Park Collections

Each of our five parks has a distinct museum and archive collection based on the purpose and history of each park, and the resources in each park. A general profile of each park’s collection is found below, as of September 30, 2019.

Big Cypress National Preserve

NPS Photo

Big Cypress National Preserve

• 1,532,340 archeology objects
• 6 ethnology objects
• 2,923 history objects
• 981,035 archives objects
• 68 art objects
• 28.975 biology objects
• 0 paleology objects
• 6 geology objects

• 2,545,353 total objects

Boca Chita Key in foreground, Miami skyline in the distance, from Biscayne National Park

NPS Photo

Biscayne National Park

• 74,793 archeology objects
• 1 ethnology object
• 746 history objects
• 978,483 archives objects
• 0 art objects
• 6,049 biology objects
• 0 paleology objects
• 1,155 geology objects
• 1,061,227 total objects

Costumed interpreter demonstrating sixteenth-century European weaponry to De Soto National Memorial visitors at the park's reconstructed Camp Uzita

NPS Photo

De Soto National Memorial

• 73,961 archeology objects
• 0 ethnology objects
• 64 history objects
• 93,769 archives objects
• 1 art objects
• 99 biology objects
• 0 paleology objects
• 0 geology objects
• 167,894 total objects

Aerial view looking east at Fort Jefferson, Garden Key, and Bush Key at Dry Tortugas National Park

NPS Photo

Dry Tortugas National Park

• 21,154 archeology objects
• 0 ethnology objects
• 771 history objects
• 366,997 archives objects
• 4 art objects
• 10,728 biology objects
• 0 paleology objects
• 195 geology objects
• 399,849 total objects

American crocodile at Everglades National Park. South Florida is the only place in the continental U.S. where alligators and crocodiles live together.

NPS Photo

Everglades National Park

• 678,405 archeology objects
• 55 ethnology objects
• 834 history objects
• 2,988,938 archives objects
• 112 art objects
• 137,372 biology objects
• 0 paleology objects
• 3,470 geology objects
• 3,809,186 total objects

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Big Cypress National Preserve Biscayne National Park De Soto National Memorial Dry Tortugas National Park Everglades National Park

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

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Species attribute definitions

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Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.

Donations to Our Park Collections

If you have objects, memorabilia, letters, photographs, or other materials that may fit one of our park collections--and wish to donate that material to the National Park Service--please use the Contact Us link to get in touch with our museum curator. All donations will be evaluated by the park's collections advisory committee and must be approved by the park superintendent. Each park has an approved Scope of Collection Statement that guides additions to the park's museum and archive collections.