Houston Zoo Houston Zoo Species List (April 2022)

[David Peden]

Hey all, I have a backlog of species lists for zoos and aquariums in the Houston area from when I was there in late April of this year. They might be a bit out of date, but hopefully they should be pretty accurate still. Here's my list for the Houston Zoo, one of my personal favorites. In total, I counted 279 species


Carruth Natural Encounters
White faced saki
Pied imperial pigeon
South American freshwater stingray
Tinfoil barb
Northern snake-necked turtle
Banded archerfish
Red bellied snake necked turtle
Tricolor sharkminnow
Asian small clawed otter
Prevost’s squirrel
Victoria crowned pigeon
Linneaus’ two toed sloth
Indian star tortoise
Ripsaw catfish
Red tailed catfish
Black pacu
Golden lion tamarin
Pygmy marmoset
Red piranha
Uaru
Electric eel
White blotched river stingray
Argentine mouthbrooder
Brazilian porcupine
Largescale foureyes
African moony
Spotted green puffer
Spotted scat
Spotband scat
Eyespot puffer
Speckled mousebird
Superb starling
Taveta golden weaver
Naked mole rat
Damara mole rat
Collared lizard
Giant day gecko
Moon jelly
Bignose unicornfish
Palette tang
Whitetail dascyllus
Clown anemonefish
Banggai cardinalfish
Sea goldie
Raccoon butterflyfish
Meerkat

Reptile House
Reticulated python
Sri Lankan green pit viper
Ashy pit viper
African bush viper
Solomon Islands skink
Arizona black rattlesnake
Trans Pecos ratsnake
Eyelash viper
Mexican jumping viper
Armstrong’s dusky rattlesnake
Mexican lance headed rattlesnake
Egyptian tortoise
Mang mountain pitviper
Lesser Sundas python
Everglades ratsnake
Brown tree snake
Smoky jungle frog
Angolan python
Gaboon viper
Western diamondback rattlesnake
Gulf Coast toad
Houston toad
Green anole
Green tree frog
Gray tree frog
Rock rattlesnake
Southwestern speckled rattlesnake
Aruba rattlesnake
Timber rattlesnake
Southern copperhead
Texas rat snake
Northern cottonmouth
Yellow bellied water snake
Gulf Coast ribbon snake
Monocled cobra
Western green mamba
Black mamba
Gila monster
Greek tortoise
Santa Catalina rattlesnake
Pygmy rattlesnake
Emerald alligator lizard
Rowley’s palm viper
Henkel’s leaf tailed gecko
Boelen’s python
Green tree python
Ricord’s anole
Dwarf crocodile
Fringed leaf tailed gecko
Mexican beaded lizard
Green and black poison frog
Gliding tree frog
Eastern hellbender
South American bushmaster
Red tailed green ratsnake
Black breasted leaf turtle
Brazilian fer de lance
Dumeril’s ground boa
King cobra
Komodo dragon
Golden mantella
Spear-tailed gecko
Amazon poison frog
Panamanian golden frog
Garden tree boa
Carpet python
Northern caiman lizard
Triangle cichlid
Cardinal tetra
Jamaican iguana
Common chuckwalla
Eastern collared lizard
Ornate box turtle
Desert spiny lizard
Flying frog
Amazon milk frog
Black legged poison frog
Bumblebee poison frog
Crocodile monitor
Grand Cayman blue iguana

World of Primates
Ring tailed lemur
Madagascar big headed turtle
Black and gold howler monkey
Goeldi’s monkey
Curl crested aracari
Cotton top tamarin
Coquerel’s sifaka
Crowned lemur
Patas monkey
Allen’s swamp monkey
Schmidt’s red tailed monkey
De Brazza’s monkey
Northern white cheeked gibbon
Siamang
Yellow headed temple turtle
Fly River turtle
Painted river turtle
Bornean orangutan

Texas Wetlands
Bald eagle
Whooping crane
American alligator
Alligator gar

South America’s Pantanal
Black and gold howler monkey
Golden lion tamarin
Red rumped agouti
Green anaconda
Giant river otter
White spotted river stingray
Orange spotted river stingray
Black pacu
Spotted metynnis
Dorado
Yellow spotted river turtle
Blue poison frog
Anthony’s poison frog
Bumblebee poison frog
Blue throated macaw
Blue billed curassow
Venezuelan troupial
Jaguar
Capybara
Giant anteater
Baird’s tapir
Coscoroba swan
Southern screamer
Greater rhea
Giant wood rail
Guira cuckoo
Puna ibis
Red capped cardinal
Ringed teal
Roseate spoonbill
Silver beaked tanager
Sunbittern
Yellow rumped cacique
Wood stork
Blue gray tanager
Comb duck
Southern lapwing
Wattled curassow
White faced whistling duck
Black necked stilt
Brazilian teal
Black faced ibis
Wattled jacana
Green oropendola
Red shoveler
Andean cock of the rock

