Noted, thanks. I've actually been counting all Fiji Banded Iguanas as one species for now - I'm not sure exactly which species we have here, if they're all signed correctly, or if there are any hybrids.
Zoochat Challenge North America 2023
- Thread starter Coelacanth18
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Noted, thanks. I've actually been counting all Fiji Banded Iguanas as one species for now - I'm not sure exactly which species we have here, if they're all signed correctly, or if there are any hybrids.
The Buffalo Zoo has changed around their primate rotation, meaning that I saw a species usually off-exhibit during my weekly Sunday visits:
13. Common Squirrel Monkey- Samiri sciureus
Another weekend road trip, another zoo!
Sedgwick County Zoo (Wichita, KS) -- 25 February 2023:
91. Carrot-tail viper gecko (Hemidactylus imbricatus)
92. Green keel-bellied lizard (Gastropholis prasina)
93. Jamaican iguana (Cyclura collei)
94. Northern alligator lizard (Elgaria coerulea)
95. Rainbow whiptail (Cnemidophorus lemniscatus)
96. Sonoran spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura macrolopha)
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Just got back from a nice trip to the Bronx. I was even lucky enough to spot the reclusive mouse lemur!
Bronx Zoo (2/26/23)
23. Javan Langur (Trachypithecus auratus)
24. Silvered Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus cristatus)
25. White-Cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys)
26. Coquerel’s Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli)
27. Gray Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus)
28. Collared Lemur (Eulemur collaris)
I had one last impromptu stroll through the zoo this morning before I am not longer a DFW local since it is such a beautiful day!
Dallas Zoo (Dallas, TX) -- 28 February 2023:
97. Meller’s giant one-horned chameleon (Trioceros melleri)
Finally added a few more species.
Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo (1/17)
39. knight anole (Anolis equestris)
40. Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum)
41. central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps)
Dallas World Aquarium (2/24)
42. brown basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus)
43. Hernandez's Helmeted Basilisk (Corytophanes hernandesii)
Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo (1/17)
39. knight anole (Anolis equestris)
40. Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum)
41. central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps)
Dallas World Aquarium (2/24)
42. brown basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus)
43. Hernandez's Helmeted Basilisk (Corytophanes hernandesii)
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
Squeezed in a brief visit to Henry Vilas today and saw a singular new primate for this challenge.
Henry Vilas Zoo, February 28th, 2023
13. Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)
There’s still 2 more primates at Henry Vilas that I haven’t seen yet, but I’ll be getting one of them elsewhere soon. Very soon, indeed…
Some very good entries here! I cannot wait until more of the Zoo's around me start to open up so I can add more. Good luck, everyone!
I made a little pit stop to the Abilene Zoo along the first leg of my westward trek! It was an incredibly successful day, with zero no shows! Like with the bobcat in the Global challenge, apparently the third time's the charm with the Kuhl's flying gecko, having missed it at Little Rock and in my initial pass through of the Reptile House. I was also able to finally cross the 100-species mark -- and before my move as was my goal!
