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Animals of Africa

Africa is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including some of the world’s largest land animals.

Which animals live in Africa?

Familiar examples include lions, African elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses. Across the continent, different species inhabit savannas, forests, deserts and wetlands, with adaptations suited to their surroundings.

A

An aardvark walking across sandy ground

AardvarkOrycteropus afer

African grey parrot with a black bill, pale face and grey feathers perched on a branch

African grey parrotPsittacus erithacus

African wild dogLycaon pictus

alpaca

AlpacaVicugna pacos

antelope

AntelopeBovidae (antelope groups)

A green aphid with long antennae on a flower petal

AphidsAphidoidea

Black Asian tiger mosquito with white stripes on its legs and body biting human skin

Asian tiger mosquitoAedes albopictus

aye-aye

Aye-ayeDaubentonia madagascariensis

B

baboon

badger

BadgerMeles; Taxidea; Mellivora

bat

Black mamba with raised head and the dark interior of its open mouth visible

Black mambaDendroaspis polylepis

black panther

Black pantherPanthera pardus or Panthera onca (melanistic individuals)

Black stork with dark glossy plumage, a white belly and a red bill

Black storkCiconia nigra

Glossy black widow spider with a red hourglass mark on its abdomen

Black widow spiderLatrodectus

blackbird

BlackbirdTurdus merula

Young black-furred bonobo with large eyes resting against its mother in the forest

BonoboPan paniscus

Brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) with long antennae and a segmented abdomen

Brown shrimpCrangon crangon

buffalo

BuffaloBubalus; Syncerus

bumblebee

BumblebeeBombus

C

camel

cape fox

Cape foxVulpes chama

Caracal with reddish fur and long black tufts at the tips of its ears

CaracalCaracal caracal

Female Ixodes ricinus tick on a dry grass stem

Castor bean tickIxodes ricinus

caterpillar

CaterpillarLepidoptera (caterpillar larval stage)

chameleon

ChameleonChamaeleonidae

cheetah

CheetahAcinonyx jubatus

chimpanzee

ChimpanzeePan troglodytes

cobra

CobraNaja and other hooded elapid snakes

Tiny yellowish-brown fruit fly with bright red eyes on the edge of a leaf

Common fruit flyDrosophila melanogaster

Female kestrel with barred and spotted rufous-brown plumage standing on a rock

Common kestrelFalco tinnunculus

Common kingfisher in flight with blue wings spread and a long pointed bill

Common kingfisherAlcedo atthis

Common moorhen with a red forehead, yellow-tipped bill and long green toes

Common moorhenGallinula chloropus

Common silverfish with an elongated body, antennae and three terminal filaments

Common silverfishLepisma saccharinum

Common starling perched on a mossy branch, showing a pointed yellow bill, pink feet and green-violet iridescent feathers

Common starlingSturnus vulgaris

Common swift in flight with long sickle-shaped wings and a dark body

Common swiftApus apus

Common toad with warty skin and copper eyes sitting on a rock

Common toadBufo bufo

cormorant

CormorantPhalacrocoracidae

crane

Crested porcupines (Hystrix cristata) resting on the ground

Crested porcupineHystrix cristata

Field cricket viewed from above at an angle, showing long antennae, six legs, folded wings and paired rear cerci

CricketsGryllidae

crocodile

CrocodileCrocodylidae

crow

cuckoo

CuckooCuculus canorus

D

Large dark brown death’s-head hawkmoth with a yellowish skull-like pattern on its back

Death’s-head hawkmothAcherontia atropos

deer

Model of a dodo with a round grey-brown body, large hooked bill and yellow legs

DodoRaphus cucullatus

dragonfly

DragonflyAnisoptera (within Odonata)

dromedary

DromedaryCamelus dromedarius

Grey dugong with a downturned muzzle in the Red Sea near Marsa Alam, Egypt

DugongDugong dugon

E

A brown eagle with golden nape feathers perched on a rock

EaglesSeveral genera in Accipitridae

Segmented adult earthworm representing Lumbricus terrestris, showing the head end, clitellum and tapering rear end on soil

EarthwormsCrassiclitellata

earwig

EarwigForficula auricularia

elephant

ElephantLoxodonta africana; Loxodonta cyclotis; Elephas maximus

Eurasian collared dove with pale grey-beige plumage and a black half-collar

Eurasian collared doveStreptopelia decaocto

Dark grey Eurasian coot with a red eye and white forehead standing on a bank

Eurasian cootFulica atra

Golden-yellow male oriole with black wings among fig leaves

Eurasian golden orioleOriolus oriolus

Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) with pinkish-brown plumage and barred blue wing feathers