Flamingo Terrace
Chilean flamingo
Maccoa duck
Baer’s pochard

Bug House
Red panda
Eastern hercules beetle
Texas leaf cutter ant
Asian forest scorpion
Dead leaf mantis
Giant centipede
Giant African millipede
Peruvian jumping stick
Giant vinegaroon
Red legged tarantula
Blue death feigning beetle
Eastern velvet ant
Giant cave cockroach
Macrochirus praetor
Giant prickly stick insect
Giraffe stag beetle
Gray’s Malayan stick insect
Giant flower beetle
Jungle nymph
Giant katydid
Giant wingless phasmid
Madagascar hissing cockroach
Harlequin flower beetle
Rainbow stag beetle
Giant water bug
Sunburst diving beetle
Peruvian firestick
Giant leaf insect
Venezuelan suntiger tarantula
White eyed assassin bug

McGovern’s Children’s Zoo
Black vulture
Narragansett Turkey
Bobcat
Bald eagle
North American river otter
Ruddy duck
Laughing gull
Brown pelican
Banded mongoose
Black spotted newt
Houston toad
Barton Springs salamander
Chilean rose tarantula
Tiger salamander
Louisiana milk snake
Desert grassland whiptail
Seba’s short tailed bat
Texas rat snake
Swift fox
Burrowing owl
Domestic duck
Llama
Zebu
Domestic goat
Domestic pig
Koi
Goldfish

African Forest
Maasai giraffe
Common ostrich
Southern white rhino
Chimpanzee
Western lowland gorilla
Red river hog

Other exhibits, no specific area
Lion
Cheetah
American black bear
Painted dog
Fossa
Ocelot
Clouded leopard
Ankole cattle
Galapagos tortoise
Grant’s zebra
Pygmy hippo
Southern ground hornbill
Bongo
Okapi
Cape vulture
Hooded vulture
Mountain lion
Malayan tiger
California sea lion

 

[Julio C Castro]

Maybe I misread it but I think the biggest stars(literally speaking) are missing from this list: Asian Elephants

 

[StoppableSan]

Maybe I misread it but I think the biggest stars(literally speaking) are missing from this list: Asian Elephants

Yeah, pulled a little CTRL+F and didn't find any mention of Asian elephants.

 

[David Peden]

Maybe I misread it but I think the biggest stars(literally speaking) are missing from this list: Asian Elephants

So I’m an idiot haha. I completely forgot to add the biggest animals there

 

[Julio C Castro]

So I’m an idiot haha. I completely forgot to add the biggest animals there

Haha no problem at all, we all make mistakes or have brain farts

 

[Coelacanth18]

Thanks for the list @David Peden! This is one of the few major zoos in the country we did not have a recent species list for, so your work on it is much appreciated.

Out of curiosity, do you happen to know what the species were on these herps? No worries if not.

African Bush Viper
Mexican Jumping Viper
Gaboon Viper
Painted River Turtle
Tiger Salamander
Gliding Tree Frog and Flying Frog (were these the same species or two different ones?)

 

[David Peden]

Here you go! If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

African Bush Viper (Atheris squamigera)
Mexican Jumping Viper (Metlapilcoatlus nummifer)
Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica)
Painted River Turtle (Batagur borneoensis)
Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
Gliding Tree Frog (Agalychnis spurrelli)
Flying Frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus)

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

Here you go! If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

African Bush Viper (Atheris squamigera)
Mexican Jumping Viper (Metlapilcoatlus nummifer)
Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica)
Painted River Turtle (Batagur borneoensis)
Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
Gliding Tree Frog (Agalychnis spurrelli)
Flying Frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus)

Are you sure the Gaboon Viper is Bitis gabonica and not Bitis rhinoceros? From what I have heard there are very few if any true B. gabonica in US collections

 

[David Peden]

After doing a bit more research it looks like you're correct. All the pics of it I could find label it as Bitis rhinoceros. My mistake. @Coelacanth18 Bit of a correction to my list

 

[Coelacanth18]

Are you sure the Gaboon Viper is Bitis gabonica and not Bitis rhinoceros? From what I have heard there are very few if any true B. gabonica in US collections

Out of curiosity where have you heard this? You're right that a lot of B. rhinoceros are ambiguously or incorrectly signed as B. gabonica still, but is there evidence that that is the case for all or nearly all of them?

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

Out of curiosity where have you heard this? You're right that a lot of B. rhinoceros are ambiguously or incorrectly signed as B. gabonica still, but is there evidence that that is the case for all or nearly all of them?

I can't remember exactly, but I think I heard it from a worker at either San Antonio or Waco zoo, when I asked about the sign (which was changed from B. gabonica to B. rhinoceros) If you can find any US zoos that have B. gabonica I'd love to hear about it!

 

[Coelacanth18]

I can't remember exactly, but I think I heard it from a worker at either San Antonio or Waco zoo, when I asked about the sign (which was changed from B. gabonica to B. rhinoceros) If you can find any US zoos that have B. gabonica I'd love to hear about it!

I have seen zoos sign their vipers as B. gabonica, but the signage may well just be outdated/incorrect. Maybe one of these days I'll go back through my Gaboon photos and see if I can ID them visually.

 

[SusScrofa]

I can't remember exactly, but I think I heard it from a worker at either San Antonio or Waco zoo, when I asked about the sign (which was changed from B. gabonica to B. rhinoceros) If you can find any US zoos that have B. gabonica I'd love to hear about it!

Bronx Zoo has both gabonica and rhinoceros on display (though both are only listed as subspecies). I doubt they'd do that if they did not confirm the distinctness of the specimens.

 

[Smaggledagle]

Does Houston Zoo no longer have southern tamandua?