Abilene Zoo (Abilene, TX) -- 03 March 2023:
98. Kuhl’s flying gecko (Gekko kuhli)
99. Malagasy leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus)
100. Neon day gecko (Phelsuma klemmeri)
101. Panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis)
102. Satanic leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus)
103. Sudan plated lizard (Broadleysaurus major)
Hi besties! Uploading my most recent list here:
- Western Lowland Gorilla ZooMiami 1/3/2023
- Chimpanzee ZooMiami 1/3/2023
- Bornean Orangutan ZooMiami 1/3/2023
- White Cheeked Gibbon ZooMiami 1/3/2023
- Siamang ZooMiami 1/3/2023
- Brown-Headed Spider Monkey ZooMiami 1/3/2023
- Mongoose Lemur ZooMiami 1/3/2023
- Black Howler Monkey ZooMiami 1/3/2023
- Colobus Monkey Naples Zoo 1/5/2023
- Ring-Tailed Lemur Naples Zoo 1/5/2023
- Buff-Cheeked Gibbon Naples Zoo 1/5/2023
- Red-Ruffed Lemur Naples Zoo 1/5/2023
- Cotton-Top Tamarin Naples Zoo 1/5/2023
- Black-Handed Spider Monkey Naples Zoo 1/5/2023
- Ebony Langur Bronx Zoo 1/8/2023
- Coquerel's Sifaka Bronx Zoo 1/8/2023
- Common Brown Lemur Bronx Zoo 1/8/2023
- Gelada Bronx Zoo 1/8/2023
- Bolivian Grey Titi Monkey Bronx Zoo 1/8/2023
- Silvery Leaf Monkey Bronx Zoo 1/8/2023
- Maholey Bushbaby Bronx Zoo 1/8/2023
- Geoffrey's Tamarin Maritime Aquarium 1/8/2023
- Vervet Monkey / Grivet Monkey Animal Adventures 2/5/2023
- DeBraza's Monkey Franklin Park Zoo 2/25/2023
- Potto Franklin Park Zoo 2/25/2023
- Golden Lion Tamarin Roger Williams Park Zoo 1/14/2023
- White-Faced Saki Monkey Roger Williams Park Zoo 1/14/2023
A quick stop along the second leg of my westward trek!
El Paso Zoo (El Paso, TX) -- 04 March 2023:
104. Guantanamo anole (Anolis argenteolus)
That is correct.
So there's fimbriatus and giganteus? And they are signed accordingly at the zoos they're present in?
I had the Fort Worth animals noted as "giant leaf-tailed gecko", and U. giganteus was species given for that name by the IUCN -- I did not realize it was a common name for two different Uroplatus species. I did a little digging this evening, and the Fort Worth animals are, in fact, U. fimbriatus (although apparently U. giganteus are around -- just not in Texas). I have edited my Fort Worth list and removed it from the Abilene listing. Thanks for catching that! This change is accounted for in the update below:
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (Tucson, AZ) -- 05 March 2023:
104. Madrean alligator lizard (Elgaria kingii)
105. Western banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus)
While Uroplatus are some of my favorite reptiles, they are also, from my experience, one of the reptile taxa where the common names can be as good as useless. I've even seen fimbriatus signed as "Malagasy Leaf-tailed Gecko" before, and seeing that all leaf-tailed geckos are from Madagascar, that common name for them is as good as useless. There are a few taxa like that for which when I'm in reptile houses I always make sure to note the scientific name as well as the common because I've found the common names to be useless when determining species, with the others being Uromastyx and plated lizards.
I've seen people mention both fimbriatus and giganteus - both of which can have interchangeable common names - and I've never known for sure if this was an ID issue or if we really did have both floating around. The SSP and studbook is for fimbriatus but with the common name for giganteus, which I think makes things more confusing.
Uromastyx is a mess for sure. Plated lizards I'd be curious to know what species you have trouble with: I can see the Zonosaurus being a real headache, but I usually see those referred to as "girdled lizards". I know of 3 species in US zoos called "plated lizards", with just 2 of those making up the majority of holdings.
(I ask because eventually my herp guide will cover lizards, so I want to see if there's any specific issues I should cover or address.)
Unfortunately there's quite a few other reptiles and amphibians for which common names are not very useful, which is why I encourage everyone to record the Latin names on the signage whenever possible - though I recognize many zoos don't allow for this.
FWIW I always record the listed scientific name when I do zoo species lists, I just don't usually post it in the list itself. If you even have an inquiry as to the listed binomial for any species in any of my species lists, just ask.
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I've seen zoo signs for "Plated lizard" and/or "African Plated lizard", and since there are multiple species of Plated Lizard from Africa, unless I record the scientific name I'm not certain of which species it is. I think all the ones I've seen are B. major, but I'm not 100% certain either.
Going into this challenge, reptiles were certainly not my area of expertise, so that’s something I’ve definitely picked up on along the way as I have been paying more attention to what I have seen and what I haven’t. I was well aware of this issue with birds and, of course, with Uromastyx and some turtles, etc., but I didn’t realize it was so prevalent. After my first couple of visits this year, I started to make sure to always take photos of all of the signage whenever possible to reference later. There was a lizard learning curve
