Natural History: Types

Questions in this category typically take the form "What type of creature(s) (or plant(s)) is (or are) ... ?"

Sometimes however you need the name in the right–hand column to complete the name of the species or subspecies.  In these cases you need a slightly different form of wording – for example:

Q: "What species of mammal can be striped, spotted, or brown?"  A: "The hyena."

Silky, giant, spiny, scaly		Anteaters
Addax, bongo, dik–dik, duiker, eland, gerenuk, gnu (wildebeeste), impala, klipspringer, koodoo (kudu), nilgai (blue bull), saiga		Antelopes
The onager is a wild species of		Ass
Pipistrelle, barbastrelle, Natterer's, Bechstein's, noctule, lesser noctule (a.k.a. Leisler's or the Irish), flying fox, whiskered, Daubenton's, serotine, Brandt's		Bats
Slit–faced (genus) – including the hairy slit–faced variety, which is widely distributed throughout forests and savannas in Africa
Spectacled, Florida Cave, Giant Short–faced; Brown (with subspecies Syrian, Grizzly or Silvertip, Kodiak, Himalayan, Bergman's, Eurasian), Gobi, Atlas; American Black (Cinnamon or Kermode); Polar; Asiatic Black (Formosan); Sloth (Sri Lankan or Indian); Borneo Sun; European Cave; MacFarlane's		Bear
Devil's coach horse, scarab, cockchafer (a.k.a. May bug, mitchamador, billy witch, or spang beetle), scavenger, bombardier, click, Colorado		Beetles
A glow–worm is not a worm but a		Beetle
Avadavat, booby, cassowary, chat, drongo, frogmouth, jacamar, junco, killdeer, loon, manakin, megapode, motmot, nutcracker, ortolan, potoo, rhea, stilt, turnstone, weka		Birds
Buff–tailed, white–tailed, red–tailed, garden, early, tree, heath, cuckoo		Bumblebees
Corn, reed, snow		Bunting
Camberwell beauty, clouded yellow, common blue, fritillary, gatekeeper, hairstreak, julia, Lulworth skipper (one of about 3,500 species of skipper), mazarine blue, meadow brown, metalmark (about 1,500 species, mainly found in South American rainforests), monarch, postman, Scotch argus, small tortoiseshell, swallowtail (over 550 species)		Butterfly
Queen Alexandra's birdwing (native to New Guinea): the world's largest and rarest species of		Butterfly
Prickly pear		Cactus
Leather, mirror, common, crucian, golden		Carp
Southern, northern and dwarf		Cassowary
Caracal, margay, serval		Cats
Andean and Californian are the two species of (a type of New World vulture)		Condor
Brain, staghorn, plate, pillar		Coral
Sally Lightfoot		Crab
Red–crowned, black crowned, brown crowned; sandhill, whooping		Crane
Katydid		Cricket
American, Borneo, Cuban, Dwarf, Freshwater, Morelet's, Mugger, New Guinea, Nile, Orinoco, Philippine, Saltwater, Siamese, Slender–snouted (West African and Central African), West African		Crocodile
Muntjac (aka Barking Deer); Wapiti (North America); Sika (Eastern Asia); Brocket (Central and South America, also Trinidad); Chital or cheetal (Indian subcontinent)		Deer
Haviside's, Hector's, Risso's, Fraser's, Peale's; bottle–nosed is the most common variety		Dolphin
Edible, hazel, squirrel–tailed		Dormouse
Ringneck (a.k.a. ring or Barbary), collared, rock, stock, turtle (inc. Oriental or rufous turtle)		Dove
Skimmer, Hawker, Darter, Chaser, Clubtail, Biddy, Darner (various species of each)		Dragonfly
Canvasback, gadwall, garganey, goldeneye, goosander, harlequin, mandarin, merganser, muscovy, pintail, pochard, scaup, shoveller, smew, teal, wigeon		Ducks
Coolibah or coolabah (tree – as mentioned in the Australian 'bush ballad' Waltzing Matilda)		Eucalyptus
