Meet the world’s animals.
Photos: 12,636 · Stories: 19,540
- Common Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus
Photo: Cephas · CC BY-SA 3.0 A semiaquatic rodent that lives in wetlands and along waterways in North America.
- 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.
- 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.
- Eurasian wigeon Mareca penelope
A short-billed duck that feeds on plants both in water and on land. Breeding males have a chestnut head and pale forehead.
- Sierra Madre Occidental Pocket Gopher Megascapheus sheldoni
The Sierra Madre Occidental pocket gopher is a rodent of the highlands of western Mexico. It inhabits high-elevation pine-oak forests and ranges from northwestern Chihuahua through Durango to western Zacatecas and northeastern Nayarit.
- Common Mud Turtle Kinosternon subrubrum
This turtle sometimes shelters around alligator nests.
- North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis
A stocky black whale without a dorsal fin, found mainly in North Atlantic coastal waters.
- Zora silvestris
A small spider with dark bands on the front part of its body, recorded from Europe, the Caucasus and Turkmenistan.
- Crested Jayshrike Platylophus galericulatus
This bird has a black-and-white body and a long crest that curves forward. It occurs in Southeast Asian forests, often in pairs or small family groups.
- Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
A long-necked waterbird known for its showy breeding feathers.
- Venus flytrap sea anemone Actinoscyphia aurelia
A deep-sea anemone observed on sandy and muddy seafloors during a Gulf of Alaska survey.
- African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis
In captive trials, tadpole growth and development changed in water treated with pesticides.
- Walrus Odobenus rosmarus
A northern marine mammal recognized by long tusks and sturdy whiskers around its muzzle.
- Sun bear Helarctos malayanus
A small bear of Southeast Asian tropical forests, with short black fur and round ears. Many have a pale chest marking.
- Indo-Pacific Crocodile Crocodylus porosus
Male saltwater crocodiles tracked in northern Australia moved at sea toward their original capture sites after release elsewhere.
- Black kite Milvus migrans
A familiar raptor in Japan, with long wings and a long tail that has a shallow notch at its tip.
- Palmchat Dulus dominicus
The Palmchat is a Caribbean island bird with a plain brown back and heavily streaked underparts. It also has a red iris and a strong, slightly decurved bill.
- Common frog Rana temporaria
A long-legged frog of damp woods and meadows that lays its eggs in water.
- Snow leopard Panthera uncia
A snow leopard is a cat of Central Asian mountains. Thick fur and a long tail suit its life on rocky slopes.
- Neotropical River Otter Lontra longicaudis
An otter of South America and Trinidad, using rivers, lakes and their banks.
- 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.
- Common Crane Grus grus
A large crane that breeds from Europe across northern Asia and winters in southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia and other regions.
- Golden Tanager Tangara arthus
The Golden Tanager combines golden plumage with a black ear patch and chestnut throat. It forages in the canopy of montane forest on the eastern Andes.
- Cerro Enmedio moss salamander Nototriton lignicola
A small salamander known from mountains in Honduras. Its recorded range covers a limited part of that mountainous landscape.