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Texas does not have one official list containing exactly nine state animals. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) lists 15 animal-related designations in separate categories, including mammals, birds, fish, an amphibian, a reptile, a crustacean, a sea turtle, an insect, a dinosaur, a dog breed, a horse and a bison herd.
This guide names all 15 entries, explains why “nine” is an incomplete count, and separates species from breeds, herds and other categories. The list is based on TSLAC’s current state-symbol categories, with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) material used as corroboration for several familiar symbols.
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Why “nine official state animals” is an incomplete count
“Nine official state animals” is not a defined total in Texas law or in TSLAC’s state-symbol list. TSLAC organizes animal-related symbols by category rather than placing every designation in one animal roster. Its entries include an amphibian, bird, bison herd, crustacean, dinosaur, dog breed, fish, horse, insect, three mammal categories, reptile, saltwater fish and sea turtle.
That produces 15 animal-related entries. A count of nine can be reached only by applying a personal selection rule, such as counting a group of familiar wild-animal symbols while excluding breeds, a herd, the dinosaur and some specialized categories. Such a selection must not be presented as Texas’ complete official set.
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TSLAC is the best starting point because Texas Government Code section 441.006(a)(9) directs the agency to “prepare and make available to the public a complete list of every state symbol and place designation.” The agency’s list also points readers to the legislative resolutions behind the designations.
For context, TSLAC reported 76 symbols in a September 27, 2023 announcement. That was the then-current total for all Texas symbols, not an animal count.
The 15 animal-related designations on the official state-symbol list
The table preserves TSLAC’s category wording. A category can identify a species, a broader animal group, a breed, a herd or an extinct animal; those are not interchangeable biological descriptions.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute| Official category | Designation | What the category represents | Legislative reference trail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amphibian | Texas Toad | A named amphibian symbol | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Bird | Mockingbird | A named bird symbol | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Bison Herd | Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park | A designated herd, not a single species entry | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Crustacean | Texas Gulf Shrimp | A named crustacean symbol | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Dinosaur | Paluxysaurus jonesi | An extinct dinosaur designation | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Dog Breed | Blue Lacy | A breed designation rather than a wild species category | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Fish | Guadalupe Bass | The freshwater fish category used by TSLAC | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Horse | American Quarter Horse | A horse designation; the list does not label it as a mammal category | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Insect | Monarch Butterfly | A named insect symbol | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Mammal, Flying | Mexican Free-tailed Bat | Texas’ flying-mammal category | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Mammal, Large | Longhorn | Texas’ large-mammal category | 1995 House Concurrent Resolution 178; listed by TSLAC |
| Mammal, Small | Armadillo | Texas’ small-mammal category | 1995 House Concurrent Resolution 178; listed by TSLAC |
| Reptile | Texas Horned Lizard | A named reptile symbol | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Saltwater Fish | Red Drum | A separate saltwater-fish category | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
| Sea Turtle | Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle | A named sea-turtle symbol | TSLAC state-symbol list and its cited legislative resolution |
The three official mammal categories
Texas uses three distinct mammal labels rather than one undifferentiated “state mammal” title. The longhorn is the official large mammal, the armadillo is the official small mammal and the Mexican free-tailed bat is the official flying mammal. TSLAC’s exact labels are “Mammal, Large — Longhorn” and “Mammal, Small — Armadillo,” with the bat listed under “Mammal, Flying.”
The 1995 Texas House Concurrent Resolution 178 is a useful example of checking the underlying legislative record. It designates the longhorn as official state large mammal and the armadillo as official state small mammal. The resolution does not establish that these are Texas’ only official animals; it establishes those two particular mammal categories.
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TPWD independently summarizes the mockingbird, longhorn, Mexican free-tailed bat, armadillo and Texas horned lizard among Texas’ familiar symbols. That educational summary is helpful corroboration, but TSLAC’s category list is the stronger reference for the complete set and for the official labels.
How to read each category correctly
Amphibian: Texas Toad
Texas Toad is the state’s amphibian designation in TSLAC’s list. “Amphibian” identifies the official category; it does not turn the entry into a general list of every amphibian associated with Texas.
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The mockingbird occupies the bird category. It is one of the symbols most often mentioned in public descriptions of Texas, and TPWD also identifies it as a state symbol. The official category remains “Bird,” not “songbird” or “native bird.”
