Natural history museums with live animals

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

My memory might not be fully correct, but I believe the HMNS location in Sugar Land actually has more live animal exhibits than the main one in Houston, at least as far as amphibian exhibits are concerned. I would be happy to post correlating photographs in the forum.

Yes, please do, that would be very interesting to see.

 

[UngulateNerd92]

@UngulateNerd92 Thank you so much for listing these museums !

That is quite an impressive list of different institutions that you have visited.

I'm intrigued, what live specimens do these museums keep in their collections ?

Thank you for your interest, despite my offering, that is a loaded question, so let me start with the one I last visited, which was just before the start of the pandemic.

Las Cruces Museum of Nature & Science in Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Of the live animal displays, this one happens to be one of my favorites.

Here is a species list from my correlating notes and photographs;

Big Bend slider (Trachemys gaigeae)

Collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)

Desert kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula splendida)

Yellow mud turtle (Kinosternon flavescens)

Red eared slider (Trachemys scripta)

Western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta)

Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Black-masked desert scorpion (Hadrurus spadix)

Glossy snake (Arizona elegans)

Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum)

Bluegill (Lepornis macrochirus)

Canyon tree frog (Hyla arenicolor)

Madrean alligator lizard (Elgaria kingii)

Queretaro kingsnake (Lampropeltis ruthveni)

Red spotted toad (Bufo punctatus)

Desert millipede (Orthoporus ornatus)

Colorado river toad (Allotis alvarius)

Sonoran gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis)

Woodhouse's toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii)

Tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)

Great Plains toad (Anaxyrus cognatus)

Western green toad (Anaxyrus debilis)

Side blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana)

Prairie fence lizard (Sceloporus undulates)

Marbled whiptail (Cnemidophorus marmorata)

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Thank you for your interest, despite my offering, that is a loaded question, so let me start with the one I last visited, which was just before the start of the pandemic.

Las Cruces Museum of Nature & Science in Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Of the live animal displays, this one happens to be one of my favorites.

Here is a species list from my correlating notes and photographs;

Big Bend slider (Trachemys gaigeae)

Collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)

Desert kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula splendida)

Yellow mud turtle (Kinosternon flavescens)

Red eared slider (Trachemys scripta)

Western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta)

Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Black-masked desert scorpion (Hadrurus spadix)

Glossy snake (Arizona elegans)

Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum)

Bluegill (Lepornis macrochirus)

Canyon tree frog (Hyla arenicolor)

Madrean alligator lizard (Elgaria kingii)

Queretaro kingsnake (Lampropeltis ruthveni)

Red spotted toad (Bufo punctatus)

Desert millipede (Orthoporus ornatus)

Colorado river toad (Allotis alvarius)

Sonoran gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis)

Woodhouse's toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii)

Tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)

Great Plains toad (Anaxyrus cognatus)

Western green toad (Anaxyrus debilis)

Side blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana)

Prairie fence lizard (Sceloporus undulates)

Marbled whiptail (Cnemidophorus marmorata)

Thank you for sharing these species being kept !

Seems like a very decent collection of amphibians, reptiles and inverts that they have at the Las Cruces Museum.

What marks it out as being different from others you have visited ?

Also, the Queretaro kingsnake kept there stands out to me as an interesting addition as it is a "near threatened" species and a Central Mexican endemic.

 

[TheMightyOrca]

It seems that quite a number of natural history museums in Europe and North America (and presumably in other parts of the world) have gone with the concept of having a live butterfly house / exhibit on site as a part of the institution.

Why does everyone think this is a popular practice for these museums ?

Is it to attract more influx of visitors / money ?

Is there greater educational potential and recreational enjoyment for the visitors ?

Could it be the ease of care and inexpensiveness of raising the butterflies is a "win / win" ?

