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

Coelacanth18 said:
I haven't seen the species myself (never been to Buffalo) and don't know much about it; what features do you think lend it to being an engaging display animal? I'm not sure why it isn't more common, besides the fact that most monitors just aren't held in high numbers.
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Based on my visits, the individual at Buffalo tends to be fairly active, which helps make an engaging display compared to most other reptiles. Even when inactive, I've yet to have a visit to that building where I can't find the Dumeril's monitor, while many of the other lizards are much more reclusive and difficult to spot (e.g. I'm about 50/50 for seeing both the leaf-tailed geckos and Fiji banded iguana, less than that for the Chinese croc lizards). It's coloration is also a rather striking off-black. Granted, I for one find all monitor lizards to be some of the most engaging reptiles, so I might be biased, but it's one of my favorites anytime I head into that building.

My best guess for why they aren't more common is that it is a Least Concern species and that they fill a similar niche to the AZA-managed Black Tree Monitor, making zoos more inclined to opt for black trees instead. The individual at Buffalo was a former pet that was surrendered to the zoo, so it doesn't seem like a species that zoos willingly source either.
 
For what it's worth: while my extensive research has led me to seriously doubt the value and efficiency of doing complete holding lists for most reptiles and amphibians - which is a big part of why my project has been formatted the way it is - Komodo Dragons are the #1 species that I'm planning on doing a full list for. It would be fairly straightforward I think: they are almost exclusively held by well-known facilities, they are long-lived, zoos almost always advertise them/show them on their website, and they're famous enough that even forum members who aren't big reptile nerds might care to find them.

I won't do it in this thread simply because I think it would be easier for people to find and contribute to as a standalone thread - but it is coming, and when it's posted I will link it here :)
 
Miscellaneous Lizards

That’s right… it’s MISCELLANY TIME. We’ll round off the lizards with the obscure ones that didn’t fit anywhere else. Six families, with two posts covering three families each. The three families in today's post are all part of the broader iguana lineage (in retrospect I could have shoehorned this post into those weeks, but I wrote them all up as miscellaneous lizards before learning about the taxonomic relationships).

Family Opluridae – Malagasy Iguanas

Also called swifts (despite that obviously being a bird), these are native to Madagascar. While originally thought to be an ancient lineage from the Jurassic, a paper published this year suggests that they may have colonized the island more recently via rafts. Physically they look similar to the collared and spiny lizards of the American deserts, but have noticeably thick tails covered in spikes.

Species found in survey (both Rare):

Cuvier’s Madagascar Swift (Oplurus cuvieri)
Merrem’s Madagascar Swift (Oplurus cyclurus)

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Cuvier's Madagascar Swift
Taken at the Bronx Zoo by @ThylacineAlive

Family Leiocephalidae – Curly-tailed Lizards
Status in US Zoos: Rare

Curly-tailed iguana relatives, who spend their time chilling in the West Indies. Despite being held at over 2 dozen zoos in Europe – and despite being invasive in Florida, because why not – curly-tailed lizards seem to be almost absent from American collections. The survey only picked up 1 holding in the past 5 years, Red-sided Curly-tailed Lizard (Leiocephalus schreibersii) at the Newport Aquarium in the Cincinnati area. A second species, the Hispaniolan masked curly-tailed lizard (Leiocephalus personatus), was photographed at the Nashville Zoo over a decade ago but has not been reported in recent years.

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Northern Curly-tailed Lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus)
Taken at Zoo Plzen (Czech Republic) by @Mo Hassan

Family Tropiduridae

Plica plica – Uncommon

Yet another branch of the iguana lineage. Although most of this family is ground-based, the one we have in zoos here is arboreal. It is called by many names, such as Collared Tree Lizard, Collared Tree Runner, and Harlequin Racerunner. Based on forum information, it seems to be a newer species with a growing population – the earliest reference I could find from the US was in 2016 (by yours truly) and most references and photos have been from only the past two years. Hopefully it’s not just a fad!

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Taken at the Bronx Zoo by @ThylacineAlive
 
Second day of miscellany time! Today we'll finish up the lizards with the remaining three families.