Eurasian jayGarrulus glandarius

White Eurasian spoonbill with a long spoon-shaped bill feeding in shallow water

Eurasian spoonbillPlatalea leucorodia

Small, slender silvery anchovy with a bluish back on a sandy seabed

European anchovyEngraulis encrasicolus

European bee-eater flying with a yellow throat, blue underparts and spread wings

European bee-eaterMerops apiaster

European eel (Anguilla anguilla) with a long body and fins continuous around the tail

European eelAnguilla anguilla

European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) with a rough shell on the seabed

European flat oysterOstrea edulis

European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) perched on a wooden post

European goldfinchCarduelis carduelis

Green European mantis with a triangular head and folded forelegs

European mantisMantis religiosa

Brown European mole cricket with broad digging forelegs on the ground

European mole cricketGryllotalpa gryllotalpa

Glossy reddish-brown male rhinoceros beetle with a curved horn on its head on a piece of wood

European rhinoceros beetleOryctes nasicornis

European robin (Erithacus rubecula) perched on a branch

European robinErithacus rubecula

Blue European roller with a reddish-brown back perched on a dry branch

European rollerCoracias garrulus

European squid (Loligo vulgaris) with an elongated mantle, side fins and tentacles

European squidLoligo vulgaris

European turtle dove with chestnut-and-black patterned wings and striped neck patches

European turtle doveStreptopelia turtur

F

Unverified RO bird image; identity review pending

FalconFalco spp.

fennec fox

Fennec foxVulpes zerda

firefly

FireflyLampyridae

flamingo

FlamingoPhoenicopteridae

fly

FlyDiptera; Musca domestica is the house fly

A fossa at Bioparc Valencia, photographed by Ran Kirlian

FossaCryptoprocta ferox

frog

G

Slender light-brown gazelle with a white belly and ringed horns among grasses

Giant African land snail with a striped brown conical shell crawling on a green leaf

Giant African land snailLissachatina fulica

giraffe

GiraffeGiraffa spp.

gorilla

GorillaGorilla spp.

grasshopper

GrasshopperCaelifera

Great tit on a mossy branch showing white cheeks and the black stripe down its yellow breast

Great titParus major

grey heron

Grey heronArdea cinerea

gull

GullLaridae (gulls in several genera)

H

Hawfinch with a massive bill, orange-brown head and black throat patch

HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes

hawk

HawkAccipitridae; includes Accipiter and Astur

Magnified head louse among hairs, showing six legs with gripping claws

Head lousePediculus humanus capitis

hedgehog

HedgehogErinaceinae

hippopotamus

HippopotamusHippopotamus amphibius

hoopoe

HoopoeUpupa epops

Tabanus bromius horse fly with large iridescent eyes and transparent wings, viewed from the side

Horse flyTabanidae

Pale Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus dust mites seen through a microscope on dark fibres

House dust mitesDermatophagoides spp.

House martin with a glossy blue-black back and white underparts beside a mud nest

House martinDelichon urbicum

German cockroach (Blattella germanica) viewed from above

Household cockroachesBlattodea (specii sinantrope)

Male marmalade hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus, photographed by Sandy Rae

HoverfliesSyrphidae

AI illustration of a hummingbird hawk-moth with grey forewings and orange hindwings

Hummingbird hawk-mothMacroglossum stellatarum

hyena

I

impala

ImpalaAepyceros melampus

An indri in Andasibe-Mantadia, photographed by Christophe Germain

IndriIndri indri

J

jackal

JackalCanis and Lupulella

K

Green Tettigonia viridissima katydid with long wings and slender legs on vegetation

KatydidTettigoniidae

L

lark

LarkAlauda arvensis

lemur

LemurLemuriformes (several families)

leopard

LeopardPanthera pardus

lion

LionPanthera leo

Lionfish with red and white stripes and long feather-like fins on a dark background

LionfishPterois

White little egret with a black bill and yellow toes perched on a trunk

Little egretEgretta garzetta

Small brown little owl with white spots and yellow eyes perched on a rock

Little owlAthene noctua

lizard

LizardSquamata (lizards)

