American Herping: A Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians in US Zoos

Coelacanth18 said:
The zoo currently has 8 species of Uroplatus; not sure which ones are on display currently (@Astrotom3000 did you see any in the new ARC when you visited?)
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Unfortunately, signage was very lacking; only one species is mentioned on the general signage, U. henkeli, but it did not point to any specific terrarium. Also, the display consists of many small terrariums that are dense and placed at various heights (some require you to practically lay down to see into them).

I believe I saw U. henkeli as well as a few individuals that look like that 2nd picture and were either U. fimbriatus and U. giganteus, but I could not tell. And sadly, I could not get good pictures.
 
Geckos Part IV: The Ground Geckos Awaken

Today we’ll cover two families of ground-dwelling geckos, found mostly in deserts around the world.

Family Eublepharidae – Eyelid Geckos

Named so because they have movable eyelids, and can therefore blink. They also lack adhesive toepads, which makes sense given that they’re terrestrial.

Eublepharis – Leopard Geckos

Common Leopard Gecko (E. macularius) – Common to Very Common

Everybody’s favorite derpy lizard; I’m willing to bet one of you reading this has owned one at some point, if not currently. Easily one of the most popular pet herps in the world, they can be found wild in the deserts of Pakistan and India. They store fat in their tails, which they can also detach (however, it will usually not grow back to the original length). Far more commonly displayed in smaller zoos, due to their high availability and very straightforward care; they are also great for education purposes, being one of the most docile and easily handled reptile species. Countless color morphs now exist in addition to the original spotty type.

Maybe unsurprisingly, leopard geckos have not been prioritized in our zoo galleries; the best photos of this species are from private stores or collections.

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Taken by @vogelcommando at a Dutch reptile store

Iranian Fat-tailed Gecko (E. angramainyu) – Rare

A close relative of the common leopard gecko, a small number of major zoos exhibit this species rather than the usual pet species.

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Taken by @Andrew_NZP at the Smithsonian National Zoo

African Fat-tailed Gecko (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) - Rare

Another leopard gecko relative and a species that only made it into the survey this year from one zoo, despite being a fairly common one in the pet trade.

Coleonyx – Banded Geckos
Status in US Zoos: Uncommon

Nocturnal geckos native to the deserts of the American Southwest, as well as Mexico and Central America. Most holdings found in the survey were of the Western Banded Gecko (C. variegatus). Two other species were found in very low numbers, the Texas Banded Gecko (C. brevis) and Central American Banded Gecko (C. mitratus).

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Western Banded Gecko (C. variegatus)
Taken by @TinoPup at Zooamerica (Pennsylvania)

Family Carphodactylidae
Nephrurus – Knob-tailed Geckos
Status in US Zoos: Uncommon to Prevalent

The Australian version of “ground-dwelling desert gecko”, these are pretty funny-looking lizards: big head, tiny legs, short body, and a stubby carrot tail. The survey found at least four species kept in several American zoos, mostly major ones:

Centralian Rough Knob-tailed Gecko (N. amyae)
Northern Banded Knob-tailed Gecko (N. cinctus)
Three-lined Knob-tailed Gecko (N. levis)
Southern Knob-tailed Gecko (N. wheeleri)

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Taken by @Goura at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia
 
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Coelacanth18 said:
Geckos Part IV: The Ground Geckos Awaken

Today we’ll cover two families of ground-dwelling geckos, found mostly in deserts around the world.

Family Eublepharidae – Eyelid Geckos

Named so because they have movable eyelids, and can therefore blink. They also lack adhesive toepads, which makes sense given that they’re terrestrial.

Eublepharis – Leopard Geckos

Common Leopard Gecko (E. macularius) – Common to Very Common

Everybody’s favorite derpy lizard; I’m willing to bet one of you reading this has owned one at some point, if not currently. Easily one of the most popular pet herps in the world, they can be found wild in the deserts of Pakistan and India. They store fat in their tails, which they can also detach (however, it will usually not grow back to the original length). Far more commonly displayed in smaller zoos, due to their high availability and very straightforward care; they are also great for education purposes, being one of the most docile and easily handled reptile species. Countless color morphs now exist in addition to the original spotty type.

Maybe unsurprisingly, leopard geckos have not been prioritized in our zoo galleries; the best photos of this species are from private stores or collections.

full

Taken by @vogelcommando at a Dutch reptile store

Iranian Fat-tailed Gecko (E. angramainyu) – Rare

A close relative of the common leopard gecko, a small number of major zoos exhibit this species rather than the usual pet species.

full

Taken by @Andrew_NZP at the Smithsonian National Zoo

African Fat-tailed Gecko (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) - Rare

Another leopard gecko relative and a species that only made it into the survey this year from one zoo, despite being a fairly common one in the pet trade.