Family Lacertidae – Wall Lizards

A group of small and medium-sized lizards from the Old World. With several native species, European zoos have them in droves – though it seems like an equivalent situation to many of our native species: many species in a handful of places each. Meanwhile, we’re up to our neck in lizards here already; that combined with lack of European fauna in general probably explains the paucity of lacertids in US-based collections. This group does include some popular pet species, including those long-tailed grass lizards they sell at the big pet retail stores here.

Species found in survey (all Rare):

Green Keel-bellied Lizard (Gastropholis prasina)
Sakishima Grass Lizard (Takydromus dorsalis)
Long-tailed Grass Lizard (Takydromus sexlineatus)
Ocellated Lizard or Jeweled Lacerta (Timon lepidus)

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Long-tailed Grass Lizards (Takydromus sexlineatus)
Taken at the Manchester Museum (UK) by @ThylacineAlive

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Jeweled Lacerta (Timon lepidus)
Taken at the San Diego Zoo by @ThylacineAlive

Family Xenosauridae
Genus Xenosaurus – Knob-scaled Lizards
Status in US Zoos: Rare

Round, bumpy-scaled lizards from Central America. Often found in rocks… sorry, I’m running out of steam here.

Species found in survey:

Oaxacan Knob-scaled Lizard (X. agrenon)
Knob-scaled Lizard (X. grandis)
Flathead Knob-scaled Lizard (X. platyceps)

Family Shinisauridae

Chinese Crocodile Lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) – Common (in AZA)

We’ll finish off lizards with a peculiar one. The crocodile lizard (often called Chinese Crocodile Lizard) is named for its armored, crocodilian-like appearance as well as its semiaquatic lifestyle. It is found in the cool streams of Asian mountain forests. Habitat loss and illegal trade have rendered it endangered unfortunately. All holders found in the survey are AZA accredited and most are major zoos; there is an AZA breeding program for this species, with at least one zoo (Saint Louis) having bred them recently.

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Above: taken at Bronx Zoo by @ThylacineAlive
Below: taken at Omaha Zoo by @bugboiben

And with that our first major reptile group is complete. I'll be posting the recap either today or tomorrow... then next week we'll start covering the more slithery half of Squamata.
 
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Coelacanth18 said:
Second day of miscellany time! Today we'll finish up the lizards with the remaining three families.

Family Lacertidae – Wall Lizards

A group of small and medium-sized lizards from the Old World. With several native species, European zoos have them in droves – though it seems like an equivalent situation to many of our native species: many species in a handful of places each. Meanwhile, we’re up to our neck in lizards here already; that combined with lack of European fauna in general probably explains the paucity of lacertids in US-based collections. This group does include some popular pet species, including those long-tailed grass lizards they sell at the big pet retail stores here.

Species found in survey (all Rare):

Green Keel-bellied Lizard (Gastropholis prasina)
Long-tailed Grass Lizard (Takydromus sexlineatus)
Ocellated Lizard or Jeweled Lacerta (Timon lepidus)

full

Long-tailed Grass Lizards (Takydromus sexlineatus)
Taken at the Manchester Museum (UK) by @ThylacineAlive

full

Jeweled Lacerta (Timon lepidus)
Taken at the San Diego Zoo by @ThylacineAlive

Family Xenosauridae
Genus Xenosaurus – Knob-scaled Lizards
Status in US Zoos: Rare

Round, bumpy-scaled lizards from Central America. Often found in rocks… sorry, I’m running out of steam here.

Species found in survey:

Oaxacan Knob-scaled Lizard (X. agrenon)
Knob-scaled Lizard (X. grandis)

Family Shinisauridae

Chinese Crocodile Lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) – Common (in AZA)

We’ll finish off lizards with a peculiar one. The crocodile lizard (often called Chinese Crocodile Lizard) is named for its armored, crocodilian-like appearance as well as its semiaquatic lifestyle. It is found in the cool streams of Asian mountain forests. Habitat loss and illegal trade have rendered it endangered unfortunately. All holders found in the survey are AZA accredited and most are major zoos; there is an AZA breeding program for this species, with at least one zoo (Saint Louis) having bred them recently.

