Animals That Start With S: 30 Animals From Salamander to Swan

Salamander

Salamanders are amphibians with long tails and moist skin, related to frogs. Most species live in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States are the world’s richest salamander region. Many species breathe through their skin because they have no lungs. China’s giant salamanders, the largest amphibians alive, can reach about 1.8 m (6 ft) and are Critically Endangered.

Saltwater crocodile

The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile. Adult males can grow to about 6 m (20 ft) and 1,000–1,500 kg (2,200–3,300 lb), while females rarely exceed 3 m (10 ft). It lives in rivers, estuaries and coasts from eastern India through Southeast Asia to northern Australia and can travel long distances at sea. It is dangerous to people, so warning signs in its habitat should always be obeyed.

Sand cat

The sand cat is a small wild cat of the deserts of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia, and the only cat that lives mainly in true sandy deserts. Long fur covers the soles of its feet, protecting them from scorching and freezing sand. It can get most of the water it needs from its prey.

Scorpion

Scorpions are arachnids with grasping pincers and a curved tail tipped with a venomous stinger. There are more than 2,500 species, and their bodies glow blue-green under ultraviolet light. Mothers carry their newborn young on their backs. Only about 25 species have venom that can be deadly to people; anyone stung by a dangerous species should seek emergency medical help immediately.

Sea otter

The sea otter lives along the coasts of the North Pacific and is one of the few mammals that use tools, cracking open shellfish on a rock balanced on its chest. It keeps warm with the densest fur of any animal instead of blubber. By eating sea urchins, it protects kelp forests. It is listed as Endangered.

Sea star

Sea stars, often called starfish, are not fish but echinoderms, related to sea urchins. About 1,900 species live in every ocean. Many can regrow lost arms, and some push their stomach out through their mouth to digest prey such as mussels. Since 2013, a wasting disease has killed huge numbers along the Pacific coast of North America, and the sunflower sea star is now Critically Endangered.

Sea turtle

There are seven species of sea turtles, found in warm and temperate oceans worldwide. Females return to the beaches where they hatched to lay their eggs, and the temperature of the sand decides whether hatchlings become males or females. The leatherback, the largest, can weigh 500 kg (1,100 lb) or more and dives deeper than any other turtle.

Seahorse

Seahorses are small fish, with about 47 species, that swim upright and grip seagrass and corals with their curling tails. Uniquely, the male becomes pregnant: the female places her eggs in his brood pouch, and he later gives birth to dozens or even hundreds of tiny young. The dwarf seahorse is one of the slowest-moving fish in the world.

Seal

True seals, such as harbor seals, gray seals and elephant seals, have no external ear flaps and shuffle on their bellies on land, unlike sea lions. Most live in cold oceans, but the Baikal seal of Siberia lives only in fresh water. The southern elephant seal is the largest seal of all. Learn how to tell them apart in seal vs sea lion.

Secretary bird

The secretary bird is a long-legged bird of prey of the African savanna that hunts on foot, striding steadily through the tall grass. It kills snakes and lizards by stamping on them with lightning-fast kicks. It appears on the coats of arms of South Africa and Sudan and is listed as Endangered.

Shark

Sharks are fish with skeletons made of cartilage, with more than 500 species. They have existed for well over 400 million years, longer than trees. The whale shark, a gentle filter feeder, is the largest fish on Earth, while the Greenland shark is the longest-lived vertebrate known, estimated to live for at least 272 years.

Sheep

Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated, about 10,000–11,000 years ago in the Middle East, from a wild sheep similar to the mouflon. Today there are more than a billion sheep, raised for wool, meat and milk. In 1996, a sheep named Dolly, born in Scotland, became the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.

Shoebill

The shoebill is a tall, gray bird of the swamps of East and Central Africa, named for its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It stands about 1.1–1.4 m (3.6–4.6 ft) tall and can wait almost motionless for long periods before lunging at lungfish, catfish and other prey. It is listed as Vulnerable.

Skunk

Skunks are black-and-white mammals of the Americas, famous for spraying a foul-smelling liquid from glands under their tail. The striped skunk can aim its spray up to about 3 m (10 ft). Before spraying, skunks give plenty of warning by stamping, hissing and raising their tails, and spotted skunks even do handstands.