If a lot of places have them, they must be popular. The one in Houston is spectacular, I go in there on most of my visits! It's definitely very educational. You can get a guide to identify different species while you're in the butterfly area. Part of the Butterfly Center is the Hall of Entomology, more like a regular museum exhibit, with a lot of signs, videos, and activities, along with some smaller insect displays. My favorite is the Chrysalis Corner, you can watch the butterflies break out. If I visit the Butterfly Center I just HAVE to see at least one break out before I move on, lol. But sometimes I'll stay and watch for a long time.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

If a lot of places have them, they must be popular. The one in Houston is spectacular, I go in there on most of my visits! It's definitely very educational. You can get a guide to identify different species while you're in the butterfly area. Part of the Butterfly Center is the Hall of Entomology, more like a regular museum exhibit, with a lot of signs, videos, and activities, along with some smaller insect displays. My favorite is the Chrysalis Corner, you can watch the butterflies break out. If I visit the Butterfly Center I just HAVE to see at least one break out before I move on, lol. But sometimes I'll stay and watch for a long time.

The good thing about these kind of displays too is that they are interactive and that is a very good thing for a museum to have and particularly when so much is either off limits or behind the panes of glass display cabinets.

I think there is often a stereotype by the public of museums being "boring" places full of dead things and butterflies are both alive and colourful and exhibits with them sort of fly in the face (pun intended) of these generalizations and help attract greater visitor numbers.

I can totally understand why butterfly houses are popular features of museums but even so I would also like to see more live specimens being kept and particularly those of conservatin concern.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Though I haven't personally visited yet, the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History which is on the campus of Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel has live invertebrate displays inside it's museum building. Those include several stick insects, hissing cockroaches, lubber grasshoppers, a nest of Camponotus, Gryllotalpa, crickets, grasshoppers, assassin bugs, scorpions, and a few spider species etc. The collections manager in their entomology department is friend of mine. I actually thought about sending him some specimens of Arizona native insects I have stored in my freezer. He doesn't oversee the live invertebrate displays, another curator and collection manager deal with that.

Meir Segals Garden University Zoo which is situated next to the museum building is actually a part of the museum, similar to Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Like the wildlife center at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Meir Segals Garden University Zoo specializes in taxa native to its region, but that is not all they keep. Native Israeli/Palestinian species and subspecies kept at Meir Segals include Syrian rock hyrax, Palestine blind mole rat, Syrian striped hyena, Palestine jungle cat, Syrian golden jackal, Anatolian wild boar, Mesopotamian fallow deer, Palestine mountain gazelle, Nubian ibex, Palestine red fox, Tristam's jird, Sundevall's jird, Long eared hedgehog etc.

As far as natural history museums with live animal exhibits that I have personally visited, boy do I have a lot to contribute! I will share such examples in further posts I plan to make in this thread.

These examples that you mention in Israeli natual history museums sound particularly interesting. Great to hear that both a wide variety of inverts are kept at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History and that you have connections with this institution.

Are these insects just kept on display or also used educationally at this museum ?

The Meir Segals Garden University Zoo also sounds interesting and especially to me because it seems to have a focus entirely on native and endemic Israeli / Palestinian species which is what I have already believe that a zoo should aim for.

Do they just keep mammals or are there also birds, reptiles and amphibians kept ?

 

[UngulateNerd92]

These examples that you mention in Israeli natual history museums sound particularly interesting. Great to hear that both a wide variety of inverts are kept at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History and that you have connections with this institution.

Are these insects just kept on display or also used educationally at this museum ?

The Meir Segals Garden University Zoo also sounds interesting and especially to me because it seems to have a focus entirely on native and endemic Israeli / Palestinian species which is what I have already believe that a zoo should aim for.

Do they just keep mammals or are there also birds, reptiles and amphibians kept ?

Good question. Yes they do keep birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but the only examples I listed were mammals.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Good question. Yes they do keep birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but the only examples I listed were mammals.

I see , are these all endemic or native species too ?

 

[UngulateNerd92]

I see , are these all endemic or native species too ?

Again, that is their speciality, but not solely what they keep.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Museo de historia natural, Manuel Martínez Solórzano, Morelia, Mexico - This natural history museum (named after a famous Mexican naturalist from the region) is on one of the cities university campuses and has a live collection of the endemic Lake Patzcuaro salamander / "achoque" (Ambystoma dumerilii). There are also some endemic freshwater fish species kept (haven't been able to discover what these are).

Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Pará, Brazil- This natural history is located in the city of Belém, it is named after the famous Swiss naturalist who discovered amongst other species the Goeldi's monkey. The museum has a botanical garden and a collection / zoo of native animals including jaguar, lowland tapir, white cheeked spider monkey, capybara, giant otter, several amazon parrots, several macaw species,currosaws, guans, owls, toucans, freshwater turtles and caiman.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

@vogelcommando I just noticed that you uploaded many photographs taken at the Natural academy of sciences in Belgium on the Zoochat gallery.

These pictures show live exhibits of inverts (phantasmids, tarantula, scorpions, black widow spider), amphibians, fish (marine fish and cichlids) and reptiles (venomous snakes and monitor lizards).

Do you have any observations of this museum and its live collections ?

 

[Enzo]

The Catavento museum, located in the city of São Paulo has/had 1-2 fish tank(s) with saltwater fish. I was able to see the aquarium/aquaria every single time I went there.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

@Enzo Thank you for your comment, I haven't been to the Catavento yet so haven't seen this, do you remember what species are kept ?

 

[Enzo]

@Enzo Thank you for your comment, I haven't been to the Catavento yet so haven't seen this, do you remember what species are kept ?

I remember seeing yellow and regal tangs, as well as common clownfish and lionfish. Searching a bit on the internet, I could find photos of one of the tanks showing other three species of tang (purple, sailfin and one I can't recognize) as well as a yellow fish that looks like a basslet and a yellowtail clownfish.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

So I think I'll post some pictures from the gallery of live displays at different natural history museums around the world to have a visual guide of these in the thread, beginning with these museums in Europe.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Germany & Austria

Museum fur natur und umwelt:

European pond turtle exhibit :

European grass snake exhibit:

Beehive exhibit:

Freshwater fish (housing ruffe and perch) tank:

Freshwater fish (housing eel, rudd, roach and nase) tank:

Stuttgart museum of natural history:

Stick insects (species?):

Photo credits to @German Zoo World.




Photo credits to @Hvedekorn.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Belgium

Museum of Natural Sciences:

Reptiles and amphibians at the museum:

Uracoan rattlesnake :

Diamond back rattlesnake:

Monocled cobra :

Ceylon pit viper:

Puff adder:

Baron's racer snake:

Gaboon viper:

Eyelash viper:

King cobra:

Copperhead:

Kimberly rock monitor:

Gila monster:

Oriental fire belly toads :

Yellow headed poison dart frog:

Waxy monkey frog:

Smooth sided toad:

Photo credits to @vogelcommando and @fishpod.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Belgium

Museum of Natural sciences

Inverts at the museum:

Newly described stick insects and terrarium:

Great thin stick insect:

Peruvian stick insect:

Black widow spider:

Mexican red knee tarantula:

Malagasy hissing cockroaches:

Flower beetles :

Brazilian salmon pink bird eating spider:

Photo credits to @vogelcommando and @fish pod.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

UK

Horniman museum (aquarium)

Giant frogfish:

Bioluminescent coral aquarium:

Lobster tank:

Starfish tank:

Four eyed fish:

Pool frog:

Common frog:

Leaf fish:

Moon jelly fish:

Marine aquarium Fijian reef :

Caribbean mangrove aquarium:

Native freshwater fish aquarium (carp, tench, sticklebacks and rudd ):

Sea horse aquarium:

Harvest mice:

Sea anenomes in a fully functioning Victorian era aquarium:

Amazonian aquarium (several tetra fish species, blue-spotted corydoras, discus, ram, creeping burhead and Indian shot lily ):

Photo credits to @Giant Panda and @devilfish.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

UK

Manchester museum (herpetarium)

Golden poison frog:

Strawberry poison dart frog:

Variable harlequin toad:

Eastern casque headed lizard:

Pictured tree frog:

Blue headed anole:

Phantasmal poison dart frog:

Lau banded iguana:

Golden mantella:

Panther chameleon:

Green tree python:

Yellow headed day gecko:

Tomato frog:

Neon day gecko:

Alison's anole:

View of terrariums / gallery:

Terrarium example:

Splendid leaf frog:

Photo credits to @TeaLovingDave , @Javan Rhino , @Bwassa, @devilfish , @gentle lemur , @ThylacineAlive ,