Region · 68 species
Animals of South America
Animals of South America, from jaguars, sloths and anacondas to llamas, toucans and the wildlife of the Amazon.
Species profiles
American bullfrog
Lithobates catesbeianus
The American bullfrog is North America's largest true frog, up to 20 cm long and 500 g. Its size, deep call, diet, tadpoles, range and spread as an invasive.
American crocodile
Crocodylus acutus
The American crocodile lives in coastal mangroves from south Florida to Peru and Venezuela. Facts on its size, salt tolerance, nesting and Florida recovery.
American flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber
The American flamingo is the brightest pink flamingo, a filter feeder of Caribbean lagoons. Facts on its size, color, diet, mud nests, range and lifespan.
Andean condor
Vultur gryphus
The Andean condor is a huge South American vulture with a wingspan near 3 m (10 ft). Facts on its size, soaring flight, diet, breeding, long life and status.
Atlantic blue crab
Callinectes sapidus
The Atlantic blue crab is a swimming crab of Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, with blue claws and paddle legs. Its size, diet, molting and life cycle.
Barn swallow
Hirundo rustica
The barn swallow is the world's most widespread swallow: a fork-tailed insect hunter that nests in barns and migrates between continents. Size, diet, lifespan.
Boa constrictor
Boa constrictor
The boa constrictor is a large, nonvenomous snake of tropical America, usually 1.8–3 m long. Facts on its size, red tail, habitat, diet, birth and taxonomy.
Brown pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
The brown pelican is the smallest pelican and the only one that plunge-dives for fish. Facts on its size, pouch, colonies, range and recovery from DDT.
Brown-throated sloth
Bradypus variegatus
The brown-throated sloth is the most common three-toed sloth of Central and South America. Facts on its size, leaf diet, green fur, slow life and lifespan.
Buff-tailed bumblebee
Bombus terrestris
The buff-tailed bumblebee is one of Europe's commonest bumblebees: an early-flying pollinator with a yearly colony, used in greenhouses and invasive abroad.
Bull shark
Carcharhinus leucas
The bull shark is a stocky coastal shark that can swim far up rivers into fresh water. Its size, diet, river nurseries, risk to people and Vulnerable status.
Cane toad
Rhinella marina
The cane toad is a huge, toxic toad native to the Americas that became a notorious invader in Australia, Florida and Pacific islands. Size, toxins, life cycle.
Common vampire bat
Desmodus rotundus
The common vampire bat is a small Latin American bat that feeds only on blood, mostly from livestock. Facts on its size, heat-sensing nose, range and colonies.
Common wasp
Vespula vulgaris
The common wasp is Europe's black-and-yellow yellowjacket. Facts on its size, paper nests, one-year colony cycle, diet, sting and spread to New Zealand.
Eastern cottontail
Sylvilagus floridanus
The eastern cottontail is North America's most common wild rabbit. Facts on its cotton-ball tail, size, diet, grass nests, fast breeding, lifespan and enemies.
Eastern subterranean termite
Reticulitermes flavipes
The eastern subterranean termite is North America's most widespread termite. Facts on its castes, swarmers, king and queen, colonies and its gut microbes.
Electric eel
Electrophorus electricus
The electric eel is an air-breathing South American knifefish, not a true eel, that stuns prey with shocks of hundreds of volts. Size, habitat, diet and life.
European hare
Lepus europaeus
The European or brown hare is a fast, long-eared hare of open farmland. Facts on its size, speed, spring boxing, leverets, diet, lifespan and status.
European rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus
The European rabbit is the wild ancestor of every domestic rabbit breed. Facts on its size, warrens, diet, breeding, lifespan and Endangered status in Iberia.
Galápagos giant tortoise
Chelonoidis niger
The Galápagos giant tortoise is the largest living tortoise and can live over 100 years. Island forms, domed and saddleback shells, size, diet and recovery.
Garden snail
Cornu aspersum
The garden snail is a brown land snail from the Mediterranean and western Europe, now found worldwide. Facts on its shell, diet, slime, mating and lifespan.
Giant anteater
Myrmecophaga tridactyla
The giant anteater is a toothless, ant-eating mammal of Central and South America. Facts on its size, long tongue, huge claws, babies, range and its status.
Golden poison frog
Phyllobates terribilis
The golden poison frog of Colombia's Pacific rainforest may be the most poisonous animal alive. Its batrachotoxin, diet, color forms, dart use and status.
Goliath birdeater
Theraphosa blondi
The Goliath birdeater is the heaviest spider on Earth, a South American tarantula of up to 175 g (6.2 oz). Facts on its size, burrows, diet, hairs and lifespan.
Great blue heron
Ardea herodias
The great blue heron is North America's largest heron. Facts on its size, slow flight, fish diet, treetop colonies, the white Florida form, migration and range.
Great hammerhead
Sphyrna mokarran
The great hammerhead is the biggest hammerhead shark, up to 6 m (20 ft) long. Its T-shaped head, stingray diet, warm-sea range and Critically Endangered status.
Green anaconda
Eunectes murinus
The green anaconda is the world's heaviest snake, a giant boa of South American swamps and rivers. Facts on its size, hunting, breeding balls and live birth.
Green iguana
Iguana iguana
The green iguana is a large, plant-eating tree lizard of Central and South America that can top 1.5 m. Size, colors, diet, swimming, nesting and lifespan.