Bird's nest, maidenhair, rabbit's foot, hart's tongue, bracken		Fern
Alewife, bleak, barramundi, bullhead (a.k.a. miller's thumb or Tommy Logge), bummalo, bonito, callop, coelacanth, danio, dragonet, goby, golomyanka, John Dory, kissing gourami, groundling, lumpsucker, marlin, midshipman, mouthbrooder (a.k.a. mouthbreeder), mudskipper, mulloway, (Irish) pollan, pompano, saury, seahorse, sergeant baker (a.k.a. dragon snapper), vendace, zander		Fish
Ked		Fly (parasitic)
Midwife toad		Frog
Lady's eardrops is a species of (popular garden flowering plant)		Fuchsia
Devil's bolete (or any type of bolete), devil's candlestick, chanterelle, crumble cap, destroying angel, dryad's saddle, earthstar, ergot, fairy's bonnet (and lots of other sorts of bonnet), fly agaric, grisette, Jew's ear, stinkhorn		Fungi
Reticulated (a.k.a. Somali), Northern (subspecies Kordofan, Nubian, West African, a.k.a. Niger or Nigerian, and Rothschild's (a.k.a. Baringo or Ugandan); southern (subspecies Angolan, a.k.a. Namibian, and South African); Masai (subspecies Masai and Rhodesian)		Giraffe
Markhor (national animal of Pakistan)		Goat
Ibex (French bouquetin, German Steinbock)		Goat (Alpine)
Bar–tailed, black–tailed, Hudsonian and marbled – the first two native to Europe, the last two to North America – are the four species of (long–billed waders, named after their call and once considered a delicacy in England)		Godwit (Limosa)
Barnacle, greylag, Brent, Canada		Goose
Bamboo; timothy, cat's tail, cocksfoot, meadow foxtail, couch, bents, fescue (various species), vetiver		Grass
Red–necked, black–necked, Slavonian, little, great crested: species of		Grebe
Great and lesser black–back, Black–headed, Great black–headed, Bonaparte's, Common, Franklin's, Glaucous, Herring, Iceland, Ivory, Laughing, Little, Ring–billed, Mediterranean, Ross's, Sabine's, Slender–illed, Sooty, White–eyed: species of		Gull
Hen, marsh, Montagu's, pallid: species of (birds of prey)		Harrier
Poplar, lime, privet, elephant, eyed, hummingbird, convulvulus		Hawk–moth
Brumby (Australia): a feral species of		Horse
Flag, bearded (genus of plants)		Iris
Striped, spotted, brown		Hyena
Black–backed, side–striped, golden		Jackal
Portuguese man–o'war, medusa, sea wasp		Jellyfish
Red, antilopine, eastern grey, western grey		Kangaroo
Ring–tailed, brown, ruffed, aye–aye		Lemur
The indri (a.k.a. the babakoto) is the largest species of
Basilisk, chuckwalla, galliwasp, gecko, horned toad (a.k.a. horny toad or horned frog), skink, slow worm		Lizards
Barbary, lion–tailed, pig–tailed, stump–tailed and crab–eating (genus of primates)		Macaque
Manatee, dugong		Marine mammals
Kangaroo, wallaby, koala, possum, glider, cuscus, opossum (the only one native to America), wombat, Tasmanian devil, dunnart, potoroo, cuscus, bandicoot (native to Australia and New Guinea), thylacine (extinct)		Marsupials
Goosander, smew, Brazilian, red–breasted, scaly–sided (two genera of ducks)		Mergansers
Pholas		Mollusc
Ichneumon: Egyptian variety of		Mongoose
Capuchin, colobus, macaque, mangabey, marmoset, tamarin, vervet		Monkeys
Gallinipper		Mosquito
Angle shades, swallow–tailed, cinnabar, pale tussock, common swift, feathered thorn, scalloped oak, mullein, swallow prominent (these among the most common British species); burnet or forester, dingy footman, goat, grey dagger, Jersey tiger, oak beauty, old lady, shark, tussock, vapourer		Moths
Shaggy parasol, lawyer's wig		Mushrooms
Grifola frondosa – commonly known in English as hen–of–the–woods, ram's head or sheep's head, and in cookery by its Japanese name of maitake
