The genus was first described by the German ornithologist and herpetologist Hermann Schlegel in 1848. The park's reptile house is named after the famous herpetologist Mark O'Shea. Herpetologist Douglas March died after being bitten by this species. This toad was first described in 1966 by herpetologist Jay Savage. This snake was first described by American herpetologist John Edwards Holbrook in 1842. The specific name "schlegelii" honors German herpetologist Hermann Schlegel. The subspecific name, "cowlesi", is in honor of African-born American herpetologist Raymond Bridgman Cowles. The subspecific name, "boettgeri", honors German herpetologist Oskar Boettger. The subspecific name, "gaigeae", is in honor of American herpetologist Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige. The subspecific name, "fitzingeri", is in honor of Austrian herpetologist Leopold Fitzinger. He named it "Typhlonectes eiselti", in honour of Viennese herpetologist Josef Eiselt. The subspecific name, "lowei", is in honor of American herpetologist Charles Herbert Lowe. "Naja philippinensis" was described by American herpetologist Edward Harrison Taylor in 1922. The subspecific name, "steindachneri", is in honor of Austrian herpetologist Franz Steindachner. The subspecific name "bishopi" is in honor of American herpetologist Sherman C. Bishop.