What is the largest animal that starts with M?

The moose is the largest M animal on land and the largest deer in the world, with bulls usually weighing 380–700 kg (838–1,543 lb). In the sea, the giant oceanic manta ray can measure up to about 7 m (23 ft) across its fins.

What birds start with M?

Birds beginning with M include the macaw, magpie, mallard, mockingbird, mute swan and marabou stork. The hyacinth macaw, about 1 m (3.3 ft) long, is the largest flying parrot in the world.

What sea animals start with M?

Sea animals beginning with M include the manatee, manta ray, moray eel, mudskipper, mussels and the mako shark. Manatees are slow-moving plant-eaters whose closest living relatives are elephants.

Which animals starting with M are endangered?

The giant oceanic manta ray is Endangered. The manatees, mandrill and the migratory subspecies of the monarch butterfly are listed as Vulnerable, and the markhor is Near Threatened.

What North American animals start with M?

North American animals beginning with M include the moose, mountain lion, mountain goat, musk ox, mockingbird, mallard and monarch butterfly. Eastern monarchs migrate up to about 4,800 km (3,000 mi) to spend the winter in the mountains of central Mexico.

Animals That Start With M: 25 Animals From Macaw to Musk Ox

Macaw

Macaws are large, long-tailed parrots of the rainforests and savannas of Central and South America. The hyacinth macaw, about 1 m (3.3 ft) long, is the largest flying parrot and is listed as Vulnerable. In the Peruvian Amazon, flocks of scarlet and other macaws gather at riverbank clay licks; read why macaws eat clay.

Magpie

The Eurasian magpie is a long-tailed, black-and-white member of the crow family found across Europe and Asia. In a 2008 study, magpies became the first non-mammals reported to recognize themselves in a mirror, although a later attempt to repeat the test did not get the same result. The idea that magpies steal shiny objects is not supported by research.

Mallard

The mallard is the world’s most familiar wild duck, found across North America, Europe and Asia and introduced elsewhere. Males have a glossy green head in the breeding season, while females are mottled brown. Mallards are the ancestors of most domestic duck breeds, and the loud, classic “quack” comes from the female.

Manatee

Manatees are large, slow-moving marine mammals that graze on seagrass and other water plants, and their closest living relatives are elephants. The West Indian manatee is usually 2.7–3.5 m (9–11.5 ft) long and weighs 200–600 kg (440–1,320 lb). In winter, Florida manatees gather in warm springs and warm-water outflows; compare them in manatee vs dugong.

Mandrill

The mandrill of the rainforests of west-central Africa is the largest monkey in the world. Adult males weigh 19–30 kg (42–66 lb), about twice as much as females, and have bright red and blue faces that are most vivid in dominant males. Mandrills live in huge groups called hordes, which in Gabon average around 620 animals. They are listed as Vulnerable.

Manta ray

Manta rays are huge, gentle filter feeders that glide through tropical and subtropical seas, eating tiny plankton. The giant oceanic manta ray is the largest ray in the world, with a typical width of about 4.5 m (15 ft) and a maximum of about 7 m (23 ft) across its fins. It is listed as Endangered, largely because of fishing.

Mantis

Praying mantises are ambush predators named for the way they hold their spiked front legs folded, as if in prayer. Unusually for insects, they can swivel their head to look over their shoulder, and their large eyes judge distance well enough to strike in a fraction of a second. Females sometimes eat males during or after mating, although this happens less often in the wild than in captivity.

Markhor

The markhor is a wild goat of the mountains of Central and South Asia, including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Males carry spectacular corkscrew horns up to 160 cm (63 in) long. It is the national animal of Pakistan and has been listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened since 2015.

Marmoset

Marmosets are small monkeys of the forests of South America that feed largely on tree sap and gum, which they get by gnawing holes in bark. The pygmy marmoset of the western Amazon is the smallest monkey in the world, weighing just over 100 g (3.5 oz). Marmosets usually give birth to twins, and fathers and older siblings help carry them.

Marmot

Marmots are large ground squirrels of mountains and grasslands in Europe, Asia and North America. The alpine marmot lives in colonies in the Alps and may hibernate for up to nine months of the year. Marmots warn each other of eagles and foxes with loud, piercing whistles. The groundhog of North America is a marmot too.

