Superlatives

This page is part of my campaign to restore the proper meaning of the word "superlative". This word has come to be used in the media – particularly in the sports media – for any word that suggests excellence (as in "I'm running out of superlatives").  I hope and trust, dear reader, that as a user of this website you will understand what I'm on about. If not, here's a hint: which three–letter suffix occurs at least once in virtually every item in the table below – usually in the first word?

(There is one exception, that I can see, and it's the one that starts with the word "Most" – there being no such word as "poisonousest".)

But to return to the matter in hand ... the following descriptions refer to the world's most (whatever) unless otherwise stated.

Heaviest snake – up to 80 kilograms (see also longest snake)			Anaconda
Largest nocturnal mammal – a member of the lemur family			Aye–aye
Largest wingspan (bird)			(Wandering) albatross
Britain's largest carnivorous land mammal (see below)			Badger
Largest member of the grass family			(Giant) bamboo
Largest herb (a herb being a plant that has no woody stem above ground)			Banana
Largest fish living off the British coast			Basking shark
Largest rodent found in Europe			Beaver
Smallest bird (native to Cuba); but see Vervain hummingbird			Bee hummingbird
Smallest swan native to Britain, Europe and most of the Northern hemisphere			Bewick's swan
Fastest snake			Black mamba
Largest living creature, now or ever			Blue whale
The heaviest bird that's capable of flight is the Great (European) or Kori (African) variety of			Bustard
Britain's most abundant bird of prey (estimated 70,000 breeding pairs)			Buzzard
Largest rodent			Capybara
Fastest thing on four legs (over short distances)			Cheetah
Biggest invertebrate animal – even bigger than the giant squid! (One was accidentally caught in Antarctica in 2014)			Colossal squid
Britain's smallest reptile			Common lizard
Heaviest flying bird, and largest bird of prey			(Andean) condor
Britain's largest freshwater crustacean: related to the lobsters (order Decapoda)			Crayfish
Most poisonous (not venomous) fish			Death puffer
Largest antelope			Eland
Longest gestation period (610 days – 1 year 8 months)			(Asian) elephant
Largest seal (weighing up to 5,000 kilograms)			Elephant seal
Largest penguin (weighing up to 16 kilograms)			Emperor
Australia's largest native bird, and the world's second–largest flightless bird (after the ostrich)			Emu
Smallest horse (bred in Argentina)			Falabella
The smallest type of fox (native to the Sahara – a.k.a. the desert fox)			Fennec
Largest spider, by leg span (see also goliath birdeater)			Giant huntsman
Largest (living) invertebrate; largest eye of any living creature (16" diameter)			Giant (Atlantic) squid
Tallest mammal, and highest blood pressure			Giraffe
Britain's smallest native birds (two closely related species)			Goldcrest
			Firecrest
Largest frog (native to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea – named after a biblical character)			Goliath
Largest spider, by mass and body size (but see huntsman)			Goliath birdeater
The longest–lived of all known vertebrates (estimated to be between 250 and 500 years)			Greenland shark
Britain's largest carnivore (trick question alert!)			Grey seal
Largest flatfish			Halibut
Europe's smallest rodent (note: a shrew is not a rodent)			Harvest mouse
Most widely distributed mammal (found on all seven continents, including Antarctica)			House mouse
Bird with the smallest egg – according to Guinness World Records (native to Jamaica)			Vervain hummingbird
Largest member of the cat family native to the Americas			Jaguar
Largest crab			Japanese spider crab
Largest member of the dolphin family (Delphinidae)			Killer whale, or orca
Longest venomous snake (up to twenty feet)			King cobra
Largest egg in proportion to the size of the adult; also the smallest ratite, but not the smallest flightless bird – the Inaccessible Island rail is smaller			Kiwi
Largest lizard			Komodo dragon
Largest member of the kingfisher family			Kookaburra
Largest turtle (of 8 species)			Leatherback
Largest species of monkey; name means "man–ape"			Mandrill
Europe's smallest falcon (slightly larger than a blackbird)			Merlin
Largest deer			Moose or Elk
Britain's largest native (i.e. regularly breeding) wild bird (also has most feathers!)			Mute swan
Britain's largest bat			Noctule
Fastest thing on two legs; tallest and heaviest bird; largest egg (bird)			Ostrich (North African)
Fastest living creature (when stooping)			Peregrine falcon
Britain's smallest and commonest native bat			Pipistrelle
Largest land carnivore (both the same size, and bigger than the grizzly)			Polar or Kodiak bear
Largest fruit			Pumpkin
Smallest rodent ("possibly" – Wikipedia)			(African) pygmy mouse
Britain's smallest mammal			Pygmy shrew
Largest member of the crow family			(Common) raven
Britain's largest wild animal			Red deer
Tallest and largest tree			Redwood or sequoia
Longest snake – up to 80 kilograms (see also heaviest snake)			Reticulated python
Britain's fastest wild animal; Britain's smallest species of deer (excluding the artificially introduced muntjac)			Roe deer
Largest amphibian			(Giant) salamander
Largest reptile			Saltwater crocodile
Slowest–moving fish			Seahorse
Largest member of the cat family (a.k.a. North China tiger, Amur tiger, Manchurian tiger, or Korean tiger)			Siberian tiger
Britain's largest reptile (excluding snakes)			Slow worm
Heaviest and most complex brain			Sperm whale
The largest carnivore that ever lived (bigger than Giganotosaurus (sic) or Gigantosaurus)			Spinosaurus
Britain's largest beetle: Latin name Lucanus servus, now quite rare; typically 2" long, but can be up to 4.5"			Stag beetle
Fastest bird in level flight: Guinness Book of Records is non–committal; Guinness Book of Lists 1999 says			Swift
Largest carnivorous marsupial, since the extinction of the thylacine or Tasmanian wolf (1936)			Tasmanian devil
Largest fish			Whale shark
Britain's largest bird (wingspan) – lives on the west coast of Scotland			White–tailed or sea eagle
Largest land–based member of the weasel family; a.k.a. glutton or carcajou (giant otter is largest of all)			Wolverine

© Haydn Thompson 2017–25