Species

A collection of animal species from around the world.

*Sources for information and photos (unless they are by me) can be found at the bottom of each species profile.

Amphibian, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen Amphibian, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen

Turtle Frog

The turtle frog of Western Australia uses its short but muscular front arms — rather than back legs like most frogs do — to dig more than a metre (>3.3 ft) beneath the soil. Adapted to semi-arid habitats far from water, its tadpoles develop inside their eggs and hatch as tiny frogs.

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Bird, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen Bird, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen

Cape Barren Goose

The Cape Barren goose is perhaps the least aquatic of all geese — it seldom enters water, except to save its chicks. An aggressively protective parent, it chases away larger animals, including humans, by battering them with the hard "wrist" bones on its wings and pecking with its knobby beak.

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Reptile, Africa & Asia Alexander Julius Jensen Reptile, Africa & Asia Alexander Julius Jensen

Brahminy Blind Snake

The Brahminy blind snake is also known as the 'flowerpot snake' because it often hides in the soil of flowerpots, resulting in its spread throughout most of the world. It looks and acts like a worm — some 13 cm (5 in) long and subterranean — but it's one of the world's smallest snake species.

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Mammal, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen Mammal, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen

Long-tailed Planigale

The long-tailed planigale — the world's smallest marsupial — measures just 5 centimetres (2 inches) in length. Its extremely flat, wedge-shaped head allows it to squeeze into narrow cracks in the soil, offering refuge from predators and the daytime heat of northern Australia.

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Invertebrate, North America Alexander Julius Jensen Invertebrate, North America Alexander Julius Jensen

Hopkin’s Rose Nudibranch

Hopkin’s rose nudibranch is a sea slug that lives in the tidepools along North America’s West Coast. It gets its rosy-pink pigment by eating pink bryozoans — tiny, colonial animals that form larger plant-like structures. Despite looking like bubblegum, its frilly pink appearance is thought to deter predators.

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Fish, Cosmopolitan Alexander Julius Jensen Fish, Cosmopolitan Alexander Julius Jensen

Hairy Frogfish

The hairy frogfish doesn't pursue prey. Instead, it wobbles along the sea floor, finds a hiding spot, and uses a worm-like appendage on its head to lure in a victim. Its body is covered in spines which resemble strands of hair — camouflaging it amongst seaweed, assisted by colour-changing abilities.

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Bird, Central Asia Alexander Julius Jensen Bird, Central Asia Alexander Julius Jensen

Ground Tit

A resident of the Tibetan Plateau, the ground tit lives above the treeline at elevations no lower than 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). It moves along the ground in unpredictable dashes and hops — said to resemble a bouncing rubber ball — and digs burrows for nesting and shelter.

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Amphibian, South America Alexander Julius Jensen Amphibian, South America Alexander Julius Jensen

Ornate Horned Frog

The ornate horned frog is also known as a "Pacman frog" and referred to as a “mouth with legs” — and it is, appropriately, quite a glutton. It'll eat any prey that fits in its enormous mouth, from insects to lizards to mice to birds to other frogs. It'll even attempt to consume prey larger than itself.

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Bird, Africa Alexander Julius Jensen Bird, Africa Alexander Julius Jensen

Blacksmith Lapwing

The call of a blacksmith lapwing is a noisy and metallic ‘tink tink tink’ — like a blacksmith hammering on an anvil. It's an exceedingly bold bird when defending its chicks, known to attack raptors and go after elephants using the sharp spurs on its carpal (wrist) joints.

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Bird, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen Bird, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen

Mistletoebird

The mistletoebird of Australia and Indonesia specializes in feeding on mistletoe berries — digesting the flesh and depositing the sticky seeds onto branches in neat lines, where they quickly germinate and grow. The bird is nomadic, in near-constant search of mistletoe berries.

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Amphibian, Mexico Alexander Julius Jensen Amphibian, Mexico Alexander Julius Jensen

Lake Pátzcuaro Salamander

The Lake Pátzcuaro salamander is only found in a single lake in Mexico, with an estimated population of less than 100 in the wild. For 150 years, nuns in a nearby convent have been raising a population in captivity — keeping the species alive, but also making them into "cough medicine".

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Invertebrate, Antarctica Alexander Julius Jensen Invertebrate, Antarctica Alexander Julius Jensen

Wingless Midge

The wingless midge — reaching up to 6 mm (0.24 in) in length — is Antarctica's largest permanent land animal. It survives the year-round cold by burrowing, losing up to 70% of its body water, and producing antifreeze-like proteins. Without wings, it sheds less heat and avoids being blown out to sea.

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Bird, Japan Alexander Julius Jensen Bird, Japan Alexander Julius Jensen

Okinawa Rail

The Okinawa rail is Japan's only flightless bird — found exclusively on the island of Okinawa. Before nightfall, it uses its powerful clawed feet to climb trees, where it sleeps to avoid nocturnal-hunting pit vipers. In the morning, it drops back down in a graceless fluttering of wings.

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Invertebrate, East Asia Alexander Julius Jensen Invertebrate, East Asia Alexander Julius Jensen

Nomura's Jellyfish

Nomura's jellyfish is among the largest jellyfish species in the world — measuring up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in diameter and weighing up to 200 kg (440 lb). Starting out as small as a grain of rice, it can grow this large in less than a year.

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Bird, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen Bird, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen

Night Parrot

The night parrot was believed to be extinct for almost 80 years. Despite widespread sightings throughout mainland Australia, this nocturnal parrot is one of the country's most elusive birds. It lives in isolated arid regions, spending most of its time on the ground and hiding within spinifex grass.

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Mammal, Central & South America Alexander Julius Jensen Mammal, Central & South America Alexander Julius Jensen

Armoured Rat

The armoured rat is covered in sharp spines that can grow as long as 3 cm (1.2 in) — a great defence against the snakes and ocelots that share its wet rainforest habitat. Additionally, if all else fails, this rat can drop its tail to confuse or distract a predator.

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Bird, Asia Alexander Julius Jensen Bird, Asia Alexander Julius Jensen

Asian Openbill

The Asian openbill uses its "open bill" to locate and grab its favourite prey — freshwater snails — using the sharp tip of its curved, lower mandible to extract them from their shells. It is a common species of stork throughout South and Southeast Asia.

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Bird, Africa Alexander Julius Jensen Bird, Africa Alexander Julius Jensen

Egyptian Goose

Native to sub-Saharan Africa and the Nile River Valley, the Egyptian goose has now settled in N. America, much of Europe, and parts of the Middle East. Although normally quite reserved and shy, males will become boisterous and aggressive during their breeding season to attract a female.

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Amphibian, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen Amphibian, Australia Alexander Julius Jensen

Moaning Frog

The moaning frog is named for its call, which sounds like a slow and drawn-out moan. This burrowing frog is native to southwestern Western Australia, where its calls can keep people up at night — it's recommended to gently flood the frog's burrow each night until the moaning male moves on.

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