Meerkat

The meerkat is a small member of the mongoose family from the dry grasslands and deserts of southern Africa, including the Kalahari. It lives in groups of up to about 30, and while the others dig for insects and scorpions, one stands guard on a high point and calls an alarm if a predator appears; read why meerkats stand up.

Millipede

Millipedes are slow-moving, plant-eating arthropods with two pairs of legs on most body segments. Despite the name, which means “thousand feet”, most have far fewer than 1,000 legs. The only exception known is Eumillipes persephone, discovered 60 m (200 ft) underground in Western Australia and described in 2021, with up to 1,306 legs.

Mockingbird

The northern mockingbird is a gray songbird of North America famous for copying the songs of other birds and even mechanical sounds. A male may learn around 200 different songs during its life, and unmated males sometimes sing through the night in spring. It is the state bird of five US states, including Texas and Florida.

Mole

Moles are burrowing mammals with velvety fur, tiny eyes and broad, spade-like front paws for digging. The star-nosed mole of eastern North America has 22 fleshy tentacles around its nose covered with more than 25,000 touch sensors. It is the fastest-eating mammal known, taking as little as 120 milliseconds to identify and swallow a food item.

Monarch butterfly

The monarch is a large orange-and-black butterfly famous for its migration: eastern North American monarchs fly up to about 4,800 km (3,000 mi) to spend the winter in fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico. The caterpillars eat milkweed, which makes them and the adults toxic to many predators. Read where monarch butterflies migrate.

Mongoose

Mongooses are small, quick carnivores of Africa and southern Asia, with one species, the Egyptian mongoose, also living in Spain and Portugal. The Indian gray mongoose is famous for fighting cobras, relying on speed and a partial resistance to snake venom. Mongooses released on Hawaii and Caribbean islands to control rats ended up harming native birds and reptiles.

Monitor lizard

Monitor lizards are large, intelligent lizards with long necks and forked tongues, found in Africa, Asia and Australia. There are around 80 species, including the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard in the world. The Nile monitor, native to Africa, has become an invasive species in South Florida.

Moose

The moose is the largest deer in the world, with bulls usually weighing 380–700 kg (838–1,543 lb) and carrying broad, flattened antlers that typically span 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft). It lives in northern forests of North America, Europe and Asia and is known as the elk in Britain. Moose are strong swimmers and can dive to feed on water plants.

Moray eel

Moray eels are snake-like fish of tropical and temperate seas that hide in rocky crevices and coral reefs. Besides their main jaws, they have a second set of jaws in the throat that shoots forward to grab prey and pull it down. A moray’s constant opening and closing of its mouth is how it breathes, not a threat.

Mosquito

Mosquitoes are small flies with about 3,600 species. Only females bite, because they need protein from blood to produce eggs; males feed on nectar. By spreading diseases such as malaria, dengue and Zika, mosquitoes are the deadliest animals to humans: according to the World Health Organization, malaria alone killed about 600,000 people in 2023.

Mountain goat

The mountain goat of the Rocky Mountains and Cascades of North America is not a true goat but a goat-antelope, more closely related to the European chamois. Its thick white coat keeps it warm through alpine winters, and its hooves have hard outer rims and soft, grippy pads that let it climb steep cliffs.

Mountain lion

The mountain lion, also called the cougar or puma, holds the record for the animal with the most names, with more than 40 in English alone. It ranges from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes, the largest range of any large wild land mammal in the Western Hemisphere; see are cougars and mountain lions the same?

Mouse

The house mouse originated in southwestern Asia and has spread around the world with people, becoming one of the most widespread mammals on Earth. Male mice court females with complex ultrasonic songs, too high-pitched for people to hear. Laboratory mice, bred from this species, are among the most important animals in medical research.

Mudskipper

Mudskippers are fish that spend much of their time out of the water on tidal mudflats and in mangroves of Africa, Asia and Australia. They “skip” and crawl across the mud using their strong, limb-like front fins and can even climb onto roots. Out of water, they breathe through their skin and the lining of their mouth and throat.

Musk ox

The musk ox is a shaggy Arctic grazer of northern Canada and Greenland, reintroduced to Alaska, Norway and Siberia. It lived alongside woolly mammoths during the Ice Age. Its soft underwool, called qiviut, is one of the warmest natural fibers, and when wolves threaten, adults form a defensive ring with their horns facing out and the calves in the middle.