full

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Above: taken at Bronx Zoo by @ThylacineAlive
Below: taken at Omaha Zoo by @bugboiben

And with that our first major reptile group is complete. I'll be posting the recap either today or tomorrow... then next week we'll start covering the more slithery half of Squamata.
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Dallas Zoo also has Sakashima Grass Lizards(Takydromus dorsalis)
 
Apparently I've kept a species not covered in this thread. Didn't really expect that! (The species in question is Podarcis muralis).
 
birdsandbats said:
Apparently I've kept a species not covered in this thread. Didn't really expect that! (The species in question is Podarcis muralis).
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Yeah that's another pet trade species, plus we have an introduced population here (in Ohio, of all places). I think it falls into the same bucket as a lot of other small, less flashy lizards: not a lot of motivation for zoos here to keep them. European species and exhibits are scarce in American zoos generally too, with a handful of exceptions.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Yeah that's another pet trade species, plus we have an introduced population here (in Ohio, of all places). I think it falls into the same bucket as a lot of other small, less flashy lizards: not a lot of motivation for zoos here to keep them. European species and exhibits are scarce in American zoos generally too, with a handful of exceptions.
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What is with that family and having bizarre introduced populations in North America. Italian Wall Lizard is in New York, one species is in Vancouver (don't remember which) and Western Green Lactera is in Witchita, Kansas, somehow.
 
birdsandbats said:
What is with that family and having bizarre introduced populations in North America.
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Probably the fact that they are from more temperate climates than other commonly kept reptiles, so escapees/releases can establish themselves in places outside the Sun Belt.

birdsandbats said:
one species is in Vancouver (don't remember which)
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That population is also Podarcis muralis.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Second day of miscellany time! Today we'll finish up the lizards with the remaining three families.

Family Lacertidae – Wall Lizards

A group of small and medium-sized lizards from the Old World. With several native species, European zoos have them in droves – though it seems like an equivalent situation to many of our native species: many species in a handful of places each. Meanwhile, we’re up to our neck in lizards here already; that combined with lack of European fauna in general probably explains the paucity of lacertids in US-based collections. This group does include some popular pet species, including those long-tailed grass lizards they sell at the big pet retail stores here.

Species found in survey (all Rare):

Green Keel-bellied Lizard (Gastropholis prasina)
Sakishima Grass Lizard (Takydromus dorsalis)
Long-tailed Grass Lizard (Takydromus sexlineatus)
Ocellated Lizard or Jeweled Lacerta (Timon lepidus)

full

Long-tailed Grass Lizards (Takydromus sexlineatus)
Taken at the Manchester Museum (UK) by @ThylacineAlive

full

Jeweled Lacerta (Timon lepidus)
Taken at the San Diego Zoo by @ThylacineAlive

Family Xenosauridae
Genus Xenosaurus – Knob-scaled Lizards
Status in US Zoos: Rare

Round, bumpy-scaled lizards from Central America. Often found in rocks… sorry, I’m running out of steam here.

Species found in survey:

Oaxacan Knob-scaled Lizard (X. agrenon)
Knob-scaled Lizard (X. grandis)

Family Shinisauridae

Chinese Crocodile Lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) – Common (in AZA)

We’ll finish off lizards with a peculiar one. The crocodile lizard (often called Chinese Crocodile Lizard) is named for its armored, crocodilian-like appearance as well as its semiaquatic lifestyle. It is found in the cool streams of Asian mountain forests. Habitat loss and illegal trade have rendered it endangered unfortunately. All holders found in the survey are AZA accredited and most are major zoos; there is an AZA breeding program for this species, with at least one zoo (Saint Louis) having bred them recently.

full

full

Above: taken at Bronx Zoo by @ThylacineAlive
Below: taken at Omaha Zoo by @bugboiben

And with that our first major reptile group is complete. I'll be posting the recap either today or tomorrow... then next week we'll start covering the more slithery half of Squamata.
Click to expand...
I can’t wait to see the snakes especially the Elapids which includes cobras and coral snakes and I also can’t wait to see Rattlesnakes, Copperheads Cottonmouths, Water Snakes, King Snakes, Boas and pythons.
 
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