The Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. It is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The Blue whale was once abundant in nearly all the Earth's oceans until the end of the 19th century. It was hunted...
The Sperm whale or cachalot (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the...
The dugong (Dugong dugon) is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow...
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...
The unusual-looking fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) from Madagascar looks like a puma and has both canine and feline features. It is the largest mammalian carnivore on the island, and preys mainly on lemurs, pursuing them through the trees with...
The Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. The common name of this species refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black....
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...
The Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a long-fingered lemur that inhabits the rainforests in Madagascar. It is the world’s largest nocturnal primate and has a unique appearance. When first discovered, it was thought to be a type of large...
Described as "The bird which made the breeze to blow" the wingspan of a Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) is the longest of any bird. It lives up to its name when it takes fishing trips that last 10-20 days and can cover 10,000 km while using...
The Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of cetacean on Earth after the Blue whale. American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale "the greyhound...
The Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the Lemur genus. Like all lemurs it is endemic to the island of...
The Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys. The Hawksbill sea turtle has a global distribution; it lives part...
The Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) is a species of endemic to the Seychelles. It is one of the largest tortoises in the world. Historically, giant tortoises were found on many of the western Indian Ocean islands, as well as...
The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea ), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world....
The Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the Blue whale and the Fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas and prefers deep offshore waters. The whale's name comes from the Norwegian word...
The indri (Indri indri ), also called the babakoto, is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-and-body length of about 64–72 cm (25–28+1⁄2 in) and a weight of between 6 and 9.5 kg (13 and 21 lb). It has a black and white coat and maintains an...
The radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata ) is a tortoise species in the family Testudinidae. Although this species is native to and most abundant in southern Madagascar, it can also be found in the rest of this island, and has been introduced to...
Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli ) is a diurnal, medium-sized lemur of the sifaka genus Propithecus. It is native to northwest Madagascar. Coquerel's sifaka was once considered to be a subspecies of Verreaux's sifaka, but was eventually...
Madame Berthe's mouse lemur (Microcebus berthae ) or Berthe's mouse lemur is the smallest of the mouse lemurs and the smallest primate in the world; the average body length is 9.2 cm (3.6 in) and seasonal weight is around 30 g (1.1 oz). Microcebus...
Goodman's mouse lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara ) is a species of mouse lemur from the region near Andasibe in eastern Madagascar. The species is named in honor of primatologist Steven M. Goodman. "Lehilahytsara" is a combination of the Malagasy...
The black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata ) is an endangered species of ruffed lemur, one of two which are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Despite having a larger range than the red ruffed lemur, it has a much smaller population that...
The red owl (Tyto soumagnei ) is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar red owl, Madagascar grass-owl and Soumagne's owl. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1876...
The red ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra ) is one of two species in the genus Varecia, the ruffed lemurs; the other is the black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata ). Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It occurs only in the rainforests...
The silky sifaka (Propithecus candidus ) is a large lemur characterized by long, silky, white fur. It has a very restricted range in northeastern Madagascar, where it is known locally as the simpona. It is one of the rarest mammals on Earth. The...
The Malagasy or striped civet (Fossa fossana ), also known as the fanaloka (Malagasy, ) or jabady, is an euplerid endemic to Madagascar.The Malagasy civet is a small mammal, about 47 centimetres (19 in) long excluding the tail (which is only about...
Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi ), or the white sifaka, is a medium-sized primate in one of the lemur families, the Indriidae. It lives in Madagascar and can be found in a variety of habitats from rainforest to western Madagascar dry...
The golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus ), bokombolomena or varibolomena in Malagasy, is a medium-sized bamboo lemur endemic to south-eastern Madagascar.
The blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons ), also known as the Sclater's lemur, is a species of true lemur. It can attain a body length of 39–45 cm, a tail length of 51–65 cm- a total length of 90–100 cm, and a weight of 1.8-1.9 kg. Being a...
The diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema ), or diademed simpona, is an endangered species of sifaka, one of the lemurs endemic to certain rainforests in eastern Madagascar. Along with the indri, this species is one of the two largest living lemurs,...
The Malagasy giant rat (Hypogeomys antimena ), also known as the votsotsa or votsovotsa, is a nesomyid rodent found only in the Menabe region of Madagascar. It is an endangered species due to habitat loss, slow reproduction, and limited range (200...
The crowned lemur (Eulemur coronatus ) is a lemur that is 31–36 cm (12–14 in) long and weighs 2 kg (4.4 lb). Its tail is about 42–51 cm (17–20 in) long.
The golden-crowned sifaka or Tattersall's sifaka (Propithecus tattersalli ) is a medium-sized lemur characterized by mostly white fur, prominent furry ears, and a golden-orange crown. It is one of the smallest sifakas (genus Propithecus ), weighing...
The black lemur (Eulemur macaco ) is a species of lemur from the family Lemuridae. Like all lemurs, it is endemic to Madagascar. Originally, the species was thought to have two subspecies, Eulemur macaco macaco and Eulemur macaco flavifrons, both of...
The Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei ), also known as Cleese's woolly lemur, is a species of woolly lemur native to western Madagascar, named after John Cleese. The first scientist to discover the species named it after Cleese, star of Monty...
The greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus ), also known as the broad-nosed bamboo lemur and the broad-nosed gentle lemur, is the largest bamboo lemur, at over five pounds or nearly 2.5 kilograms. It has greyish brown fur and white ear tufts, and has...
The mongoose lemur (Eulemur mongoz ) is a small primate in the family Lemuridae, native to Madagascar and introduced to the Comoros Islands. These arboreal animals have pointed faces, long, bushy tails, dark-brown upper parts, pale bellies, and...
Durrell's vontsira (Salanoia durrelli ) is a mammal in the family Eupleridae of the order Carnivora, native to Madagascar. It is most closely related to the brown-tailed mongoose (Salanoia concolor ), with which it forms the genus Salanoia. The two...
The Madagascar pochard or Madagascan pochard (Aythya innotata ; Malagasy: Fotsy maso, Onjo) is an extremely rare diving duck of the genus Aythya. Thought to be extinct in the late 1990s, specimens of the species were rediscovered at Lake...
The sooty falcon (Falco concolor ) is a medium-sized falcon breeding from northeastern Africa to the southern Persian Gulf region.
The golden mantella (Mantella aurantiaca ) is a small, terrestrial frog endemic to Madagascar. It has an extremely restricted distribution in three distinct areas centered on the town of Moramanga - Beparasy and Ambohibary Communes, Torotorofotsy...
The Eastern falanouc (Eupleres goudotii ) is a rare mongoose-like mammal in the carnivoran family Eupleridae endemic to Madagascar.It is classified alongside the Western falanouc (Eupleres major ), recognized only in 2010, in the genus Eupleres....
The Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea ) is a member of the Delphinidae family occupying coastal areas ranging from Southern Africa to Western Indochina. The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis ) was formerly included within the...
