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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallVirginia does not have one legally defined creature called “the state animal,” and its current law does not use the phrase “the 11 official state animals.” Instead, Code of Virginia § 1-510 assigns species and objects to separate categories. Counting the 11 animal-related categories—Bat, Bird, Dog, freshwater Fish, saltwater Fish, Insect, Pollinator, Pony, Salamander, Shell and Snake—produces the familiar total. The same statute also names a state Fossil, Chesapecten jeffersonius, which is not a living animal designation.
The list below follows the statute page dated October 13, 2026, including amendments through 2026, chapter 957. It explains exactly what is being counted, why older lists differ and where Virginia’s flower and tree fit.
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What Virginia law actually designates
Section 1-510 of the Code of Virginia organizes state emblems by legal category rather than placing every creature under a single “state animal” heading. The categories include two kinds of fish and several other animal-related entries. The wording matters: a category such as “Dog” or “Bird” identifies the official representative for that category, not an exclusive answer to the question “What is Virginia’s state animal?”
Using the 11 animal-related categories and excluding the fossil gives the count used in this guide. The Shell entry is included because it is one of the statute’s animal-related designations, although an oyster shell is a hard structure rather than a living animal. If you count only living animals and exclude the shell, there are 10 living species or animal groups. If you add the fossil, the statute contains 12 animal-related or animal-linked entries.
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This counting rule should appear in any classroom handout, website headline or museum label. Otherwise, a reader may reasonably compare an 11-item list with a 10-item list and assume one is wrong. The difference can result solely from whether the shell or fossil is included and from whether the newer categories have been added.
The complete statutory list
| Legal category | Virginia designation | Scientific name in § 1-510 | How it counts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bat | Virginia Big-eared bat | Corynorhinos townsendii virginianus | Animal-related count |
| Bird | Northern Cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | Animal-related count |
| Dog | American Foxhound | Not stated in the statute entry | Animal-related count |
| Fish (Freshwater) | Brook Trout | Not stated in the statute entry | Animal-related count |
| Fish (Saltwater) | Striped Bass | Not stated in the statute entry | Animal-related count |
| Insect | Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly | Papilio glaucus | Animal-related count |
| Pollinator | Honey Bee | Apis mellifera | Animal-related count |
| Pony | Chincoteague Pony | Not stated in the statute entry | Animal-related count |
| Salamander | Red Salamander | Pseudotriton ruber | Animal-related count |
| Shell | Oyster shell | Crassostrea virginica | Animal-related count, but the designation is a shell |
| Snake | Eastern Garter Snake | Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis | Animal-related count |
| Fossil | Chesapecten jeffersonius | Chesapecten jeffersonius | Separate fossil designation, excluded from 11 |
The table mirrors the legal headings. “Freshwater Fish” and “Saltwater Fish” are two entries, not one broad fish entry. Likewise, “Pollinator,” “Pony” and “Salamander” are independent headings. Combining them for convenience changes the count and hides what the statute actually says.
The 11 animal-related designations, explained
1. Virginia Big-eared bat — Bat
Virginia’s Bat designation is the Virginia Big-eared bat, written in the statute as Corynorhinos townsendii virginianus. The law uses the category “Bat,” so this is the official bat symbol rather than a general claim that every bat in Virginia has state-symbol status. When reproducing the name, retain the capitalization and italicized scientific name shown in the code.
2. Northern Cardinal — Bird
The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is Virginia’s official Bird. The statute’s category is singular and species-specific: it identifies the cardinal as the state’s representative bird. A list that says only “cardinal” is understandable, but “Northern Cardinal” is the more precise common name used for the designation.
3. American Foxhound — Dog
Virginia’s Dog designation is the American Foxhound. This is why many short answers identify the foxhound when someone asks for Virginia’s state animal. More precisely, it is the official state dog; Virginia law does not elevate it above the other categories as one all-purpose state animal. Do not replace it with the Chincoteague Pony: the pony has its own statutory heading.
