eastern Red Newt
California Tiger Salamander
Fowler’s Toad
Panamanian Golden Frog
African Clawed Frog
Blue & Dyeing Poison Dart Frog
Strawberry Poison Dart Frog
Yellow-banded Poison Dart Frog
Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog
Bicolor Poison Dart Frog
Golden Poison Dart Frog (currently off-exhibit)

Multiple species of coral

Other Exhibits
Patagonian Mara
American Bison
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
North American Porcupine

Indian Peafowl (in the former Bobcat/Caracal area)

Totals
Mammals: 69
Birds: 14*
Reptiles: 68
Amphibians: 27*
Fish: 48**
Invertebrates: 2 (excl. coral lab)

Total: 228

*2 unconfirmed for each
**some of the fish in the big Amazonia tanks may not be present anymore, couldn't confirm all of them

 

Brittle Star
Capricornis
Cauliflower Coral
Clown Anemonefish
Fire Shrimp
Giant Clam
Gorgonian
Hammer Coral
Hermit Crab
Orange Cup Coral
Porcelain Crab
Pulsing Xenia
Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp
Sinularia
Smooth Cauliflower Coral
Staghorn Coral
Thin Birdsnest Coral
Trumpet Coral
Tube Anemone
Whisker Coral
Zoanthids

 

I took a look at the online species list and it seems odd to me. The red-tailed monkeys are still listed as on-exhibit, despite clearly unsigned and nobody who has visited recently seeing one, yet the website has very recent additions posted like emperor tamarin and crocodile monitor. Furthermore, there are several species that have been gone for some time that are listed as "not on exhibit". This list includes virtually every species that has disappeared in the last few years: caracal, bobcat, elephant shrew, red-fronted lemur, giant anteater, rock cavy, banded mongoose, Malagasy giant rat, chameleon forest dragon, boa constrictor, golden mantella, etc. Some of these (like the Small Mammal and Reptile House species) could legitimately just be off-display, but I know that the red-fronted lemur died and the giant anteater was sent off. Therefore, they appear to be listing at least some species as "not on exhibit" which are not in the collection anymore. The red-tailed monkeys are one of only two species that doesn't follow this pattern, though (the other is Damaraland Mole Rat).

Also worth noting that their website lists the two Amazonia tanager species as "not on exhibit" (which makes sense) while it *does* still list the two free-ranging Amazonia amphibians as being on exhibit. At least a few species that have been around are also not listed, such as yellow-rumped cacique and ringed teal.

 

The species could also be kept in Front Royal, or for informational purposes. At least they mark that they're not on exhibit.

 

Honestly, I just think they left the pages up because they already had them. The zoo in the past kept pages for species no longer exhibited.

 

Might be informational purposes, or to notify people that species recently on exhibit no longer are. They mark what species are only at Front Royal also (they did this for Przewalski's horse), though, so species listed as "not on exhibit" should be so at both facilities.

 

I was just looking at the map again, and the prairie dogs are actually one of the few species to be named on the map! They're with #9.

 

In the smallest font available It also says "Prairie Dog Playground", which could be why I never tried to look for animals there (just assumed it was a playground).