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 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 Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is a South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus Vultur. It is the largest flying bird in the world by combined measurement of weight and wingspan. It is...
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...
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 Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which is the largest member. The Giant anteater is mostly terrestrial, in contrast to...
The Macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. It is very closely related to the Royal penguin, and some authorities consider the two to be a single species. Numbering up...
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 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 Giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus) is the largest living species of armadillo that lives in South America. It prefers termites and some ants as prey and often consumes the entire population of a termite mound. This species is considered...
Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris) is a species of rhinoceros family with a characteristic fleshy trunk, which is prehensile and able to grasp objects such as leaves. It is the largest surviving native terrestrial mammal in the Amazon. Brazilian...
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 Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita) is a small wild cat native to the high Andes. It is regarded as one of the world’s most endangered wild cats and perhaps South America’s rarest felid, yet, as far as cat species go, it is amongst the...
The kodkod (Leopardus guigna ) (Spanish pronunciation: ), also called güiña, is the smallest felid species native to the Americas. It lives primarily in central and southern Chile, as well as marginally in adjoining areas of Argentina. Its area of...
The Southern royal albatross (Diomedea epomophora) is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of above 3 m (9.8 ft), it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the Wandering albatross.
The Marine otter (Lontra felina) is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal. It is the smallest of the New World otters and the smallest marine mammal. This charismatic marine species displays charm and dexterity. It lives along South...
The military macaw (Ara militaris ) is a large parrot and a medium-sized macaw that gets its name from its predominantly green plumage resembling a military parade uniform. It is native to forests of Mexico and South America and though considered...
The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari ) is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus Tayassu. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance to pigs, but...
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...
The Chacoan peccary or tagua (Catagonus wagneri or Parachoerus wagneri ) is the last extant species of the genus Catagonus ; it is a peccary found in the Gran Chaco of Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina. Approximately 3,000 remain in the world. It is...
The Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus ) is a species of flamingo native to the Andes mountains of South America. Until 2014, it was classified in genus Phoenicopterus. It is closely related to James's flamingo, and the two make up the genus...
The south Andean deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus ) is an endangered species of deer native to the mountains of Argentina and Chile. Along with the northern guemal or taruca, it is one of the two mid-sized deer in the Hippocamelus genus and ranges across...
The marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus ) is the largest deer species from South America reaching a length of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a shoulder height of 1.2 m (3.9 ft). It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. Formerly found...
The grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma ) also known as the grey-headed mollymawk, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It has a circumpolar distribution, nesting on isolated islands in the Southern Ocean and feeding at high...
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...
Darwin's frog (Rhinoderma darwinii ), also called the southern Darwin's frog, is a rhinodermatid frog native to the forest streams of Chile and Argentina. It was first described by the French zoologist André Marie Constant Duméril and his assistant...
The tapeti (Sylvilagus brasiliensis ) is a species of cottontail rabbit. As traditionally defined, its range extends from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, but this includes several distinctive population that have since been split into...
The Snares penguin (Eudyptes robustus ), also known as the Snares crested penguin and the Snares Islands penguin, is a penguin from New Zealand. The species breeds on the Snares Islands, a group of islands off the southern coast of the South Island....
The black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis ) is a mouse-sized member of the bird family Rallidae.
The Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos ) is a large seabird in the albatross family. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. Thalassarche is from thalassa, "sea" and arkhe, "command", and chlororhynchos is from khloros,...
The northern royal albatross or toroa, Diomedea sanfordi, is a large seabird in the albatross family. It was split from the closely related southern royal albatross as recently as 1998, though not all scientists support that conclusion and some...
The taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis) is a medium-sized deer species that lives in the high regions of South America. Its common name, taruca, means "deer" in both, the Quechua and Aymara languages. It is closely related to the Southern guemal.
The Tristan albatross (Diomedea dabbenena ) is a large seabird from the albatross family. One of the great albatrosses of the genus Diomedea, it was only widely recognised as a full species in 1998.
The La Plata dolphin, franciscana or toninha (Pontoporia blainvillei ) is a species of dolphin found in coastal Atlantic waters of southeastern South America. It is a member of the river dolphin group and the only one that lives in the ocean and...
The southern river otter (Lontra provocax ) is a species of otter that lives in Chile and Argentina. Although called a "river otter", it inhabits both marine and freshwater environments. It sometimes is considered a subspecies of Lontra canadensis....
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)....
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...
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...
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...
The spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), spurdog, mud shark, or piked dogfish is one of the best known species of the Squalidae (dogfish) family of sharks, which is part of the Squaliformes order.While these common names may apply to several species,...