4. Brook Trout — Freshwater Fish
Brook Trout fills the freshwater side of Virginia’s fish symbols. The separate category is important because the statute distinguishes fish by habitat: Brook Trout is not the same designation as the state’s saltwater fish. A concise list should therefore label it “Freshwater Fish,” not simply “Fish,” when the goal is to reproduce the legal categories.
5. Striped Bass — Saltwater Fish
Striped Bass is Virginia’s Saltwater Fish. Reading the two fish entries together prevents a common error in which a list gives one fish and omits the other. Both categories are official under § 1-510, and counting them as one item would reduce the animal-related total by one.
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6. Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly — Insect
The Insect designation is the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio glaucus. The statute names it under “Insect,” while the butterfly’s common name specifies the particular species used for the symbol. It should not be counted again as a second butterfly category; it is one entry under Insect.
7. Honey Bee — Pollinator
Virginia’s current statute separately designates the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) as Pollinator. This entry is one reason newer legal lists are longer than older classroom summaries: the pollinator category appears in the current code even when an older list stops at the more familiar bird, dog, fish, insect, shell, bat and snake entries. The Honey Bee is not a duplicate of the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly; the two occupy different legal categories.
8. Chincoteague Pony — Pony
The Chincoteague Pony is Virginia’s official Pony. “Pony” is its own statutory category, so it should not be treated as a second name for the American Foxhound or folded into a generic horse category. Including the pony is necessary when presenting the complete current list, even though some summary pages do not show it.
9. Red Salamander — Salamander
The Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) is the state Salamander. Like the pollinator and pony, this designation is present in the current § 1-510 list but absent from some older educational and government summaries. It is one category and one count, not an additional name for the state’s bat, snake or other reptile and amphibian symbols.
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Virginia designates an Oyster shell under the category “Shell,” using Crassostrea virginica. The legal symbol is the shell designation, not a claim that an inanimate shell is a living animal. It is included in the 11 animal-related categories because it is one of the statute’s animal-linked emblems; readers who want only living animals should identify that counting choice. Omitting it without explanation is the most common reason a purported current list has only 10 entries.
11. Eastern Garter Snake — Snake
The Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) is Virginia’s official Snake. The scientific name in the statute identifies the subspecies-level designation rather than leaving the category at the broader common name alone. Keep the snake as a separate entry even when organizing a lesson by broad groups such as mammals, birds, fish, insects and reptiles.
Why the fossil is not an “animal” on the list
Chesapecten jeffersonius is Virginia’s official Fossil. Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) describes it as a species of scallop, but the legal designation is a fossil, not a living state animal. Include it when making a complete guide to Virginia’s natural-history symbols; exclude it when counting the 11 animal-related categories described above.
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The spelling should follow the current statute: Chesapecten jeffersonius. A Secretary of the Commonwealth summary uses the spelling “Chesapacten Jeffersonius,” but the statutory text uses “Chesapecten jeffersonius.” For a legal or educational publication, the code’s spelling and capitalization are the safer choices.
Why online lists of Virginia animals do not match
Current statute versus summary pages
The current Code of Virginia is the controlling source for the legal list. The page used for this guide is dated October 13, 2026, and records amendments through 2026, chapter 957. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s symbols summary includes the bird, dog, freshwater and saltwater fish, shell, insect, fossil, bat and snake, but it omits the pollinator, pony and salamander that appear in the current § 1-510. A summary page can therefore be useful for a quick introduction while still being incomplete for a current count.
Older educational materials
An older DWR educational map presents the familiar set of bird, dog, shell, bat, insect, freshwater fish, fossil, saltwater fish and snake, along with the dogwood as both tree and flower. It does not show the three additional animal designations now listed in the statute. That difference explains why a child’s worksheet, a tourism page and a legal-code-based list may contain different totals without one necessarily being a typographical error.
Counting categories differently
Three counting decisions change the headline number:
- Count the 11 animal-related categories and exclude the fossil: the commonly quoted total is 11.
- Count only living animals and exclude the oyster shell: the total is 10.
- Include the fossil with the 11 categories: the statute contains 12 animal-related or animal-linked entries.
None of these counts turns the fossil into a living animal or creates a single statutory “state animal.” State the rule you are using whenever you publish or teach the list. Also say whether “shell” is being treated as an animal-related emblem or omitted as a nonliving object.
