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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.
reptile
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus adamanteus
The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is a species of pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the Southeastern United States. It is the largest rattlesnake species and one of the heaviest venomous snakes in the Americas. No subspecies are recognized.
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bird
Spectacled Owl
Pulsatrix perspicillata
The spectacled owl also called a Murucututu, is a large tropical owl native to the neotropics. It is a resident breeder in forests from southern Mexico and Trinidad, through Central America, south to southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northwestern Argentina. There are six subspecies. One is occasionally treated as a separate species called the short-browed or brown-spectacled owl but the consensus is that it is still merely a race until more detailed analysis can be done.
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bird
American Kestrel
Falco sparverius
The American kestrel is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. Though it has been called the American sparrowhawk, this common name is a misnomer; the American kestrel is a true falcon, while neither the Eurasian sparrowhawk nor the other species called sparrowhawks are in the Falconidae family, hence only very distantly related to the American kestrel. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of a blue jay to a mourning dove. It also ranges to South America and is a well-established species that has evolved into 17 subspecies adapted to different environments and habitats throughout the Americas. It exhibits sexual dimorphism in size and plumage, although both sexes have a rufous back with noticeable barring. Its plumage is colorful and attractive, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adults.
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mammal
Bat-Eared Fox
Otocyon megalotis
The bat-eared fox is a species of fox found on the African savanna. It is the only extant species of the genus Otocyon, and is the sister species to all other members of the tribe Vulpini, not genetically being a true fox. Fossil records indicate this canid first appeared during the middle Pleistocene. There are two separate populations of the bat-eared fox, each of which makes up a subspecies. The bat referred to in its colloquial name is possibly the Egyptian slit-faced bat, which is abundant in the region and has very large ears. Other vernacular names include big-eared fox, black-eared fox, long-eared fox, Delalande's fox, cape fox, and motlosi.
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mammal
Wallaby
Macropodidae
A wallaby is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and sometimes the same genus, but kangaroos are specifically categorised into the four largest species of the family. The term "wallaby" is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or a wallaroo that has not been designated otherwise.
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mammal
Red Kangaroo
Osphranter rufus
The red kangaroo is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, except for the more fertile areas, such as southern Western Australia, the eastern and southeastern coasts, and the rainforests along the northern coast.
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invertebrate
Grove Snail
Cepaea nemoralis
Cepaea nemoralis, the grove snail, brown-lipped snail or lemon snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc. Cepaea nemoralis is the type species of the genus Cepaea.
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invertebrate
Apple Snail
Pomocaeidae
Ampullariidae, is a family of large freshwater snails that includes the mystery snail species. They present an operculum and simultaneously have a gill and a lung as respiratory structures, which are separated by a division of the mantle cavity. This adaptation allows these animals to be amphibious. Species in this family are considered gonochoristic, meaning that each individual is either male or female.
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invertebrate
Ramshorn Snail
Planorbidae
The term ramshorn snail or ram's horn snail is used in two different ways. In the aquarium trade it is used to describe various kinds of freshwater snails whose shells are planispiral, meaning that the shell is a flat coil. Such shells resemble a coil of rope, or a ram's horn. In a more general natural history context, the term "ramshorn snails" is used more precisely to mean those aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Planorbidae that have planispiral coiled shells.
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invertebrate
Nerite Snail
Neritidae
Neritidae, common name the nerites, is a family of small to medium-sized saltwater and freshwater snails which have a gill and a distinctive operculum. The family Neritidae includes marine genera such as Nerita, marine and freshwater genera such as Neritina, and freshwater and brackish water genera such as Theodoxus.
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invertebrate
Rabbit Snail
Tylomelania
Tylomelania is a genus of freshwater snails which have an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Pachychilidae. In the aquarium hobby, snails from this genus are commonly known as "rabbit snails".