Spanish Brook, Firebelly, Alpine		Newt
Dermast, common, sessile, Turkey, English, Mirbeck's, evergreen (a.k.a. holly or holm) are varieties of		Oak
Early purple, green winged, coral root, lady's slipper, birds nest, early spider; bee, butterfly, fly, frog, lizard, monkey		Orchids
Southern Boobok (a.k.a. mopoke or morepork)		Owl
Sago, Chinese fan, kentia, parlour		Palm
Giant, common red, lesser red		Panda
Kakapo, kea (both native to New Zealand)		Parrots
Common or Indian, Green, Congo		Peafowl
American white, Brown, Peruvian, Great white, Australian, Pink–backed, Dalmatian, Spot–billed		Pelican
King, Emperor, Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo, Jackass, Macaroni, Rockhopper, Royal		Penguin
Babiroussa (Indonesia), Peccary (S. America): wild varieties of		Pig
Caspian, golden, grey, Kentish, ringed, sociable		Plover
Phalanger		Possum
Rock, Indian, royal or ball, reticulated: species of		Python
Caiman		Reptile
Black, white, African, Indian, Javan, Sumatran, broad–lipped		Rhinoceros
Common, green, marsh, wood, solitary		Sandpiper
Skua		Seabird
Common or harbour, crabeater, elephant, fur, grey, harp, Hawaiian monk, leopard, ringed, Ross, Weddel		Seals
Samphire		Seashore plant
Abalone, ormer (French oreille de mer – sea ear)		Sea snail (edible)
Sargassum, eel grass, kelp, (bladder)wrack, dabberlocks; devil's apron, devonshire fan, false eyelash, creep horn, alternate bush, little fat sausage, creeping tongue, bunny eared bead, sticky tube, punctured ball, slimy whip, landlady's wig		Seaweed
Hammerhead (including the bonnethead or shovelhead); basking, tiger, porbeagle, wobbegong		Shark
Tope: any of various species of small		Shark
The argali, and the urial (a.k.a. arkars or shapo) are wild varieties of		Sheep
Water, common and pygmy are British species of; there is also a armoured or hero variety, native to Africa		Shrew
Murex		Snail
Anaconda, bandy–bandy, boomslang (bomes–lang), bushmaster, copperhead, dugite (joo–gite), fer de lance, krait, mamba, sidewinder, speckled racer, taipan, water moccasin or cottonmouth		Snakes
Camel, trapdoor, jumping, bolas, Brazilian huntsman, gladiator		Spider
Venus's flower basket		Sponge
Chickaree (American red variety), taguan, polatouche (small flying)		Squirrels
Mute, Bewick's, whooper		Swan
Common, Arctic, roseate, Sandwich, sooty (family of seabirds)		Tern
Bengal, Caspian, Siberian (a.k.a. North China, Amur, Manchurian or Korean), South China, Indochinese, Malayan, Javan, Bali, Sumartan		Tiger
Natterjack, Firebellied, Spadefoot, Midwife, Scutiger, Surinam		Toads
Blushers, sickeners, blewitts		Toadstools
Honey locust (native to the eastern United States)		Tree
Cavalla, kissing gourami, neon tetra		Tropical fish
Albacore, bigeye, bluefin, blackfin and yellowfin		Tuna
Green, Loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, Olive ridley, Hawksbill, Flatback, Leatherback		Turtle
Bearded, Black, Egyptian, Griffon, Hooded, Indian, King, Turkey		Vulture
Lammergeier (native to southern Europe, Asia and North Africa)
Red–necked, Bennett's		Wallaby
Tarantula hawk; velvet ant or panda ant		Wasp
Grampus, rorqual, beluga		Whales
Razorback		Whale or pig
The osier (a tree whose twigs can be used in wickerwork) is a type of		Willow
Common, southern hairy–nosed, northern hairy–nosed		Wombat
Northern flicker (comes in yellow–shafted, red–shafted and Guadeloupe varieties)		Woodpecker
Brandling (used as fishing bait)		Worm

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23