Animals of Sint Maarten

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...

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...

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

The northern harrier (Circus hudsonius ) is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA. The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas in winter with breeding birds in...

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.

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.

Blue-Winged Teal

Spatula discors

Blue-winged teal (Spatula discors) are small members of the dabbling duck group found in North America. They are often the first ducks to migrate south in the fall and the last ones to return in the spring. During migration, some Blue-winged teal...

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...

Common Ground Dove

Columbina passerina

The Common ground dove (Columbina passerina) is a small bird found in the Americas. It is considered to be the smallest dove that inhabits the United States. As its name suggests, it spends the majority of its time on the ground walking but still...

Black-Winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

Black-winged stilts (Himantopus himantopus) are very long-legged wading birds. They are found in both warm and hot climates, feed on small aquatic creatures, and nest on the ground surface in small colonies.

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...

Common Gallinule

Gallinula galeata

The Common gallinule (Gallinula galeata) is a bird in the Rail family. It was split from the Common moorhen by the American Ornithologists' Union in July 2011. The Common gallinule is one of the most conspicuous rail species in North America, along...

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...

Sanderling

Calidris alba

The sanderling (Calidris alba) is a small plump wading bird that breeds on the High Arctic grounds. Its name comes from Old English sand-yrðling and means "sand-ploughman". In winter, flocks of these birds run along the sandy beaches with a...

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) is a large seabird that ranges across tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic and eastern Pacific. It is the largest species of booby. These birds are spectacular divers that plunge into the ocean at high...

Monarch butterfly

Danaus plexippus

The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It is...

Bananaquit

Coereba flaveola

The bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) is a small, active bird found in warmer parts of the Americas and is generally common. Its name is derived from its yellow color and the English word quit, which refers to small passerines of tropical America; cf....

Northern Parula

Setophaga americana

The Northern parula (Setophaga americana) is a small species of warbler that breeds in eastern North America. The scientific name of this bird can roughly be translated as "American moth-eating bird".

Pomarine jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinus

The pomarine jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus ), also spelled Pomarine yeager in some translations, pomarine skua, or pomatorhine skua, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migrant, wintering at sea in the tropical oceans.

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...

Wilson's snipe

Gallinago delicata

Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata ) is a small, stocky shorebird. The genus name gallinago is New Latin for a woodcock or snipe from Latin gallina, "hen" and the suffix -ago, "resembling". The specific delicata is Latin for "dainty".This species...

Red-billed tropicbird

Phaethon aethereus

The red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus ) is a tropicbird, one of three closely related species of seabird of tropical oceans. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has mostly white plumage with some black markings on the wings and...

Caribbean reef squid

Sepioteuthis sepioidea

The Caribbean reef squid (Sepioteuthis sepioidea ), commonly called the reef squid, is a species of small, torpedo-shaped squid with undulating fins that extend nearly the entire length of the body, approximately 20 cm (8 in) in length. In 2001,...

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...

Bony-eared assfish

Acanthonus armatus

The bony-eared assfish (Acanthonus armatus) is a bathypelagic species of cusk-eel found in tropical and sub-tropical oceans at depths of from 1,171 to 4,415 metres (3,842 to 14,485 ft). It has been found as far north as Queen Charlotte Sound off...

Willet

Tringa semipalmata

The willet (Tringa semipalmata ), formerly in the monotypic genus Catoptrophorus as Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It is a relatively large and robust sandpiper, and is the largest of the species called...

Atlantic bluefin tuna

Thunnus thynnus

The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It is variously known as the northern bluefin tuna (mainly when including Pacific bluefin as a subspecies), giant bluefin tuna, and formerly as the...

Semipalmated plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

The semipalmated plover (Charadrius semipalmatus ) is a small plover. The geshenandoah national parknus name Charadrius is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek kharadrios a...

Grey plover

Pluvialis squatarola

The grey plover or black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola ) is a medium-sized plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding.

Northern waterthrush

Parkesia noveboracensis

The northern waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis ) is a species of ground-feeding migratory New World warbler of the genus Parkesia. It breeds in the northern part of North America in Canada and the northern United States including Alaska, and...

Greater yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

The greater yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca ) is a large North American shorebird. The genus name Tringa is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped,...

Greater Bulldog Bat

Noctilio leporinus

The Greater bulldog bat (Noctilio leporinus) is a species of fishing bat native to Latin America. It uses echolocation to detect water ripples made by the fish upon which it preys, then uses the pouch between its legs to scoop the fish up and its...

Lesser yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

The lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes ) is a medium-sized shorebird. The genus name Tringa is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading...

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...

Zenaida dove

Zenaida aurita

The zenaida dove (Zenaida aurita ) is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes doves and pigeons. It is the national bird of Anguilla, where it is locally referred to as "turtle dove".

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....

Clymene Dolphin

Stenella clymene

The Clymene dolphin (Stenella clymene) is a dolphin native to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the only confirmed case of hybrid speciation in marine mammals, descending from the Spinner dolphin and the Striped dolphin.

Semipalmated sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

The semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla ) is a very small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific pusilla is Latin for "very small".It...

Least sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

The least sandpiper (Calidris minutilla ) is the smallest shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-colored waterside birds. The specific minutilla is Medieval Latin for "very...

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...