A Light-Hearted Romp through the State Animal Zoo
Category: Just Plain Silly...
Posted Friday, June 01, 2007 at 08:10 AM [GMT-6]

[You can blame Gwynne for this post, which came about following a comment she left on an earlier one. I kept waiting for her to spring first, but she has better judgment than me.]

The discovery that Texas has no state amphibian (and thus is prone to recurring bouts of mascot envy) led me to do some research on the vital subject of official state critters. Here's but a smidgen of what I've learned thus far:

• Louisiana has a state crustacean, the Crawfish (aka crawdad, aka mudbug). It also has a state dog, the Catahoula Leopard dog. We have a Catahoula living in our neighborhood. I'll have to start according it more respect.


• Connecticut's state insect is the European Praying Mantis, proving that we're right to be suspicious of its ties to the Old Country. They have a state shellfish – the oyster (how original) – but they're lacking in the crustacean department. It also claims the Sperm Whale as its state animal, which strikes me as a bit presumptuous, if not downright gaudy.


• Alabama's state animal is the Racking Horse. I'm pretty sure we don't have any of them in our neighborhood. In fact, I'm not convinced they even exist.


• New Mexico gets kudos for its selection of the Roadrunner as its state bird, but loses an equal number of points for designating the Spadefoot Toad as its official amphibian. One of the oddest choices is that of the Tarantula Hawk Wasp as the state insect (we called 'em "cow killers" when we were kids). Oh, and in a special designation, the residents of Santa Fe have selected the unicorn as their official animal.


• Oklahoma's state reptile is the Mountain Boomer, a truly magnificent lizard, but I wonder if more than about eight people in the whole state have ever seen one?


• Arizona gets the "in your face" award for choosing the Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake as its state reptile. The selection is puzzling until you learn that this was the last species of rattler to be discovered in the USA, and it's deemed by herpetologists to be one of the most primitive rattlesnakes found in this country. Scientists have yet to find one capable of operating a television or buying car insurance.


• This one cracked me up. New Jersey's state animal is the Horse. No particular breed. Just "the Horse." That makes it easier to remember their State Drug and their State Game.


• Iowa apparently can't be bothered. They have no state anything other than a state bird (the Eastern Goldfinch; you'd think they'd at least pick the Midwestern Goldfinch, but I guess that would have been too much trouble.) The state is considering selecting the Crinoid as its official mascot, although it barely edged out Herbert Hoover.


• Tennessee has three state insects (the Honeybee, the Firefly and the Lady Bug) as well as a state butterfly (the Zebra Swallowtail). No wonder their new license plates will read "Tennessee: The Entomology State."


• The state animal of South Dakota is the Coyote. And they wonder why no one takes them seriously.


• This is kind of surprising. Ohio's state reptile is a snake, the Black Racer, to be exact.


• Rhode Island is another state with an ill-advised mascot. Their state bird is a chicken (the Rhode Island Red, which, while admittedly being a well-known breed is still, you know, a chicken).


• OK, I just discovered that Delaware has a chicken mascot, too (the Blue Hen Chicken).

Given all of these "interesting" facts, what's the one official creature you WISH your home state would adopt?