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invertebrate
Blue Ring Octopus
Hapalochlaena
Blue-ringed octopuses, comprising the genus Hapalochlaena, are four extremely venomous species of octopus that are found in tide pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Japan to Australia. They can be identified by their yellowish skin and characteristic blue and black rings that can change color dramatically when the animals are threatened. They eat small crustaceans, including crabs, hermit crabs, shrimp, and other small sea animals.
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invertebrate
Giant Pacific Octopus
Enteroctopus dofleini
The giant Pacific octopus, also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus and Enteroctopodidae family.
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invertebrate
Cuttlefish
Sepiida
Cuttlefish, or cuttles, are marine molluscs of the family Sepiidae. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of buoyancy. They have large, W-shaped pupils, eight arms, and two tentacles furnished with denticulated suckers, with which they secure their prey. They generally range in size from 15 to 25 cm, with the largest species, the giant cuttlefish, reaching 50 cm (20 in) in mantle length and more than 10.5 kg (23 lb) in mass.
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invertebrate
Vampire Squid
Vampyroteuthis infernalis
The vampire squid is a small cephalopod found throughout temperate and tropical oceans in extreme deep sea conditions. The vampire squid uses its bioluminescent organs and its unique oxygen metabolism to thrive in the parts of the ocean with the lowest concentrations of oxygen. It has two long retractile filaments, located between the first two pairs of arms on its dorsal side, which distinguish it from both octopuses and squids, though its closest relatives are octopods. As a phylogenetic relict, it is the only known surviving member of the order Vampyromorphida.
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invertebrate
Colossal Squid
Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni
The colossal squid is a species of very large squid belonging to the family Cranchiidae, that of the cockatoo squids or glass squids. It is sometimes called the Antarctic cranch squid or giant squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only recognized member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis.
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invertebrate
Giant Squid
Architeuthis dux
The giant squid is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism; recent estimates put the maximum body size at around 5 m (16 ft) for females, with males slightly shorter, from the posterior fins to the tip of its long arms. This makes it longer than the colossal squid at an estimated 4.2 m (14 ft), but substantially lighter, as it is less robust and its arms make up much of the length. The mantle of the giant squid is about 2 m long, and the feeding tentacles of the giant squid, concealed in life, are 10 m (33 ft). Claims of specimens measuring 20 m (66 ft) or more have not been scientifically documented.
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invertebrate
Nautilus
Nautilidae
A nautilus is any of the various species within the cephalopod family Nautilidae. This is the sole extant family of the infraorder Nautilaceae and the suborder Nautilina.
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invertebrate
Horseshoe Crab
Limulidae
Horseshoe crabs are arthropods of the family Limulidae and the only surviving xiphosurans. Despite their name, they are not crabs or even crustaceans; they are chelicerates, more closely related to arachnids like spiders, ticks, and scorpions. The body of a horseshoe crab is divided into three main parts: the cephalothorax, abdomen, and telson. The largest of these, the cephalothorax, houses most of the animal's eyes, limbs, and internal organs. It is also where the animal gets its name, as its shape somewhat resembles that of a horseshoe. Horseshoe crabs have been described as "living fossils", having changed little since they first appeared in the Triassic around 250 million years ago, and similar-looking fossil xiphosurans extend back to the Ordovician around 445 million years ago.
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reptile
Sea Krait
Laticaudinae
Sea kraits are a genus of venomous snakes belonging to the genus Laticauda and the subfamily Laticaudinae. They are semiaquatic, and retain the wide ventral scales typical of terrestrial snakes for moving on land, but also have paddle-shaped tails for swimming. Unlike fully aquatic ovoviviparous sea snakes, sea kraits are oviparous and must come to land to digest prey and lay eggs. They also have independent evolutionary origins into aquatic habitats, with sea kraits diverging earlier from other Australasian elapids. Thus, sea kraits and sea snakes are an example of convergent evolution into aquatic habitats within the Hydrophiinae snakes. Sea kraits are also often confused with land kraits, which are not aquatic.
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