Animals of French Polynesia

Leatherback sea turtle

Dermochelys coriacea

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea ), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 1.8 metres and...

Loggerhead sea turtle

Caretta caretta

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta ), is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when...

Ocean sunfish

Mola mola

The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different species, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg (545...

Great white shark

Carcharodon carcharias

The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is the only known...

Brown Booby

Sula leucogaster

The Brown booby (Sula leucogaster) is a large seabird. It is perhaps the most common and widespread species of the booby family Sulidae. They are gregarious birds that only nest on the ground and roost on solid objects rather than the water surface.

Red-Footed Booby

Sula sula

The Red-footed booby (Sula sula) is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. It is the smallest member of the booby and gannet family.

Pygmy sperm whale

Kogia breviceps

The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps ) is one of two extant species in the family Kogiidae in the sperm whale superfamily. They are not often sighted at sea, and most of what is known about them comes from the examination of stranded specimens.

Seven-arm octopus

Haliphron atlanticus

The seven-arm octopus (Haliphron atlanticus ) is one of the two largest known species of octopus; based on scientific records, it has a maximum estimated total length of 3.5 m (11 ft) and mass of 75 kg (165 lb). The only other similarly large extant...

White-Tailed Tropicbird

Phaethon lepturus

The White-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) is a beautiful pelagic tropicbird. It is the smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and the smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. In Bermuda, it is locally called a...

Pygmy killer whale

Feresa attenuata

The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata ) is a poorly known and rarely seen oceanic dolphin. It derives its common name from sharing some physical characteristics with the orca also known as the killer whale. It is the smallest cetacean species...

Conus geographus

Conus geographus

Conus geographus, popularly called the geography cone or the geographer cone, is a species of predatory cone snail. It lives in reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific, and hunts small fish. Although all cone snails hunt and kill prey using venom, the...

Mahi-mahi

Coryphaena hippurus

The mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide. Also widely called dorado (not to be confused with Salminus brasiliensis, a...

Whale shark

Rhincodon typus

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 18.8 m (61.7 ft). The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal...

Masked booby

Sula dactylatra

The masked booby (Sula dactylatra ), also called the masked gannet or the blue-faced booby, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. First described by the French naturalist René-Primevère Lesson in 1831, the masked booby is one...

Telescope octopus

Amphitretus pelagicus

The telescope octopus (Amphitretus pelagicus ) is a species of pelagic octopus found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.It is transparent, almost colorless, and has 8 arms, all of the same size.It is the only...

Coconut crab

Birgus latro

The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is a terrestrial species of giant hermit crab, and is also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod known, with a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9 lb). The distance from the tip of one...

Great frigatebird

Fregata minor

The great frigatebird (Fregata minor ) is a large seabird in the frigatebird family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific (including the Galapagos Islands) and Indian Oceans, as well as a tiny population in the South...

Striated heron

Butorides striata

The striated heron (Butorides striata ) also known as mangrove heron, little heron or green-backed heron, is a small heron, about 44 cm tall. Striated herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding...

Tiger shark

Galeocerdo cuvier

The tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is a species of ground shark, and the only extant member of the genus Galeocerdo and family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large macropredator, with females capable of attaining a length of over 5 m (16 ft 5 in)....

Aedes aegypti

Aedes aegypti

Aedes aegypti (/ˈiːdiːz/ from Greek αηδής: "hateful" and /aɪˈdʒɛpti/ from Latin, meaning "of Egypt"), the yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses, and other disease...

Bull shark

Carcharhinus leucas

The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), also known as the Zambezi shark (informally zambi) in Africa and Lake Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a species of requiem shark commonly found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers. It...

Swordfish

Xiphias gladius

Swordfish (Xiphias gladius), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfish are...

Red-tailed tropicbird

Phaethon rubricauda

The red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda ) is a seabird native to tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. One of three closely related species of tropicbird (Phaethontidae), it was described by Pieter Boddaert in 1783. Superficially...

Basking shark

Cetorhinus maximus

The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sharks reach 7.9 m (26...

Barramundi

Lates calcarifer

The barramundi (Lates calcarifer), Asian sea bass, or giant sea perch, or dangri is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the...

German cockroach

Blattella germanica

The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), colloquially known as the croton bug, is a species of small cockroach, typically about 1.1 to 1.6 cm (0.43 to 0.63 in) long. In color it varies from tan to almost black, and it has two dark, roughly...

Guppy

Poecilia reticulata

The guppy (Poecilia reticulata), also known as millionfish or the rainbow fish, is one of the world's most widely distributed tropical fish and one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae and,...

Brown noddy

Anous stolidus

The brown noddy or common noddy (Anous stolidus ) is a seabird in the family Laridae. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related black noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black. The brown...

Octopus cyanea

Octopus cyanea

Octopus cyanea, also known as the big blue octopus or day octopus, is an octopus in the family Octopodidae. It occurs in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Hawaii to the eastern coast of Africa. O. cyanea grows to 16 cm in mantle length with...

Argonauta argo

Argonauta argo

Argonauta argo, also known as the greater argonaut, is a species of pelagic octopus belonging to the genus Argonauta. The Chinese name for this species translates as "white sea-horse's nest".A. argo was the first argonaut species to be described and...

Yellowfin tuna

Thunnus albacares

The yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from the Hawaiian ʻahi, a name also used there for the closely related bigeye tuna....

Black noddy

Anous minutus

The black noddy or white-capped noddy (Anous minutus ) is a seabird from the family Laridae. It is a medium-sized species of tern with black plumage and a white cap. It closely resembles the lesser noddy (Anous tenuirostris ) with which it was at...

Maxima clam

Tridacna maxima

The maxima clam (Tridacna maxima ), also known as the small giant clam, is a species of bivalve mollusc found throughout the Indo-Pacific region. They are much sought after in the aquarium trade, as their often striking coloration mimics that of the...

Shortfin mako shark

Isurus oxyrinchus

The shortfin mako (; Māori: /ˈmaːko/; Isurus oxyrinchus), also known as the shortfin mako shark, blue pointer, or bonito shark, is a large mackerel shark. It is commonly referred to as the mako shark, as is the longfin mako shark (Isurus paucus)....

Latrodectus geometricus

Latrodectus geometricus

Latrodectus geometricus, commonly known as the brown widow, brown button spider, grey widow, brown black widow, house button spider or geometric button spider, is one of the widow spiders in the genus Latrodectus. As such, it is a 'cousin' to the...

Eurasian carp

Cyprinus carpio

The Eurasian carp or European carp (Cyprinus carpio), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The native wild populations are considered vulnerable to...

Lemon shark

Negaprion brevirostris

The lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) is a species of shark from the family Carcharhinidae and is classified as a Vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Lemon sharks can grow to 3.4 metres (11 ft) in length....

Oceanic whitetip shark

Carcharhinus longimanus

The oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) is a large pelagic requiem shark inhabiting tropical and warm temperate seas. It has a stocky body with long, white-tipped, rounded fins. The species is typically solitary, though they may gather...

Lesser frigatebird

Fregata ariel

The lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel ) is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. At around 75 cm (30 in) in length, it is the smallest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters across the Indian and Pacific...

Greater crested tern

Thalasseus bergii

The greater crested tern (Thalasseus bergii ), also called crested tern or swift tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World. Its five subspecies breed in the...

Wedge-tailed shearwater

Ardenna pacifica

The wedge-tailed shearwater (Ardenna pacifica ) is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and the...

Leach's storm petrel

Oceanodroma leucorhoa

Leach's storm petrel or Leach's petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous ) is a small seabird of the tubenose order. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek. Hydrobates is from hydōr...