Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,025 · Stories: 19,293

• 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.

• Loria's Satinbird Cnemophilus loriae

  

  Loria's Satinbird lives in the canopy of montane forest. Males are black while females are olive-toned, and a male's far-carrying whistle can be heard from a perch.

• 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.

• Asian elephant Elephas maximus

  

  An Asian elephant lives in South and Southeast Asia. It uses its trunk to grasp food and pour water into its mouth.

• Common earthworm Lumbricus terrestris

  

  An earthworm that makes deep burrows, feeding on leaf litter at the surface and sometimes pulling it underground. It connects life above and below the soil.

• Tri-spine horseshoe crab Tachypleus tridentatus

  

  A coastal animal of East and Southeast Asia with a hard shell and long tail. It lays eggs on sandy shores, and young animals grow on tidal flats.

• Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos

  A large eagle that soars on broad wings. In Britain it occurs in places such as the Scottish Highlands and islands.

• Choirboys Pycnoclavella narcissus

  A colonial sea squirt described from Algoa Bay, South Africa, with swollen tips on branching stalks.

• Venus flytrap sea anemone Actinoscyphia aurelia

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

• Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius

  A hippopotamus spends much of the day in water and grazes on land at night. It uses rivers, lakes and nearby grassland.

• Zora silvestris

  A small spider with dark bands on the front part of its body, recorded from Europe, the Caucasus and Turkmenistan.

• Grevy’s zebra Equus grevyi

  A Grevy’s zebra has large ears and a long, narrow head. It lives in dry parts of Ethiopia and northern Kenya.

• Common kingfisher Alcedo atthis

  A bird that dives from waterside perches to catch small fish. Its blue back contrasts with a chestnut belly.

• European Pond Terrapin Emys orbicularis

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

• Plotocnide borealis

  This animal has a swimming medusa and a minute mud-dwelling polyp. DNA research connected forms that had been treated as separate species.

• Colombian Red Howler Alouatta seniculus

  The Colombian red howler lives in forests of northern and western South America. Its reddish coat and grasping tail stand out; it eats leaves and its group's calls carry far.

• Puerto Rican Woodpecker Melanerpes portoricensis

  This woodpecker is endemic to Puerto Rico. It has a black back, white forehead, and red throat and breast, and searches dead trunks and branches for insects.

• Common Midwife Toad Alytes obstetricans

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

• European starling Sturnus vulgaris

  A bird native to Europe and other Palearctic regions, introduced to North America. Outside breeding season it may form large flocks.

• Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata

  These branching structures belong to an animal, not a plant. Elkhorn coral grows in shallow Caribbean waters; thickets shelter fish and other creatures.

• 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.

• White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus

  A deer found across much of North America. Its coat is reddish brown in summer and grayish brown in winter.

• Naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber

  The naked mole-rat lives in underground tunnels in dry parts of eastern Africa.

• 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.