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 Killer whale (Orcinus orca) is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. It is the largest member of this family. The sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors of Killer whales have been described as manifestations of...
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 Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest living reptile and crocodilian known. It was hunted for its skin throughout its range up to the 1970s and is threatened by illegal killing and habitat loss. It is regarded as dangerous to...
The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all...
The giant squid (Architeuthis dux ) is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of deep-sea gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around 12–13 m...
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 Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual; a member of the family Balaenopteridae. The Humpback whale is known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, making it popular with whale...
The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni ) is part of the family Cranchiidae. It is sometimes called the Antarctic squid or giant cranch squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only recognized member...
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 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 Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the Southern elephant seal). Its only natural predator is the orca. It is the only species in the genus Hydrurga. Its closest relatives are the Ross...
The False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus Pseudorca. It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly frequents tropical regions. The name "false killer whale" comes...
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 Black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large unmistakeble waterbird, a species of swan. It is one of only three swan species that inhabit the southern hemisphere. The Black swan was introduced to various countries as an ornamental bird in the 1800s...
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 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...
Tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) are large and highly venomous snakes of southern Australia. These snakes are locally well-known for their unusual coloration. They are usually ground-dwellers but also swim well and climb into trees and buildings.
The Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a tern in the family Laridae. These amazing birds perform the longest migrations known in the animal world. They have a circumpolar breeding distribution and see two summers each year. Arctic terns nest once...
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 Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus Pygoscelis. It is most closely related to the Adélie penguin and the Chinstrap penguin. Gentoo penguins are the fastest underwater swimmers of...
The giant clams are the members of the clam genus Tridacna that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus Tridacna, which are often misidentified for Tridacna gigas, the most commonly...
The Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) is the most widely distributed of all beaked whales in the family Ziphiidae. It is smaller than most baleen whales yet large among beaked whales. Cuvier's beaked whale is pelagic and occurs in waters...
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...
The Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world. These birds have a stocky appearance as if hunched over, the head tucked down into the shoulders, and they are usually seen...
The Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Many fishermen see in the Great cormorant a competitor for fish. Because of this, it was hunted nearly to extinction in the past but luckily due to...
The Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) is a large wading bird widespread across much of Australia. While it is closely related to the African sacred ibis, the Australian white ibis is a native Australian bird - contrary to urban myth, it...
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 Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales. These whales are known to be rather active on the water surface and curious towards human vessels. They like to interact with humans...
The Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is a small and one of the most abundant gulls in much of Europe and Asia, and also in eastern Canada. It displays a variety of compelling behaviors and adaptations. Some of these include removing...
Elephant seals are large marine mammals and are the largest extant carnivorans that can weigh up to 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb). Elephant seals are classified under the order Pinnipedia, which, in Latin, means feather- or fin-footed. Both species,...
The Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a wide-ranging marine mammal of the family Delphinidae. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin species due to the wide exposure it receives in captivity in marine parks and...
The rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster) is an Australian native rodent first described in 1804. Having adapted to and colonized a unique niche of a semiaquatic and nocturnal lifestyle, this rakali lives in burrows on the banks of rivers, lakes and...
The Eurasian coot (Fulica atra), also known as the Common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of North Africa. Similar-looking coot...
The Yellow-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis platurus) is a venomous species of snake found in tropical oceanic waters around the world except for the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the most widely distributed snakes in the world. Yellow-bellied sea snakes...
The Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is an aquatic diving bird noted for its elaborate mating display. It is the largest member of the grebe family found in the Old World, with some larger species residing in the Americas. These birds are...
The Northern pintail (Anas acuta) is a duck species that has a wide geographic distribution. Unusually for a bird with such a large range, it has no geographical subspecies if the possibly conspecific duck Eaton's pintail is considered to be a...
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...
The mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus ) is a species of octopus from the Indo-Pacific region. Like other octopuses, it uses its chromatophores to disguise itself with its background. However, it is noteworthy for being able to impersonate a wide...
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.
The Yellow-lipped sea krait (Laticauda colubrina) venomous sea snake found in tropical Indo-Pacific oceanic waters. This snake spends much of its time under water to hunt, but returns to land to digest, rest, and reproduce. Because of its affinity...
