Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,025 · Stories: 19,293

• Venus flytrap sea anemone Actinoscyphia aurelia

  

  A deep-sea anemone observed on sandy and muddy seafloors during a Gulf of Alaska survey.

• loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta

  

  A genome study reported about 2.13 billion base pairs in the loggerhead sea turtle assembly.

• Ringed seal Pusa hispida

  

  A small seal of the seasonally ice-covered seas around the Arctic. It keeps breathing holes open in the ice.

• Troglohyphantes pedemontanus

  

  A small spider of caves in north-western Italy, known from three caves in Piemonte.

• European Tree Frog Hyla arborea

  

  In a survey in western Zealand Flanders, the maximum number of males calling in one night helped estimate the seasonal male population in pools.

• Common kestrel Falco tinnunculus

  

  A pointed-winged falcon with a long tail, well known for hovering. In Britain it uses grassland, farmland and open spaces in towns.

• Bengal Slow Loris Nycticebus bengalensis

  This loris is active in trees at night. Its coat ranges from pale to strongly reddish, and its diet includes nectar and plant exudates.

• Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis

  A small diving duck that often holds its tail upright. Breeding males have a blue bill and chestnut body; the species breeds in North America.

• Nine-banded Armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus

  An armadillo active around dusk and at night that searches leaf litter for insects. It also occurs in parts of the United States east and north of Texas.

• Hermann's Tortoise Testudo hermanni

  Hermann’s tortoise is a terrestrial turtle found in southern Europe. Its rounded carapace is domed and can range from yellow, olive, or orange to dark brown.

• Manuel's Cellar Spider Pholcus manueli

  Recorded widely in Asia and the United States, females of this spider have slightly more closely spaced eye groups than males.

• Redpoll Acanthis flammea

  A small finch with a red forehead patch and white wingbars; its appearance varies across the forms included in the current species.

• Common Midwife Toad Alytes obstetricans

  This frog carries eggs wrapped around the male’s hind legs.

• Brumback's Night Monkey Aotus brumbacki

  Brumback’s night monkey is a nocturnal primate described as endemic to Colombia’s Llanos. It sleeps in cavities in both living and dead trees.

• African buffalo Syncerus caffer

  A large wild bovine of sub-Saharan Africa, usually found near water. Body size, coat color, and horn shape vary among its subspecies.

• Gould's Frogmouth Batrachostomus stellatus

  Gould's Frogmouth is a small frogmouth of Southeast Asian evergreen broadleaf forest. It occurs in dark and chestnut morphs.

• 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.

• Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus

  A plover with a long crest and glossy green plumage. It breeds in lowland Britain and is also widespread in lowlands and coastal wetlands in winter.

• Japanese fire-bellied newt Cynops pyrrhogaster

  A newt of rice fields and ponds on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, with a dark back and a red belly patterned in black.

• Giant Otter Shrew Potamogale velox

  The giant otter shrew is a semi-aquatic mammal of central African rivers and swamps. It swims by moving its laterally flattened tail and forages near water from dusk into the night.

• European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus

  An animal of European grasslands, hedgerows and gardens. Spines cover its back, and it curls into a ball when threatened.

• Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis

  A large tern with a long, bright-orange bill. It lives along tropical and subtropical coasts and catches small fish and shrimp in shallow water.

• European Pond Terrapin Emys orbicularis

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

• Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops

  A bird with a raised crest, an orange-beige body, and bold black-and-white wings.