A-Z of animals : Sable to Turtle
Animals: ABC | DEF | GHI | JKL | MNO | PQR | ST | UVW | XYZ
Sable antelope: considered one of the most handsome of all antelope. Found in Eastern and Southern Africa. The four subspecies are the Black sable, Common sable, Eastern sable and the critically endangered Giant sable antelope which is found only in Angola. The sable is robust built, weighing up to 370 kg (almost 600 lb). The majestic, ringed horns arch backward; the horns of a male sable can grow to over 1,6 m (5 ft) long.
Salamander: 410 species of amphibians constituting the order Caudata.
Ensatina
Jemez Mountains Salamander
Jordan’s Salamander
Jefferson Salamander
Limestone Salamander
Marbled Salamander
Ouachita Dusky Salamander
Pacific Giant Salamander
Pygmy Salamander
Seal Salamander
Seepage Salamander
Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander
Sacramento Mountains Salamander
Western Red-backed Salamander
Wehrle’s Salamander
Sea Lion:
Australian Sea Lion
California Sea Lion
Galapagos Sea Lion
New Zealand Sea Lion or Hooker’s Sea Lion
South American Sea Lion
Steller Sea Lion, the largest of the species; weighs up to 1100 kg (2500 lb).
Seal, or, properly, Pinniped, of which there are more than 30 species, ranging in size from the 1 m (3 ft 3 in) to the 5 m (16 ft) and 3,200 kg (7,100 lb) Southern Elephant Seal, which is also the largest carnivoran..
Bearded Seal
Gray Seal
Guadalupe Fur Seal. Although named Fur Seal, it is a members of the Otariidae family, meaning it is more like a sea lion, with long flippers and external ear flaps whereas a true seal has short front flippers and ear holes.
Harbor Seal
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Leopard Seal
New Zealand Fur Seal, or Kekeno
Northern Fur Seal: has 300,000 hairs per square inch. Europeans first named them “sea bears”.
Northern Elephant Seal
Northern Fur Seal
Pacific Harbor Seal
Ribbon Seal
Southern Elephant Seal
The serval is found in most parts of Africa, has extraordinarily long legs for its body size which can be up to 1m (3.3 ft) in length, whilst standing up to 50 cm (20in) in shoulder height. Although a medium sized cat, it preys on smaller mammals such as hare, rodents and birds.
The planet’s most efficient killers, Sharks are powerful hunters able to catch 500 kg (1,100 lb) tuna, small whales, and, occasionally, people with ease. There are some 350 species of sharks, the majority of which cannot stop for long or move backwards, as can most other fish. Sharks are immune to most known diseases.
Sheep (Wild sheep):
Argali, or the Mountain Sheep (species Ovis ammon); the biggest of all wild sheep. Roams the highlands of Central Asia (Himalaya, Tibet, Altay). Subspecies include the Altai argali, Karaganda argali, Gobi argali, Tibetan argali, North China argali, Tian Shan argali, Kara Tau argali, Marco Polo argali and the Severtzov argali.
Armenian mouflon, endemic to Iran, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
Barbary Sheep
Bharal or Naur or Himalayan blue sheep. Found in the high Himalayas of Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Tibet. The bharal is a major food of the snow leopard.
Bighorn Sheep, or Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.
Dall’s Sheep (pictured): A subarctic and arctic animal, living on alpine ridges, meadows, and steep, rocky slopes, the rams are 90 cm (35in) to shoulder, eighing up to 110 kg (250 lb). It is the only wild white sheep in the world. Dall sheep have hollow hair which insulates their body.
Dwarf Blue Sheep, or Dwarf Bharal.
Snow Sheep, or Siberian Bighorn Sheep, a species of wild sheep closely related to the Dall’s Sheep. The subspecies are the Chukotka snow sheep, Kamchatka snow sheep, Kolyma snow sheep, Koryak snow sheep, Okhotsk snow sheep, Putorana snow sheep and Yakutia snow sheep.
Stone’s Sheep, southern subspecies of the Dall’s Sheep.
Shrew or Shrew Mouse, a small mole-like mammal.
Desert Shrew
Elephant Shrew
Least Shrew
Masked Shrew
Northern Short-tailed Shrew
Ornate Shrew
Pacific Water Shrew
Smoky Shrew
Southeastern Shrew
Southern Short-tailed Shrew
Trowbridge’s Shrew
Vagrant Shrew
Water Shrew
Africa’s only true amphibious antelope, the Sitatunga lives in thickly vegetated, muddy swamps and marshes. Among the adaptations for its aquatic habitat are the long, splayed hooves that enable the sitatunga to stand and even walk on floating islands of vegetation. The hair is thin and coated with an oily, water-repellent secretion.