Green moray
Gymnothorax funebris
The green moray is the largest moray eel of the tropical Atlantic, up to 2.5 m long. Why it looks green, how it breathes and hunts, and how dangerous it is.
Harpy eagle
Harpia harpyja
The harpy eagle is a huge rainforest eagle of Central and South America that hunts sloths and monkeys. Facts on its size, talons, diet, breeding and status.
Hercules beetle
Dynastes hercules
The Hercules beetle is the world's longest beetle, with males up to about 17 cm (7 in) including the horn. Facts on its horns, fights, color change and larvae.
Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus amphibius
The hippopotamus is Africa's giant river mammal: up to 1.5 tonnes or more, grazing at night and resting in water by day. Size, behavior, danger and status.
Hoffmann's two-toed sloth
Choloepus hoffmanni
Hoffmann's two-toed sloth is a nocturnal, tree-dwelling sloth of Central and South America. Facts on its size, claws, diet, babies, lifespan and how it lives.
House centipede
Scutigera coleoptrata
The house centipede has 15 pairs of long legs, runs about 0.4 m (1.3 ft) per second and hunts insects in homes. Its size, eyes, venom, range and lifespan.
King penguin
Aptenodytes patagonicus
The king penguin is the second-largest penguin, with bright orange ear patches and huge sub-Antarctic colonies. Size, diving, diet, chicks, range and status.
Leafcutter ant
Atta cephalotes
The leafcutter ant Atta cephalotes farms fungus on chewed leaves in giant underground nests. Facts on its castes, colonies, range, fungus gardens and role.
Leopard slug
Limax maximus
The leopard slug is a large spotted land slug of Europe, now also in North America. Facts on its size, hidden shell, diet, mating on a slime rope and lifespan.
Lined seahorse
Hippocampus erectus
The lined seahorse is a western Atlantic seahorse found from Nova Scotia to Brazil. Its size, armor, upright swimming, diet, courtship, pregnancy and threats.
Marine iguana
Amblyrhynchus cristatus
The marine iguana is the only lizard that feeds in the sea, diving for algae off the Galápagos. Size, salt-sneezing, El Niño famines and Vulnerable status.
Monarch butterfly
Danaus plexippus
The monarch is an orange-and-black milkweed butterfly famous for flying up to 4,800 km to winter in Mexico. Its looks, size, life cycle, toxins and status.
Moon jellyfish
Aurelia aurita
The moon jellyfish is a clear, saucer-shaped jelly with four ring-shaped gonads and a very mild sting. Its size, diet, life cycle, blooms and where it lives.
Nine-banded armadillo
Dasypus novemcinctus
The nine-banded armadillo is an armored, insect-eating mammal and the only armadillo in the US. Its shell, size, diet, quadruplet births and spread north.
North American beaver
Castor canadensis
The North American beaver is the largest rodent in North America, a dam-building wetland engineer. Its size, teeth, lodges, bark diet, family life and comeback.
Red lionfish
Pterois volitans
The red lionfish is a striped, venomous reef fish of the Indo-Pacific that now invades Atlantic and Caribbean reefs. Its size, hunting, breeding and impact.
Red-bellied piranha
Pygocentrus nattereri
The red-bellied piranha is a South American river fish with razor-sharp teeth, a varied diet and a fearsome but exaggerated reputation. Size, range and habits.
Red-eyed tree frog
Agalychnis callidryas
The red-eyed tree frog is a small nocturnal frog of Central American rainforests. Its size, colors, startle display, diet, eggs on leaves, lifespan and status.
Rock pigeon
Columba livia
The rock pigeon is the wild cliff bird behind every city pigeon and homing pigeon. Facts on its size, range, nests, crop milk, intelligence and history.
Scarlet macaw
Ara macao
The scarlet macaw is a large red, yellow and blue parrot of tropical American forests. Facts on its size, diet, clay licks, nesting, lifespan and conservation.
Southern stingray
Hypanus americanus
The southern stingray is a diamond-shaped ray of the warm western Atlantic. Its size, sand-burying habits, buried prey, tail barb, Stingray City and status.
Staghorn coral
Acropora cervicornis
Staghorn coral is a fast-growing, antler-shaped reef builder of Florida and the Caribbean. How it feeds, grows and spawns, and why it is Critically Endangered.
Toco toucan
Ramphastos toco
The toco toucan is the largest toucan, a black and white South American bird with a huge orange bill. Facts on its size, beak, fruit diet, nesting and range.
Turkey vulture
Cathartes aura
The turkey vulture is the most widespread vulture in the Americas. Facts on its bare red head, wobbly soaring, keen sense of smell, diet, range and lifespan.
Wandering albatross
Diomedea exulans
The wandering albatross has the longest wings of any living bird, about 3 m (10 ft) across. Facts on its soaring flight, slow breeding, long life and threats.
West Indian manatee
Trichechus manatus
The West Indian manatee is a gentle, plant-eating sea cow of Florida and the Caribbean. Size, diet, warm-water needs, breeding, threats and Vulnerable status.
Western honey bee
Apis mellifera
The western honey bee is a social bee that lives in colonies of up to 80,000. Facts on its queen, workers and drones, comb, waggle dance, honey and spread.
White-tailed deer
Odocoileus virginianus
The white-tailed deer is the most widespread deer in the Americas, named for the white tail it flashes when alarmed. Size, antlers, fawns, diet, rut and range.
