A recent trip has got me thinking, which zoo or aquarium houses and displays the most classes of animals? Most places have at least five or six, with the most common ones being Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Ray-finned fish, Arachnids, Insects, and Millipedes. In aquaria, Elasmobranch fish (Sharks and rays), Crustaceans, Cephalopods, Gastropods, Sea urchins, Sea stars, True jellies, and Sea anemones and corals are all quite common fare. Occasionally you'll also see the remaining vertebrate classes of Chimaeras, Lampreys, and Lobe-finned fish, and rarely animals of some other Classes. With a total of 19 classes listed as occurring fairly regularly, what are some Zoological institutions with the most number of animal classes on display? A major zoo like Cincinnati has 8 Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Ray-finned fish, Arachnids, Insects, and Millipedes. A zoo with an aquarium will also probably have some of the other aquatic classes. I know an outstanding facility like Shedd aquarium has 9 vertebrate and 20 total classes. Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Ray-finned fish, Lobe-finned fish, Elasmobranch fish, Chimaeras, Lampreys, Arachnids, Insects, Millipedes, Crustaceans, Cephalopods, Gastropods, Sea urchins, Sea stars, True jellies, and Sea anemones and corals. A Chiton was also signed, but I didn't see it. All 5 major groups of fish (Not all classes, no hagfish displayed) is very impressive, what other facilities share this feat? So cany any place beat Shedd? Some major aquariums like Monterey might have many other aquatic classes, but can it add up?
Berlin must be up near the top of the list since it's a major collection of vertebrates plus an aquarium and an insectarium.
I feel that this is a difficult question to answer because unfortunately classes are highly debated. For example, some people consider lobe-finned and ray-finned fishes to be in the same class, others in different. Or what about birds/reptiles, where there is nothing but a few forgettable differences between the most bird-like reptile and the first bird? Heck, Archaeopteryx, the Urvogel itself, may be closer to ‘reptiles’ like Velociraptor than modern birds, although it is debatable.
True, but I'd argue that for all intents and purposes, based on extant members, they are clearly very distinct. No mistaking a bird for any other kind of reptile. The day Archaeopteryx and other early birds become available in zoos is the day we'd have to worry about this .
Ok, that was a bad example, but I feel my point still stands. However, I am now curious whether there are any zoos with exhibits demonstrating this evolutionary link.
