Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,636 · Stories: 19,540

• Pygmy Sperm Whale Kogia breviceps

  

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

• Dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima

  The dwarf sperm whale is a small toothed whale found widely in temperate and tropical seas. It is distinct from the pygmy sperm whale.

• European Pond Terrapin Emys orbicularis

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

• Common cuckoo Cuculus canorus

  A bird arriving in Japan in late spring, when males give the familiar cuckoo call.

• Troglohyphantes pedemontanus

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

• 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.

• European Mole Talpa europaea

  This stocky mole digs tunnels underground and searches for earthworms and other food in the soil.

• Common Cuttlefish Sepia officinalis

  The common cuttlefish has a broad oval body with fins along its sides. It lives in shallow seas and offshore waters, with records from the North Sea region to southeastern Africa.

• 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.

• Great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo

  A long-necked swimmer that dives to catch fish.

• Northern Schiffornis Schiffornis veraepacis

  Northern Schiffornis ranges from Central America to northern Ecuador and northwestern Peru. The description here follows records of the rosenbergi subspecies in northwestern Peru and nearby Ecuador.

• Roman Snail Helix pomatia

  Helix pomatia has a large rounded shell, cream-colored with faint brown bands. Its native range is in central and southeastern Europe, and it lives in woods, hedgerows, and tall vegetation.

• American black bear Ursus americanus

  A bear of North American forests. Many are black, while western populations also include brown and paler individuals.

• Rough-skinned Sea Anemone Actinostola callosa

  A seafloor anemone. A study off eastern Canada found a diverse range of small food items in its digestive cavity.

• 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.

• 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.

• Common Midwife Toad Alytes obstetricans

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

• Choirboys Pycnoclavella narcissus

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

• Pine Marten Martes martes

  A forest-dwelling marten from Europe that climbs well.

• Eastern Mole Scalopus aquaticus

  The eastern mole digs underground tunnels and feeds on earthworms and beetle larvae. Its broad front feet are adapted for digging.

• Loggerhead Turtle Caretta caretta

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

• Ostrich Struthio camelus

  A flightless bird with a long neck and strong legs, living in African grasslands and other open habitats.

• 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.

• Mountain Barbet Psilopogon monticola

  It is a stocky green bird with a bare orange-yellow patch around the eye and a heavy pale bill. In Borneo's montane forest canopy it feeds mainly on fruit and berries.