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American Dogwood (Cornus florida) is Virginia’s official Flower and official Tree. It is a plant symbol and should not be added to an animal count. A broader Virginia state-symbol lesson can place the dogwood beside the animal, shell and fossil designations, but it belongs under its own two categories.
Practical ways to present the symbols
For a classroom chart, place the legal category in the first column, the common designation in the second and any scientific name exactly as written in § 1-510 in the third. Mark the fossil with a separate color or heading so younger readers do not mistake a fossil for a living species. A caption such as “11 animal-related categories; fossil listed separately” prevents the most frequent misunderstanding.
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DWR’s state-symbol learning materials and wildlife coloring sheet can support an educational activity, but older worksheets may show only the earlier, shorter set. Before distributing a worksheet, compare its entries with the current code and add Honey Bee, Chincoteague Pony and Red Salamander if the goal is a current statutory list. For a family activity or classroom sidebar, the coloring format works best as an optional teaching aid rather than as proof of the legal count.
When citing the symbols, name Code of Virginia § 1-510 and the date of the code page. Use the Secretary of the Commonwealth summary as a secondary overview, not as a substitute for checking the statute, and explain any discrepancy in the fossil’s spelling or in the three omitted categories.
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Does Virginia have one official state animal?
No single category in § 1-510 is titled “state animal.” Virginia has several category-specific designations, including an official dog, bird, two fish, bat, insect, pollinator, pony, salamander, shell and snake.
Is the foxhound or the bat Virginia’s state animal?
The American Foxhound is the official Dog, while the Virginia Big-eared bat is the official Bat. Calling either one “the” state animal loses the distinction created by the statute.
Why do some lists say Virginia has 11 animals?
They generally count the 11 animal-related categories, including the Shell entry, and leave out the separately designated Fossil. A list that excludes the shell or includes the fossil is using a different counting rule.
What is Virginia’s state fossil?
It is Chesapecten jeffersonius, identified by DWR as a scallop species. It is a fossil symbol, not a living animal symbol.
Using the list accurately
For a classroom handout, museum label or family activity, label the source and counting method: “Animal-related categories in Code of Virginia § 1-510, fossil excluded.” Keep the two fish categories separate, identify the Honey Bee, Chincoteague Pony and Red Salamander when presenting the current law, and place American Dogwood in a plant-symbol section. That format remains understandable even when readers compare it with an older nine-item map or a shorter government summary.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are Virginia’s 11 official animal-related symbols?
The categories are Bat, Bird, Dog, Freshwater Fish, Saltwater Fish, Insect, Pollinator, Pony, Salamander, Shell and Snake. Their designations are the Virginia Big-eared bat, Northern Cardinal, American Foxhound, Brook Trout, Striped Bass, Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Honey Bee, Chincoteague Pony, Red Salamander, Oyster shell and Eastern Garter Snake.
Is Virginia’s fossil included in the count of 11?
No. Chesapecten jeffersonius is a separate Fossil designation. Adding it produces 12 animal-related or animal-linked entries, but it does not make the fossil a living state animal.
Why does an older Virginia list have fewer symbols?
Older educational maps and some government summary pages omit the Pollinator, Pony and Salamander categories now present in Code of Virginia § 1-510. They may also list the fossil and dogwood, which changes the apparent total.
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Is the oyster shell a living state animal?
No. The statute’s Shell entry designates an oyster shell associated with Crassostrea virginica. It is included in the 11 animal-related categories as an animal-linked emblem, while a living-animal-only count would exclude it.
What are Virginia’s official flower and tree?
American Dogwood (Cornus florida) is both the official Flower and official Tree. It is a plant symbol and should not be added to the animal-related count.
The Bottom Line
Virginia law does not name one all-purpose state animal. Code § 1-510 currently lists 11 animal-related categories, including two fish categories, a Honey Bee, Chincoteague Pony, Red Salamander and Oyster shell. The fossil Chesapecten jeffersonius is separate, and American Dogwood belongs to the plant symbols.
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