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Wetland animals

Marshes, swamps, mangroves and flooded grassland. Alligators, caimans and anacondas live here, along with herons, storks, flamingos, capybaras, beavers and most of the frogs.

Rivers and lakes have a separate list, though many animals appear on both.

58 animals, A to Z.

• 🐊AlligatorTwo species of broad-snouted crocodilian: the American alligator of the south-eastern US, and the much smaller Chinese alligator, which is critically endangered.
• 🐍AnacondaLarge, semiaquatic boas of tropical South America.
• 🦫BeaverLarge semiaquatic rodents, the second-largest living rodents after capybaras.
• 🐻Black bearThe smallest and most widespread bear in North America, mostly living in forests.
• 🐆BobcatA medium-sized North American wild cat with tufted ears and the short, "bobbed" tail that gives it its name.
• 🐃BuffaloA large, heavily built wild cow of sub-Saharan Africa.
• 🐸BullfrogThe largest true frog in North America, named for the male’s call, which sounds like a bull bellowing.
• 🐊CaimanSix species of alligator relatives from Central and South America, living in marshes, swamps, lakes and mangrove rivers and fairly nocturnal.
• 🐾CapybaraThe largest living rodent, a semiaquatic grazer found in every South American country except Chile.
• 🐟CarpThe common carp is a large freshwater fish of lakes and rivers in Europe and Asia.
• 🐟CatfishA huge, varied order of fish named for their whisker-like barbels.
• 🦜CockatielThe smallest member of the cockatoo family: a grey Australian parrot with a long tail and an expressive crest.
• 🐍CopperheadA heavy-bodied pit viper of the eastern United States, camouflaged by dark hourglass bands on a copper to brown background.
• 🐾CormorantAbout 40 species of dark, fish-eating water birds, including the shags.
• 🐾CraneFifteen species of tall birds with long legs and necks.
• 🦞CrayfishFreshwater relatives of lobsters, also called crawfish or crawdads.
• 🐊CrocodileBig, armoured reptiles that ambush prey at the water’s edge across the tropics, from the 1.5 m dwarf crocodile to the saltwater crocodile, which can pass 6 m.
• 🦌DeerHoofed plant-eaters whose males, in almost every species, grow and shed a new set of bony antlers every year.
• 🪰DragonflyAbout 3,000 species of fast, agile predatory insects with huge compound eyes and two pairs of strong wings.
• 🦆DuckWaterbirds of the same family as geese and swans, but generally smaller and shorter-necked.
• 🐾EgretWhite or buff herons with long legs that grow fine, milky-white plumes in the breeding season.
• 🐾Electric eelNocturnal freshwater fish of South America that stun prey with electric shocks.
• 🦩FlamingoTall, long-legged filter-feeding wading birds.
• 🐸FrogTailless, short-bodied amphibians, making up about 88% of all amphibian species.
• 🪿GooseLarge waterfowl, between ducks and swans in size.
• 🐾HeronAbout 75 species of long-legged, long-necked wading birds of fresh water and coasts, including the egrets and bitterns.
• 🐾IbisTwenty-nine species of long-legged wading birds with long, down-curved bills, which they use to probe mud for food, usually in groups.
• 🐆JaguarThe biggest cat in the Americas and the only one of the roaring big cats native there.
• 🐾LeechSegmented worms related to earthworms, with a sucker at each end.
• 🐾LungfishSix species of air-breathing freshwater fish in Africa, South America and Australia, the closest living relatives of land vertebrates.
• 🦆MallardA dabbling duck that breeds across the Americas, Eurasia and North Africa and has been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, South America and South Africa.
• 🐾ManateeThree species of large, slow, fully aquatic plant-eating mammals, sometimes called sea cows, with paddle-shaped tails.
• 🫎MooseThe tallest, largest and heaviest living deer, known as “elk” in British English.
• 🦟MosquitoAbout 3,600 species of small flies.
• 🐾MudskipperAbout 25 species of amphibious gobies that live on tropical mudflats and in mangroves, spending much of their time out of water.
• 🐾MuskratA large, semi-aquatic rodent of North American wetlands with thick brown fur and a scaly, flattened tail used as a rudder.
• 🦎NewtOver 100 species of semiaquatic salamanders in North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia.
• 🐆OcelotA medium-sized spotted wild cat of the Americas and the largest member of its genus.
• 🦅OspreyA large, fish-eating bird of prey, brown above and white below, found near water on every continent except Antarctica.
• 🦦OtterSemiaquatic members of the weasel family, with long slim bodies, webbed feet and very dense fur that keeps them warm and buoyant.
• 🐾PelicanEight species of large water birds with a long beak and a huge throat pouch, used to scoop up fish and drain out the water before swallowing.
• 🐟PiranhaFreshwater fish of South American rivers and floodplains with razor-sharp teeth.
• 🐒Proboscis monkeyA large, reddish-brown monkey found only on Borneo, named for the male’s huge nose, which can be over 10 cm long and hangs below the mouth.
• 🐍PythonA family of 39 non-venomous snakes of Africa, Asia and Australia, including some of the largest snakes in the world.
• 🦝RaccoonA North American omnivore with dexterous front paws, a black face mask and a ringed tail.
• 🦏RhinocerosFive living species of huge, thick-skinned plant-eaters, two in Africa and three in South and Southeast Asia.
• 🦎SalamanderTailed amphibians with slender, lizard-like bodies and moist skin, which keeps them near water or damp places.
• 🐆ServalA slender, medium-sized African wild cat with a small head, big ears and a golden coat spotted and striped with black.
• 🐍SnakeLimbless reptiles with more than 4,170 species, found on every continent except Antarctica.
• 🐾Star-nosed moleA small, semiaquatic mole of wet lowlands in northeastern North America.
• 🐾StorkTwenty species of large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with stout bills.
• 🦢SwanThe largest waterfowl, and among the largest flying birds in their range, with six living species.
• 🐾TapirLarge, pig-shaped plant-eaters with a short, flexible trunk.
• 🐢TerrapinTerrapins are turtles of fresh or brackish water with clawed feet rather than flippers.
• 🐯TigerThe biggest of the striped cats and a solitary ambush hunter of forests, from Indian mangroves to snowy Russian taiga.
• 🐸ToadA common name for frogs with short legs and dry, warty skin, especially the true toads.
• 🐢TurtleShelled reptiles, about 360 species, including land-living tortoises, freshwater terrapins and sea turtles.
• 🐗Wild boarThe wild pig of Eurasia and North Africa, now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world after introductions to the Americas and Oceania.

How each answer is decided: How we answer. Every animal, in one list: All animals.