Sloth

Sloths are slow-moving mammals that spend most of their lives hanging upside down in the rainforest trees of Central and South America. There are six species, in two groups called two-toed and three-toed sloths; see two-toed vs three-toed sloth. Green algae grow in their fur, helping camouflage them, and they usually climb down only about once a week to empty their bowels.

Slow worm

Despite its name, the slow worm is neither slow nor a worm but a legless lizard of Europe and western Asia. Unlike snakes, it has eyelids and can drop its tail to escape a predator. It is often found in gardens and compost heaps. It is remarkably long-lived: one at Copenhagen Zoo lived for at least 54 years.

Snake

Snakes are legless reptiles, with more than 4,000 species, found on every continent except Antarctica. They have no eyelids or external ears and use their forked tongues to “smell” the air. There are no native snakes in Ireland, Iceland or New Zealand, not because of Saint Patrick but because snakes never reached these islands after the last ice age.

Snow leopard

The snow leopard lives high in the mountains of Central and South Asia, often at 3,000–4,500 m (9,800–14,800 ft). Its long, thick tail helps it balance on steep slopes and can be wrapped around its body like a scarf. Unlike most other big cats, it cannot roar. It is listed as Vulnerable.

Snowy owl

The snowy owl breeds on the Arctic tundra, where it hunts lemmings in the 24-hour daylight of summer. Adult males are almost pure white, while females have dark bars. In some winters, many move far south into southern Canada and the northern United States. It is listed as Vulnerable.

Sparrow

The house sparrow, native to Europe, Asia and North Africa, was introduced to North America in the 1850s and now lives on every continent except Antarctica. It lives almost wherever people do, nesting in walls and roofs. Despite its success, it has declined sharply in many European cities and is a conservation concern in Britain.

Sperm whale

The sperm whale is the largest toothed predator on Earth. It has the largest brain of any animal, averaging about 7 kg (15.6 lb), and dives as deep as 2,250 m (7,380 ft) to hunt squid. Its echolocation clicks are among the loudest sounds made by any animal. It is listed as Vulnerable.

Spider

Spiders are eight-legged arachnids that make silk, with more than 53,000 known species. All are predators except for one species, a jumping spider that feeds mainly on plants. Although nearly all spiders have venom to subdue prey, only a very small number are dangerous to people. The Goliath birdeater of South America is the heaviest spider.

Squid

Squid are fast-swimming mollusks with eight arms and two longer tentacles, jet-propelling themselves by squirting water. The colossal squid of the Southern Ocean has the largest eyes of any known animal, about 27–30 cm (11–12 in) across. Its rival, the giant squid, is longer and inspired legends of the kraken.

Squirrel

Squirrels are rodents with about 280 species, including tree squirrels, flying squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots and prairie dogs. They are native to the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. Tree squirrels bury nuts for winter and forget some of them, which helps new trees grow.

Stick insect

Stick insects look like twigs, or sometimes leaves, and stay still by day to avoid predators. Some species can reproduce without males. Stick insects include the longest insects on Earth: a specimen of Phobaeticus chani from Borneo measures 56.7 cm (22.3 in) with its legs stretched out.

Stingray

Stingrays are flat, diamond-shaped rays that often lie half-buried in sand on the sea floor. Their tails carry one or more barbed, venomous spines, used only in self-defense. Most injuries happen when people accidentally step on one in shallow water. The southern stingray is a familiar sight in the Caribbean.

Stoat

The stoat is a small, fierce member of the weasel family that lives across northern Europe, Asia and North America, where it is also called the ermine. In snowy areas its coat turns white in winter, except for the black tip of its tail. It can kill rabbits several times its own weight.

Stork

The white stork breeds in Europe, often nesting on rooftops and church towers, and migrates to Africa for the winter. It avoids long sea crossings, so huge flocks funnel over Gibraltar and the Bosporus. In 1822, a stork found in Germany with an African spear through its neck helped prove that birds migrate rather than hibernate.

Swallow

Swallows and martins form a family of about 90 species of fast, agile birds that catch insects in flight. The barn swallow, with its long forked tail, is the most widespread swallow in the world, breeding across the Northern Hemisphere and wintering in the south.

Swan

Swans are the largest members of the duck family. The mute swan is common in Europe, the black swan is native to Australia, and the trumpeter swan is the heaviest native bird of North America. Swan pairs usually stay together for many years. In Britain, the Crown traditionally claims ownership of unmarked mute swans on open water.