Siren: Greater Siren, an eel-like nocturnal amphibian found on the East coast of the United States.
Skink: any of 1,500 species of lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, one of the most diverse families of lizards.
Broad-headed Skink
Blue-tailed Mole Skink
Coal Skink
Five-lined Skink
Gi lbert’s Skink
Ground Skink
Many-lined Skink
Prairie Skink
Skunk: known for their ability to spray a horrible-smelling, hard-to-remove liquid to deter attacks. Skunks actually have two glands with which they spray, one on each side of the anus. Sometimes called Polecat but not related to the real polecat. There are eleven species of skunk, which includes the two types of Stink Badger.
American hog-nosed skunk
Eastern Spotted Skunk
Hooded Skunk
Humboldt’s hog-nosed skunk
Molina’s hog-nosed skunk
Palawan stink badger
pygmy spotted skunk
southern spotted skunk
striped hog-nosed skunk
Striped Skunk
Sunda stink badger or Indonesian stink badger
Western Spotted Skunk
Sloth, the world’s slowest animal. There are six species of sloth, divided into two-toed and three-toed sloths.
Snakes: there are nearly 3,000 species of snake, only 375 of which are poisonous. There are no snakes on Antarctica. There also are no land snakes in Iceland, Ireland or New Zealand but there are sea snakes.
The sole member of the genus Uncia uncia, the Snow Leopard grows up to 1,3m (4’5″) in length, with a tail of almost 1m (3’2″), and weighs up to 75 kg (165 lb). Found in the mountains of central Asia, this endangered species preys on Bharal (Blue Sheep), Argali, Markhor, Ibex, Musk Deer, marmots, hare and birds. It can bring down prey more than three times its size.
Springbok: Hard to distinguish from the Thomson’s Gazelle but the most obvious difference is that the Springbok has black, curved, lyre-shaped horns while the horns of the Thomson’s Gazelle is straight.
Squirrel:
Arctic Ground Squirrel
Arizona Gray Squirrel
Abert’s Squirrel
Belding’s Ground Squirrel
California Ground Squirrel
Delmarva Peninsula Fox Squirrel
Douglas’ Squirrel
Eastern Fox Squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Harris’s Antelope Squirrel
Mexican Ground Squirrel
Mohave Ground Squirrel
Nelson’s Antelope Squirrel
Northern Flying Squirrel
Red Squirrel
Richardson’s Ground Squirrel
Rock Squirrel
Round-tailed Ground Squirrel
Southern Flying Squirrel
Spotted Ground Squirrel
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel
Townsend’s Ground Squirrel
Uinta Ground Squirrel
Western Gray Squirrel
White-tailed Antelope Squirrel
Wyoming Ground Squirrel
Tamaraw: One of the world’s rarest mammals, this small wild buffalo was first documented by Westerners only in 1888. It is found only on the island of Mindoro, Philippines. Weighing about 300 kg (660 lb), it lives in dense forest close to water for wallowing. The tamaraw apparently associates in pairs rather than herds, except when the cows are about to give birth.
Tapir: There are five extant species – Baird’s tapir, Brazilian tapir, Malayan tapir, kabomani tapir and the mountain tapir. Baird’s Tapir grows to 2m (6.5 ft), weighs up to 400 kg (880 lb), and is found in Central America. The Malayan Tapir grows to 2,4m (8 ft) and weighs up to 320 kg (700 lb). They live up to 30 years, eating tender leaves and shoots. Tapirs are agile and can negotiate steep slopes with ease. They communicate with shrill whistles.
Tasmanian Devil: Its spine-chilling screeches, black colour, and reputed bad-temper, led the early European settlers to call it The Devil. Although only the size of a small dog, its powerful jaws and teeth enable it to completely devour its prey – bones, fur and all. The young are born in the mother’s backward-opening pouch, firmly attaching themself to a teat for the first 4 months.
The male Siberian or Amur Tiger, with a total body length in excess of 3m and weighing up to 300 kg is by far the largest and most powerful member of the cat family. As is common with many cats the tiger will cache its food supply, returning to feed on the carcass over several days. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
Toads: see frogs
Found in Africa, Topis have a remarkable social organization, defending their territory against intruding topi herds. Each topi male has his “stomping ground,” a patch of trampled bare earth upon which he stands. If another male intrudes, the two go down on their knees and fight with their horns.
Turtle:
Bog turtle
Chicken turtle
Common Map turtle
Flattened Musk turtle
Green turtle
Leatherback turtle
Loggerhead turtle
Ornate Box turtle
Ouachita Map turtle
Painted turtle
Snapping turtle
Striped Mud turtle
Western Pond turtle
Wood turtle