Long-eared owl with orange eyes and streaked plumage among branches and leaves

Long-eared owlAsio otus

Rosy-faced lovebird with green plumage and a pale bill perched on a branch

LovebirdAgapornis

Yellow-and-black lowland streaked tenrec, photographed by Bernard DUPONT

Lowland streaked tenrecHemicentetes semispinosus

M

Barbary macaque with yellowish-brown fur sitting on a rock

manatee

ManateeTrichechus spp.

mandrill

MandrillMandrillus sphinx

Silvery horse mackerel with large eyes and a lateral line of bony scutes on ice among other fish

Mediterranean horse mackerelTrachurus mediterraneus

Dark-shelled Mediterranean mussels clustered on an underwater rock

Mediterranean musselMytilus galloprovincialis

meerkat

MeerkatSuricata suricatta

Long, segmented black millipede with many pairs of legs on dry leaves

MillipedeDiplopoda

molluscs

MolluscsMollusca

mongoose

MongooseHerpestidae

monkey

Monkeys and apesSimiiformes (monkeys and apes)

mosquito

MosquitoCulicidae

moth

MothLepidoptera (moths from several families)

mouse

MouseMus spp.; Mus musculus is the house mouse

N

nightingale

NightingaleLuscinia megarhynchos

Northern lapwing with a long crest, white belly and green-purple wing reflections

Northern lapwingVanellus vanellus

O

AI illustration of an okapi with a brown body and striped hindquarters

OkapiOkapia johnstoni

ostrich

OstrichStruthio camelus (common ostrich); Struthio molybdophanes is the Somali ostrich

otter

OtterLutrinae; Lutra lutra is the Eurasian otter, Lontra canadensis the North American river otter

owl

OwlStrigiformes

P

pale fox

Pale foxVulpes pallida

Pangolin with overlapping scales and a narrow snout

PangolinManidae

parrot

ParrotPsittaciformes

peacock

PeacockPavo spp.; Afropavo congensis is the Congo peafowl

pelican

PelicanPelecanus spp.

pheasant

PheasantPhasianus colchicus

polecat

PolecatMustela (polecats and related ferrets)

python

PythonPythonidae

R

rabbit

RabbitOryctolagus cuniculus

A brown rat, Rattus norvegicus, with whiskers and a scaly tail curved on the ground

raven

RavenCorvus corax

red fox

Red foxVulpes vulpes

Pinkish-silver red mullet with red blotches and two chin barbels on a sandy seabed

Red mulletMullus barbatus

rhinoceros

RhinocerosRhinocerotidae

S

salamander

SalamanderCaudata (also called Urodela)

Scolopendra cingulata with a yellow-brown segmented body, yellow legs and reddish antennae

Scolopendra centipedeScolopendra

scorpion

ScorpionScorpiones

Serval with large rounded ears and a yellowish coat covered in black spots

ServalLeptailurus serval

Spotted Limax maximus with extended tentacles on moss

SlugGastropoda — terrestrial slugs

snail

SnailGastropoda

snake

sparrow

SparrowPasser domesticus (house sparrow); other sparrow species are also discussed

European garden spider, Araneus diadematus, viewed from above on its web, showing white abdominal spots and eight walking legs

squirrel

SquirrelSciuridae (squirrels)

Long, thin brown stick insect with twig-like legs among fern leaves

Stick insectPhasmatodea

T

tarantula

TarantulaTheraphosidae

Tawny owl with streaked grey-brown plumage, a round head and dark eyes

Tawny owlStrix aluco

termite

TermiteIsoptera (Blattodea)

true bug

True bugHeteroptera (within Hemiptera); includes Cimex and stink bugs

turtle

TurtleTestudines

V

A pale-necked brown vulture perched on a rock

VulturesSeveral species: Accipitridae and Cathartidae

W

Grey warthog with curved tusks and facial warts on dry ground

WarthogPhacochoerus

Yellow-and-black wasp on a twig

WaspHymenoptera: several wasp families, including Vespidae

weasel

WeaselMustela nivalis

white stork

White storkCiconia ciconia

White wagtail with a white face, black bib and grey back perched on a branch

White wagtailMotacilla alba

wild boar

Wild boarSus scrofa

wildcat

WildcatFelis silvestris (European wildcat)

woodpecker

WoodpeckerPicidae

Z

zebra

ZebraEquus quagga, Equus zebra and Equus grevyi