The Animal Kingdom
Scientists sort animals into groups that share key features. Mammals have fur or hair and feed their young milk; birds have feathers and lay eggs; reptiles are scaly and cold-blooded; amphibians live partly in water and partly on land; fish breathe with gills; and insects have six legs and a hard outer shell. Knowing the group is often the first clue to naming a creature.
From the blue whale — the largest animal that has ever lived — to the tiny hummingbird that can fly backwards, here are some of the most remarkable animals on Earth, each with a fact to remember it by.
Ready to test yourself? Name the mystery creatures in Velae Animals, our free daily animal game.
| Animal | Group | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| 🐾 Lion | Mammal | The big cat that lives in prides in Africa, famous as the 'king of the jungle'. |
| 🐾 Elephant | Mammal | The largest living land animal, with a trunk and tusks. |
| 🐾 Blue whale | Mammal | The largest animal ever known to have lived, bigger than any dinosaur. |
| 🐾 Cheetah | Mammal | The fastest land animal, sprinting up to about 110 km/h. |
| 🐾 Giraffe | Mammal | The tallest living animal, with a very long neck. |
| 🐾 Kangaroo | Mammal | An Australian marsupial that hops and carries its young in a pouch. |
| 🐾 Bat | Mammal | The only mammal capable of true flight. |
| 🐾 Dolphin | Mammal | A clever marine mammal that navigates using echolocation. |
| 🐾 Polar bear | Mammal | The largest land carnivore, living on Arctic sea ice. |
| 🪶 Penguin | Bird | A flightless bird of the Southern Hemisphere that swims to catch fish. |
| 🪶 Ostrich | Bird | The largest and fastest-running bird, which cannot fly. |
| 🪶 Eagle | Bird | A large bird of prey with powerful talons and sharp eyesight. |
| 🪶 Owl | Bird | A nocturnal bird of prey that can turn its head very far around. |
| 🪶 Hummingbird | Bird | The smallest bird, able to hover and even fly backwards. |
| 🪶 Parrot | Bird | A colourful bird well known for mimicking human speech. |
| 🦎 Crocodile | Reptile | A large aquatic reptile with powerful jaws and armoured skin. |
| 🦎 Chameleon | Reptile | A lizard that changes colour and moves its eyes independently. |
| 🦎 Cobra | Reptile | A venomous snake that spreads a hood when threatened. |
| 🦎 Sea turtle | Reptile | A marine reptile that migrates far to lay eggs on the beach where it hatched. |
| 🦎 Komodo dragon | Reptile | The largest living lizard, native to Indonesia. |
| 🐟 Great white shark | Fish | A large predatory fish with rows of serrated teeth. |
| 🐟 Clownfish | Fish | A small orange-and-white fish that shelters among sea anemones. |
| 🐟 Seahorse | Fish | A tiny fish with a horse-shaped head; the male carries the eggs. |
| 💧 Frog | Amphibian | An amphibian that begins life as a tadpole and leaps on strong hind legs. |
| 💧 Axolotl | Amphibian | A salamander that keeps its larval form for life and can regrow lost limbs. |
| 🐛 Honeybee | Insect | An insect that makes honey and pollinates flowers, living in hives. |
| 🐛 Butterfly | Insect | An insect with large colourful wings that starts life as a caterpillar. |
| 🐛 Ant | Insect | A tiny social insect that lives in colonies and can carry many times its own weight. |
| 🕸️ Spider | Arachnid | An eight-legged arachnid that spins silk webs to catch prey. |
| 🌊 Octopus | Cephalopod | A sea creature with eight arms that can change colour and squeeze through tiny gaps. |
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