Coleonyx – Banded Geckos
Status in US Zoos: Uncommon

Nocturnal geckos native to the deserts of the American Southwest, as well as Mexico and Central America. Most holdings found in the survey were of the Western Banded Gecko (C. variegatus). Two other species were found in very low numbers, the Texas Banded Gecko (C. brevis) and Central American Banded Gecko (C. mitratus).

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Family Carphodactylidae
Nephrurus – Knob-tailed Geckos
Status in US Zoos: Uncommon to Prevalent

The Australian version of “ground-dwelling desert gecko”, these are pretty funny-looking lizards: big head, tiny legs, short body, and a stubby carrot tail. The survey found at least four species kept in several American zoos, mostly major ones.

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Taken by @Goura at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia
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What are the species of knob-tailed geckos?
 
Geckos Episode V: The Leftover Geckos Strike Back

Family Diplodactylidae – New Caledonian Geckos

Although not all members of this family are from the Pacific island of New Caledonia, the four species found in the survey all are. Most of you should be familiar with two of these species.

Crested Gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) – Prevalent

Named for the eyelash-like projections over its eyes, this decently-sized gecko (6-10 inches in length) was thought to be extinct until the mid-1990's. Fast forward less than 30 years, and it is one of the most common herps in the pet trade. Export permits are no longer issued, so captive-bred animals provide the market with these docile, easy to care for lizards. Surprisingly, they are not as common in zoos as their popularity in the private trade would suggest they should be; they are pretty rare in major zoos altogether, with the zoos that do exhibit them being mostly smaller and/or unaccredited zoos. The most common color is some shade of golden-beige, but there are countless morphs in the pet trade.

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Taken by @vogelcommando at TerraZoo Rheinburg in Germany

New Caledonian Giant Gecko (Rhacodactylus leachianus) – Prevalent

Slightly more common in the survey was this species, which was found exclusively in AZA collections including several major zoos. It is the largest gecko in the world, capable of growing nearly 1.5 ft in length. These are found in the pet trade too, although they are more a species for advanced keepers than the common cresties.

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Taken by @ThylacineAlive at the Central Florida Zoo

Other species in survey (both Rare):
Bavay’s Giant Gecko (Mniarogekko chahoua)
Gargoyle Gecko (Rhacodactylus auriculatus)

Family Sphaerodactylidae
Status in US Zoos: Uncommon to Rare

A family of geckos I know little about, other than that most of them are very small. Only two species showed up in the survey, and only one of those multiple times – the Yellow-headed Gecko (Gonatodes albogularis). Not to be confused with the Yellow-headed Day Gecko, only the males are yellow-headed with a dark blue body; the females are a drab gray-white or light brown. They are found across a swath of the Neotropics.

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Yellow-headed Gecko (Gonatodes albigularis)
Taken by @ThylacineAlive at the Nashville Zoo

Other species in survey:
Wiegmann’s Striped Gecko (Gonatodes vittatus) – Rare
 
At Reptile World Serpentarium, there are geckos that have been identified to me as Gekko baddeni (Vietnamese Golden Gecko). So likely that species is one that wasn't listed here but is present in zoos as well.
 
SusScrofa said:
At Reptile World Serpentarium, there are geckos that have been identified to me as Gekko baddeni (Vietnamese Golden Gecko). So likely that species is one that wasn't listed here but is present in zoos as well.
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There's a lot more species around in the pet trade than I found in the survey, so there's probably a good few more floating around than were mentioned here. That's an interesting one I wasn't aware of though, glad you saw it.

Geckos Part VI: Return of the Gecko

No content post today, just had to finish out the running Star Wars gag :p next week we’ll start moving through some smaller lizard families again. In the meantime, here’s a couple geckos to see everyone out:

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Bavay's Giant Geckos (Mniarogekko chahoua)
Taken by @red river hog at the Brandywine Zoo (Delaware)
 
Just saying but I can’t wait till we get to the monitors and Skinks and I am saying that because they along with the agamas and Iguanas are my favorite kind of lizards and I also can’t wait to see the snakes especially Kingsnakes and Skinks are one of my favorite kinds of lizards because when I was young I kept saying to myself that I wanted a blue tongued skink but that hasn’t happened yet.
 
Neil chace said:
I, for one, appreciate the Star Wars gag :), especially since you're ending at six and not acknowledging the sequels :D.
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Fortunately or not, we apparently don't have enough geckos in zoos here for me to invoke J.J. Abrams just yet :D

Tigeanderson said:
Just saying but I can’t wait till we get to the monitors and Skinks
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You won't have to wait long :) skinks will be next week and monitors the week after.
 