Bison herd: Caprock Canyons
The Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park is a place-based herd designation. It is not the same kind of entry as a single named species. Counting it explains why a biological tally and an official-symbol tally can produce different totals.
Crustacean: Texas Gulf Shrimp
Texas Gulf Shrimp appears under “Crustacean.” TSLAC does not place it in the fish category, so a list that simply calls every aquatic animal a fish would misstate the official classification.
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Dinosaur: Paluxysaurus jonesi
Paluxysaurus jonesi is the dinosaur entry. It is an extinct animal designation, which is why a reader asking about animals currently encountered in Texas might reasonably exclude it while still acknowledging its official-symbol status.
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Blue Lacy is listed as a dog breed. A breed designation describes a domesticated lineage, not a wild species category. It belongs in a complete account of animal-related state symbols even if a narrower “wildlife” list leaves it out.
Fish: Guadalupe Bass
Guadalupe Bass is the entry under the general “Fish” heading. The category wording matters because Texas separately identifies a saltwater fish; the list does not collapse both into one generic fish symbol.
Horse: American Quarter Horse
American Quarter Horse is its own “Horse” designation. TSLAC does not label this entry “mammal,” even though horses are mammals biologically. Official-symbol categories reflect the wording adopted for the symbol, not a complete zoological taxonomy.
Insect: Monarch Butterfly
Monarch Butterfly is the official insect entry. It is therefore part of the animal-related list even when a short “state animals” article uses “animal” informally to mean larger vertebrates.
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Flying mammal: Mexican free-tailed bat
The Mexican free-tailed bat is Texas’ flying-mammal symbol. Its separate category shows why adding the longhorn, armadillo and bat as three different entries is correct: each represents a distinct official mammal designation.
Large mammal: Longhorn
Longhorn is the official large-mammal entry. HCR 178 supports this designation, and TSLAC uses the concise category-and-name wording “Mammal, Large — Longhorn.”
Small mammal: Armadillo
Armadillo is the official small-mammal entry. As with the longhorn, HCR 178 supports the category, while TSLAC’s list supplies the current official presentation.
Reptile: Texas horned lizard
The Texas horned lizard is the reptile designation. TPWD also highlights it among familiar Texas symbols, providing an independent educational reference to the same animal.
Saltwater fish: Red drum
Red Drum is not a duplicate of Guadalupe Bass. TSLAC places it under the specifically named “Saltwater Fish” category, preserving a distinction between the two official fish designations.
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Sea turtle: Kemp’s ridley sea turtle
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle is listed in its own “Sea Turtle” category. It demonstrates again that TSLAC’s list is organized by symbol wording, not by a single hierarchy in which every entry must fit under “mammal,” “bird” or “fish.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Animal-related symbols that can change a casual count
TPWD identifies the lightning whelk as Texas’ shell symbol. A lightning whelk is an animal, but TSLAC categorizes it as a shell designation rather than placing it in the 15 animal categories above. Whether a reader includes it depends on whether “state animals” means every symbol depicting an animal or only entries filed under animal categories.
The same issue applies to the bison herd, Blue Lacy, American Quarter Horse and Paluxysaurus jonesi. They are all animal-related official designations, but they represent a herd, breed, horse category and extinct dinosaur respectively. A headline that promises exactly nine cannot silently mix some of these categories in and leave others out.
Which list should you use?
- For the complete current state-symbol picture: use TSLAC’s animal-related categories and include all 15 entries.
- For a wildlife-focused classroom or field guide: identify your rule first, then decide whether to exclude the breed, horse, herd and extinct dinosaur categories.
- For legal or historical verification: follow the legislative references attached to TSLAC’s list; HCR 178 specifically verifies the large-mammal longhorn and small-mammal armadillo designations.
- For wildlife identification: a Texas wildlife field guide can help identify animals, but identification information does not by itself prove that an animal is an official state symbol.
Keeping the list current
State symbols can change when the Texas Legislature adopts a new designation. The 76-symbol figure from TSLAC’s September 2023 announcement is historical and should not be treated as a permanent total. Before citing a count in a school project, museum label or publication, check the current TSLAC list and the legislative session that may have added or changed a symbol.
The safest wording is therefore precise: Texas has multiple official animal-related symbols across distinct categories, and TSLAC currently lists the 15 entries shown above. “Nine official state animals” is a partial selection, not the complete official set.
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