Meet the world’s animals.

Photos: 12,636 · Stories: 19,540

• House mouse Mus (Mus) musculus

  

  A small mouse living in houses, farms and cultivated fields.

• Western Japanese skink Plestiodon japonicus

  A smooth-scaled lizard of woodland edges and stone walls that basks during the day.

• Honey Possum Tarsipes rostratus

  The honey possum is a small marsupial that feeds only on nectar and pollen from native flowers. Its long tongue gathers pollen from inside flowers.

• Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris

  A sturdy heron relative that moves quietly through reeds while searching for fish and other prey.

• 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.

• Thrush-like Antpitta Myrmothera campanisona

  This ground antbird lives near the forest floor. In eastern Ecuador, adults were observed incubating two eggs in a nest built low among grasses.

• Nutria Myocastor coypus

  A large, rat-like animal from South America that lives by water. It was brought to Japan for fur and has established in several prefectures.

• 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.

• 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.

• White wagtail Motacilla alba

  A bird that walks in search of insects along watersides and farmland in Japan. Birds commonly seen there have white faces with a dark line through the eye.

• Common frog Rana temporaria

  A long-legged frog of damp woods and meadows that lays its eggs in water.

• Ethiopian Boubou Laniarius aethiopicus

  This bushshrike has glossy blue-black upperparts and tail, with white spots on the rump. It eats insects and spiders as well as small vertebrates.

• American black bear Ursus americanus

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

• St. Johann's Tree Snake Lycodryas maculatus

  A tree snake from Anjouan and Mayotte in the Comoros archipelago, mainly active at night.

• Bennett's Chinchilla Rat Abrocoma bennettii

  A rodent from rocky scrubland in Chile. Its diet and activity time vary with season and locality in the records.

• Barn swallow Hirundo rustica

  A bird with a long, deeply forked tail that catches insects in flight. It nests under building eaves and bridges as well as in other sheltered places.

• Cope's Toad Rhinella diptycha

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

• Rufous-capped Nunlet Nonnula ruficapilla

  This nunlet is recognized by its rufous cap and grey sides of the head. It occurs in humid lowland forest and may remain motionless on a branch for long periods.

• Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus

  A whale with a large head and narrow lower jaw that dives into deep water to find food.

• Bridled House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus

  A gecko found on Mo’orea.

• Laotian Rock Rat Laonastes aenigmamus

  The Laotian rock rat has long whiskers and a densely furred tail, and lives in limestone forests. In a study in central Vietnam, it hid in rock crevices by day and foraged on the forest floor at night.

• White stork Ciconia ciconia

  Adults have white bodies, black wing feathers, long legs and a reddish bill. They use open wetlands in Europe and other parts of their range.

• Wrenthrush Zeledonia coronata

  A small bird of the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. It searches for ground-dwelling invertebrates in dense growth in humid montane evergreen and elfin forests.

• Loggerhead Turtle Caretta caretta

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