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The Living Encyclopedia
Explore our comprehensive database of reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. Discover detailed care guides, morph varieties, and community setups.
mammal
Antarctic Fur Seal
Arctocephalus gazella
The Antarctic fur seal is one of eight seals in the genus Arctocephalus, and one of nine fur seals in the subfamily Arctocephalinae. Despite what its name suggests, the Antarctic fur seal is mostly distributed in Subantarctic islands and its scientific name is thought to have come from the German vessel SMS Gazelle, which was the first to collect specimens of this species from the Kerguelen Islands.
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mammal
Aardvark
Orycteropus afer
The aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. The aardvark is the only living member of the genus Orycteropus, the family Orycteropodidae and the order Tubulidentata. It has a long proboscis, similar to a pig's snout, which is used to sniff out food.
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mammal
Tamandua
Tamandua tetradactyla
The southern tamandua, also called the collared anteater or lesser anteater, is a species of anteater from South America and the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. It is a solitary animal found in many habitats, from mature to highly disturbed secondary forests and arid savannas. It feeds on ants, termites, and bees. Its very strong foreclaws can be used to break insect nests or to defend itself.
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mammal
Giant Armadillo
Priodontes maximus
The giant armadillo, colloquially tatu-canastra, tatou, ocarro or tatú carreta, is the largest living species of armadillo. It lives in South America, ranging throughout as far south as northern Argentina. This species is considered vulnerable to extinction.
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mammal
Two-toed Sloth
Choloepus didactylus
Linnaeus's two-toed sloth, also known as the southern two-toed sloth, unau, or Linne's two-toed sloth is a species of sloth from South America, found in Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil north of the Amazon River. There is now evidence suggesting the species' range expands into Bolivia. It's the largest extant sloth species.
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mammal
Pangolin
Manis javanica
The Sunda pangolin, also known as the Malayan or Javan pangolin, is a species of pangolin. It is a member of the Manidae family. Its English name comes from the Malay name pëngulin, which means "roller".
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mammal
Giant Pangolin
Smutsia gigantea
The giant pangolin is a species of pangolin from genus Smutsia of subfamily Smutsiinae within the family Manidae. It is the largest living species of pangolins. Members of the species inhabit Africa with a range stretching along the equator from West Africa to Uganda. It subsists almost entirely on ants and termites.
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mammal
Platypus
Ornithorhynchus anatinus
The platypus, sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative of its family Ornithorhynchidae and genus Ornithorhynchus, though a number of related species appear in the fossil record. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Like other monotremes, the platypus has a sense of electrolocation, which it uses to detect prey in water while its eyes, ears and nostrils are closed. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on each hind foot that delivers an extremely painful venom.
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mammal
Short-beaked Echidna
Tachyglossus aculeatus
The short-beaked echidna, also known as the common echidna, or short-nosed echidna, is one of four living species of echidna, and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus, from Ancient Greek ταχύς, meaning "fast", and γλῶσσα, meaning "tongue". It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialised tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only living group of mammals to do so.
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mammal
Wallaby
Notamacropus rufogriseus
The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been introduced to several other countries, including New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Isle of Man, France and Germany.
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mammal
Tree Kangaroo
Dendrolagus bennettianus
Bennett's tree-kangaroo is a large tree-kangaroo. Males can weigh from 11.5 kg up to almost 14 kg, while the females range between about 8 to 10.6 kg. They are very agile and are able to leap 9 metres (30 ft) down to another branch and have been known to drop as far as 18 metres (59 ft) to the ground without injury.
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mammal
Hairy-nosed Wombat
Lasiorhinus latifrons
The southern hairy-nosed wombat is one of three extant species of wombats. It is found in scattered areas of semiarid scrub and mallee from the eastern Nullarbor Plain to the New South Wales border area. It is the smallest of all three wombat species. The young often do not survive dry seasons. It is the state animal of South Australia.
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mammal
Quoll
Dasyurus maculatus
The tiger quoll, also known as the spotted-tailed quoll, spotted quoll, spotted-tailed dasyure, or tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus Dasyurus native to Australia. With males and females weighing around 3.5 and 1.8 kg, respectively, it is the world's second-largest extant carnivorous marsupial, behind the Tasmanian devil. Two subspecies are recognised; the nominate is found in wet forests of southeastern Australia and Tasmania, and a northern subspecies, D. m. gracilis, is found in a small area of northern Queensland and is endangered.
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mammal
Numbat
Myrmecobius fasciatus
The numbat, also known as the noombat or walpurti, is an insectivorous marsupial. It is diurnal and its diet consists almost exclusively of termites.
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mammal
Bilby
Macrotis lagotis
The greater bilby or often simply bilby, is a long-eared, rabbit-like mammal native to Australia. It lives in burrows and is active at night, feeding on insects, fruit, or fungi. The bilby is a marsupial and carries its young in a pouch. Threats include habitat loss, disease, and introduced predators such as foxes. Formerly widespread, bilbies are now restricted to arid parts of northwestern and central Australia.
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mammal
Bandicoot
Perameles nasuta
The long-nosed bandicoot, a marsupial, is a species of bandicoot found in eastern Australia, from north Queensland along the east coast to Victoria. Around 40 centimetres (16 in) long, it is sandy- or grey-brown with a long snouty nose. Omnivorous, it forages for invertebrates, fungi and plants at night.
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mammal
Possum
Trichosurus vulpecula
The common brushtail possum is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Australia and invasive in New Zealand, and the second-largest of the Australasian possums.
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mammal
Cuscus
Phalanger orientalis
The northern common cuscus, also known as the gray cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae native to northern New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipelago, southeast and central Moluccas, the Solomons, and Timor, where it is believed to have been introduced in prehistoric times from New Guinea. It was formerly considered conspecific with the allopatric P. intercastellanus and P. mimicus.
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mammal
Woylie
Bettongia penicillata
The woylie or brush-tailed bettong is a small, near threatened mammal native to forests and shrubland of Australia. A member of the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroidae), it moves by hopping and is active at night, digging for fungi to eat. It is also a marsupial and carries its young in a pouch. Once widespread across southern Australia, the woylie mostly died out from habitat loss and introduced predators such as foxes and feral cats. It is currently restricted to two small areas in Western Australia. There are four subspecies: both B. o. ogilbyi, and B. o. sylvatica, are extant and occur in small populations in the southwest, while B. o. odontoploica, and B. o. francisca are extinct.
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amphibian
Caecilian
Ichthyophis glutinosus
Ichthyophis glutinosus, the Ceylon caecilian or common yellow-banded caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae endemic to Sri Lanka. Its natural habitats are moist tropical and subtropical forests and pastures.
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