These are my choices - I have not included any mammals yet (as I'm not sure exactly how the walkthrough exhibits will work yet) and also traded out one of the amphibians, so I can have more reptiles and invertebrates.
Reptiles
1. Red spitting cobra,
Naja pallida
Native range: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania
While not the most commonly-kept cobra species (although by no means is it the rarest either), this snake from the savannahs and semi-deserts of the Horn of Africa is probably one of the most beautiful members of the cobra family.
Temperature – 20-27 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 70%
Biomes – Desert, Grassland
Group size – 1-4
Exhibit type – A new type of grassland exhibit, with loamy soil and clumps of grass as well as several large rocks and a dead tree branch
2. Burmese vine snake,
Ahaetulla fronticincta
Native range: Myanmar
This elegant venomous snake is kept and bred in a number of zoos and aquariums in the United States. They are unusual among snakes in that they can be kept in large groups (the California Academy of Science has 23 in their exhibit) and are unique in being the only tree-dwelling snake to feed entirely on a diet of fish.
Temperature – 25-30 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 60-100%
Biomes – Aquatic, Tropical
Group size – 1-30
Exhibit type – A new type of tropical exhibit, where shallow water extends all the way around the central tree
3. Turquoise dwarf gecko,
Lygodactylus williamsi
Native range: Tanzania
A Critically Endangered tiny gecko from the mountain forests of East Africa, which are now managed as part of a breeding programme here in Europe and are kept by 61 collections listed on Zootierliste. While normally they can only be kept in small groups, they can be kept in larger groups if they have a large enclosure with lots of cover (which I think describe the current Planet Zoo exhibits very well).
Temperature – 23-26 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 60-80%
Biomes – Tropical
Group size – 3-8
Exhibit type – A new type of montane forest exhibit, with Spanish moss and epiphytes with a large quantity of rocks on the ground
4. Peter's banded skink,
Scincopus fasciatus
Native range: Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia
Although often thought of as a desert skink, this species may actually live more on moist savannahs on the edge of the Sahara. They are quite large, are kept in a small number of zoos, have bred in captivity and are sociable by lizard standards, so could be kept in groups in the exhibit.
Temperature – 30-37 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 50%
Biomes – Grassland
Group size – 4-7
Exhibit type – The new type of grassland exhibit
Amphibians
5. Kaiser's spotted newt,
Neurergus kaiseri
Native range: Iran
A brilliantly-coloured species of Asian newt that is now increasingly kept in captivity (32 collections listed on Zootierliste alone); they are threatened in the wild by drought and are part of a captive breeding programme.
Temperature – 15-25 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 30-60%
Biomes – Aquatic, Desert
Group size – 1-6
Exhibit type – A new type of semi-aquatic exhibit, where the land area is sand with sandstone rocks and dry grass
6. Rio Chingual torrenteer treefrog,
Hyloscirtus pantostictus
Native range: Colombia, Ecuador
This species of South American frog is Critically Endangered in the wild. Although they have been kept in captivity, this exact species has never bred (although other frogs in the same genus have bred in captivity, so I am comfortable including them here). They also have the benefit of being absolutely beautiful.
Temperature – 19-22 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 85-95%
Biomes – Aquatic, Tropical
Group size – 1-5
Exhibit type – The new montane forest exhibit, with a rocky torrent enrichment item
Invertebrates
7. Surinam grasshopper,
Tetrataenia surinama
Native range: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname
Now that we have automated exhibit animal populations, I hope that it could open the doors to smaller invertebrates that can be kept in large numbers (garden chafer beetles and hissing cockroaches would also be ideal recipients of this feature). This brightly-coloured grasshopper is kept in zoos, is about the size of the Lehmann's poison frog and tells a conservation story, as they flourish most in regenerating rainforest.
Temperature – 23-28 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 75-85%
Biomes – Tropical
Group size – 5-100
Exhibit type – Tropical exhibit
8. Golden-eyed stick insect,
Peruphasma schultei
Native range: Peru
A Critically Endangered species of South American stick insect that is increasingly common in zoos; if we got a threatened species of stick insect, this would be my preference over the Lord Howe (the golden-eyed is very easy to keep and breed, while the Lord Howe is supposed to be very difficult to establish).
Temperature – 20-22 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 40-60%
Biomes – Tropical
Group size – 1-20
Exhibit type – The new montane forest exhibit
9. Barbados brown velvet worm,
Epiperipatus barbadensis
Native range: Barbados
Velvet worms are among the most ancient of all living fossils, with very similar creatures being one of the first living things on land. As velvet worms go, these are one of the easier species in captivity and can be kept in a similar manner to poison frogs.
Temperature – 22-27 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 80-90%
Biomes – Tropical
Group size – 1-40
Exhibit type – Tropical exhibit
10. Olimpia's ground beetle,
Carabus olympiae
Native range: Italy
A brightly-coloured European beetle which is threatened in the wild and was, for a time, kept in a captive breeding programme by London Zoo which shows they are able to be bred in a captive setting (unlike the titan beetle).
Temperature – 20-24 degrees Celsius
Humidity – 50-60%
Biomes – Taiga, Temperate
Group size – 1-6
Exhibit type – Temperate exhibit
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