Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,824 · Stories: 19,540

• Grey heron Ardea cinerea

  

  A large heron that waits in shallow water to catch fish and other prey. In flight it draws its long neck back toward the body.

• Andean Caenolestid Caenolestes condorensis

  A small marsupial known from the Cordillera del Condor in Ecuador. Very few specimens have been captured and described.

• Common Kingsnake Lampropeltis getula

  This snake sometimes moves around alligator nests.

• Striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba

  An offshore dolphin with striking stripes running from the eyes along the sides of its body.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Brown-winged Schiffornis Schiffornis turdina

  About 17 cm long, both sexes are brownish birds. It occurs in lower layers of humid forest and in shaded secondary growth.

• Zora silvestris

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

• Lowland tapir Tapirus terrestris

  The lowland tapir lives in South American forests and wetlands, preferring sites near water where it swims well.

• 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.

• 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.

• Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus

  Often hidden high in trees, this bird has an adult male with a bright yellow body and black wings.

• Cope's Toad Rhinella diptycha

  Some tadpoles found in Maranhão, Brazil had an arc-shaped upper and V-shaped lower hard mouthpart.

• Crested Guineafowl Guttera pucherani

  It lives in East African savannas and dry forests and eats both plant matter and small invertebrates.

• Guinea pig Cavia porcellus

  A domesticated rodent originating in South America and now kept worldwide. It has a compact body and stays close to companions.

• Galapagos fur seal Arctocephalus galapagoensis

  The Galapagos fur seal is found only on the rocky shores of the Galapagos Islands.

• Cone-head Chameleon Chamaeleo calyptratus

  The veiled chameleon is a large arboreal chameleon with grasping feet and a fully prehensile tail. In an indoor study of nine animals, it used its tail for support when crossing gaps.

• Osprey Pandion haliaetus

  A fish-catching raptor with a white head crossed by a dark eye stripe. On Hachijojima it is seen near the coast in winter.

• African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis

  In captive trials, tadpole growth and development changed in water treated with pesticides.

• Chestnut-shouldered Bush-sparrow Gymnoris xanthocollis

  The Chestnut-shouldered Bush-sparrow is a small sparrow, about 12–14 cm long.

• Amazon river dolphin Inia geoffrensis

  A long-beaked dolphin that lives in freshwater in the Amazon basin.

• Collared Mongoose Urva semitorquata

  This mongoose is found in forests on Borneo and Sumatra. Much about its ecology, including its habitat preferences, remains poorly known.

• Timber Rattlesnake Crotalus horridus

  This rattlesnake sometimes moves around alligator nests.