Quiz Monkey |
Science |
Natural History |
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 plant | Californian redwood | ||
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 | ||
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 2017–24