Are there any zoos keeping nautilinus geckos out there? It seemed like there was a minuscule number in private hands a decade or so ago, but I haven't seen or heard much about them lately.

Stunning animals.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
Are there any zoos keeping nautilinus geckos out there? It seemed like there was a minuscule number in private hands a decade or so ago, but I haven't seen or heard much about them lately.

Stunning animals.
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Assuming you mean Naultinus geckos from New Zealand, other than NZ zoos my guess would be no unless some zoo chanced to be allowed an import or gifted some. I'd suspect those in the private trade may well have been illegal exports.
 
Great Argus said:
Assuming you mean Naultinus geckos from New Zealand, other than NZ zoos my guess would be no unless some zoo chanced to be allowed an import or gifted some. I'd suspect those in the private trade may well have been illegal exports.
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Maybe. I've never seen one in person. If I remember correctly, one alleged holder was a business called The Urban Gecko in Canada. I'm unsure if anyone stateside had or claimed to have them.
 
Family Cordylidae – Girdled Lizards

These heavily armored lizards – many of which have spines on their tail – hail from sub-Saharan Africa, where they feed on insects such as termites. The survey found 7 species in American zoos, none of which are common. I’ll do small details on the species that were found more than once.

East African Spiny-tailed Lizard (Cordylus tropidosternum) – Uncommon

Also referred to as Tropical Girdled Lizard or (somewhat lazily IMO) as “Armadillo Lizard”, these are found in East Africa. Like many other girdled and plated lizards found in zoos, they are present in the pet trade.

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Taken by @TinoPup at the Adventure Aquarium (New Jersey)

Mozambique Girdled Lizard (Smaug mossambicus) – Uncommon

Held by a handful of well-known zoos, the males of this species are black with a bright red underside. They can be found in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, one of the more well-known parks in Africa – in fact, Zoo Boise has an entire complex designed around it (and of course these lizards were noted as part of their collection).

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Taken by @red river hog at the Bronx Zoo

Armadillo Girdled Lizard (Ouroborus cataphractus) – Rare

Found in the Karoo Desert of South Africa, this species is known for wrapping itself into a ball and taking its tail into its mouth, forming a protective spiky barrier against predators. This is how it got its genus name in 2011 – the ouroboros is an ancient symbol from Greece and Egypt of a serpent eating its own tail. Once overcollected for the pet trade, its numbers have improved since this practice was outlawed. It is somewhat more common in Japan than in either North America or Europe.

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Taken by @TinoPup at the Cincinnati Zoo

Other species in survey (all Rare):
Black Girdled Lizard (Cordylus niger)
Karoo Girdled Lizard (Karusasaurus polyzonus)
Common Flat Lizard (Platysaurus intermedius)
Warren’s Girdled Lizard (Smaug warreni)
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Family Cordylidae – Girdled Lizards

These heavily armored lizards – many of which have spines on their tail – hail from sub-Saharan Africa, where they feed on insects such as termites. The survey found 7 species in American zoos, none of which are common. I’ll do small details on the species that were found more than once.

East African Spiny-tailed Lizard (Cordylus tropidosternum) – Uncommon

Also referred to as Tropical Girdled Lizard or (somewhat lazily IMO) as “Armadillo Lizard”, these are found in East Africa. Like many other girdled and plated lizards found in zoos, they are present in the pet trade.

full

Taken by @TinoPup at the Adventure Aquarium (New Jersey)

Mozambique Girdled Lizard (Smaug mossambicus) – Uncommon

Held by a handful of well-known zoos, the males of this species are black with a bright red underside. They can be found in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, one of the more well-known parks in Africa – in fact, Zoo Boise has an entire complex designed around it (and of course these lizards were noted as part of their collection).

full

Taken by @red river hog at the Bronx Zoo

Armadillo Girdled Lizard (Ouroborus cataphractus) – Rare

Found in the Karoo Desert of South Africa, this species is known for wrapping itself into a ball and taking its tail into its mouth, forming a protective spiky barrier against predators. This is how it got its genus name in 2011 – the ouroboros is an ancient symbol from Greece and Egypt of a serpent eating its own tail. Once overcollected for the pet trade, its numbers have improved since this practice was outlawed. It is somewhat more common in Japan than in either North America or Europe.

full

Taken by @TinoPup at the Cincinnati Zoo

Other species in survey (all Rare):
Black Girdled Lizard (Cordylus niger)
Karoo Girdled Lizard (Karusasaurus polyzonus)
Common Flat Lizard (Platysaurus intermedius)
Warren’s Girdled Lizard (Smaug warreni)
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No Peter's Keeled Cordylid (Tracheloptychus petersi) or Emperor Flat Lizard (Platysaurus imperator), that's a shame. Two colorful species that I've seen in years past in AZA facilities.
 
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