Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,768 · Stories: 19,540

• Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra

  

  A dark, round-headed small whale that forms large groups in tropical seas.

• Western Japanese skink Plestiodon japonicus

  A smooth-scaled lizard of woodland edges and stone walls that basks during the day.

• Masai giraffe Giraffa tippelskirchi

  The Masai giraffe occurs in Kenya, Tanzania and part of Zambia.

• Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula

  A thrush commonly seen in British gardens and parks. It searches ground litter for worms, insects and fruit.

• Giant Pitta Hydrornis caeruleus

  The Giant Pitta is a large pitta of lowland forests in Southeast Asia. A Sabah bird guide describes males as blue and females as browner.

• Campbell's alligator lizard Abronia campbelli

  An arboreal lizard from Guatemala. In a 2009 survey, animals were found in old oak trees covered with dense plant growth.

• Pygmy Sperm Whale Kogia breviceps

  A small toothed whale of temperate and tropical seas worldwide, with a darker back and paler underside.

• Peruvian Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey Lagothrix flavicauda

  The Peruvian yellow-tailed woolly monkey is a primate endemic to Peru. It lives in trees and eats fruit, leaves, and other plant foods. Its long reddish-brown coat and yellow patch beneath the tail are distinctive.

• Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Merops leschenaulti

  The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater has a green body, chestnut head, yellow face and throat, and blue on the rump and lower belly. It catches flying insects in the air.

• European robin Erithacus rubecula

  A small bird seen in British gardens and parks. Adults have reddish breasts, and males and females look alike.

• European Pond Terrapin Emys orbicularis

  A study in eastern Poland found ampicillin resistance among Aeromonas isolates from turtles and water.

• Haitian solenodon Solenodon paradoxus

  The Haitian Solenodon is a nocturnal mammal that probes the forest floor with its long, mobile snout. It searches for insects and other small animals in Hispaniola’s forests.

• Nutria Myocastor coypus

  A large, rat-like animal from South America that lives by water. It was brought to Japan for fur and has established in several prefectures.

• White-browed Babbler Pomatostomus superciliosus

  This group-living bird inhabits dry woodland and scrub on mainland Australia. It searches the ground for insects and spiders and keeps in contact with its companions.

• Mangrove Smooth-scaled Gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris

  A gecko found on Hainan Island in China.

• White wagtail Motacilla alba

  A bird that walks in search of insects along watersides and farmland in Japan. Birds commonly seen there have white faces with a dark line through the eye.

• Lord Derby's Anomalure Anomalurus derbianus

  This squirrel-shaped rodent glides from tree to tree. It is active around dusk and at night in forests of western and central Africa.

• Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans

  A stork of Asian wetlands whose bill has a gap between the mandibles except near the tip.

• House mouse Mus (Mus) musculus

  A small mouse living in houses, farms and cultivated fields.

• Common Kingsnake Lampropeltis getula

  This snake sometimes moves around alligator nests.

• Balabac Chevrotain Tragulus nigricans

  This small mouse-deer lives on Philippine islands and is marked by dark fur and three white throat stripes.

• House sparrow Passer domesticus

  A small bird of towns and farms. Males and females differ in facial and chest markings; males have a black throat bib.

• Anhinga Anhinga anhinga

  The Anhinga is a fish-eating waterbird. When swimming, it may show only its long neck and head above the surface.

• Brown Tree Lizard Anolis sagrei

  This lizard is native to Caribbean islands and parts of Central America. It is often brown, with darker markings on its back.