The Reptile and Amphibian Collection contains approximately 6000 lots of reptiles and frogs from the New Zealand mainland and offshore islands, as well as some fossil marine-reptile material and foreign specimens.
The collection is a permanent storage facility for specimens, many of which are rare and endangered, and is used for the comparison and identification of existing and new species.
New Zealand's reptile fauna has two species of the famous tuatara as well as skinks and geckos. Many of these have not yet been described, as genetic analysis shows that what were previously regarded as single species have turned out to be a more complex collection of different species.
There are also specimens of other reptiles found in New Zealand: five species of sea turtle and two species of sea snake.
We also have a collection of terrestrial mammals, including extensive and important collections of introduced rats, hares, rabbits, wallabies, mustelids (weasels, stoats, etc), and possums, as well as rare native bats, and the skeleton of the famous racehorse Phar Lap.
Reptiles
This collection comprises mainly indigenous skinks and geckos, as well as the tuatara, sea turtles and sea-snakes. Foreign reptiles are represented by other lizards, snakes and crocodiles, and there is a small but significant collection of fossil marine reptiles - mosasaurs, elasmosaurs and pliosaurs - collected in NZ in the late nineteenth century.
Amphibians
We have collections of the four species of New Zealand frog, and the three common Australian introduced frogs.
Land Mammals
New Zealand has two species of bats. Every other land mammal has been introduced. The rows of deer and big game trophy heads contrast with the reference collections of rat, stoat, and wallaby skulls.