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Amniota

(Series)

Overview

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The amniotes are a group of tetrapods (four-limbed animals with backbones or spinal columns) that have a terrestrially adapted egg. They include synapsids (mammals along with their extinct kin) and sauropsids (reptiles and birds), as well as their fossil ancestors. Amniote embryos, whether laid as eggs or carried by the female, are protected and aided by several extensive membranes. In eutherian mammals (such as humans), these membranes include the amniotic sac that surrounds the fetus. These embryonic membranes, and the lack of a larval stage, distinguish amniotes from tetrapod amphibians.1]

The first amniotes (referred to as "basal amniotes"), such as Casineria, resembled small lizards and had evolved from the amphibian reptiliomorphs about 340 million years ago, in the Carboniferous geologic period. Their eggs could survive out of the water, allowing amniotes to branch out into drier environments. The eggs could also "breathe" and cope with waste, allowing the eggs and the amniotes themselves to evolve into larger forms. The amniotes spread across the globe and became the dominant land vertebrates.

Very early in the evolutionary history of amniotes, basal amniotes evolved into two main lines of amniotes, the synapsids and the sauropsids, both of which persist into the modern era. The oldest known fossil synapsid is Protoclepsydrops from about 320 million years ago, while the oldest known sauropsid is probably Paleothyris, in the order Captorhinida, from the Middle Pennsylvanian epoch (ca. 306-312 million years ago).

Description

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Amniotes can be characterized in part by embryonic development that includes the formation of several extensive membranes, the amnion, chorion, and allantois. Amniotes develop directly into a (typically) terrestrial form with limbs and a thick s tratified epithelium, rather than first entering a feeding larval tadpole stage followed by metamorphosis as in amphibians. In amniotes the transition from a two-layered periderm to cornified epithelium is triggered by thyroid hormone during embryonic development, rather than metamorphosis.[2] The unique embryonic features of amniotes may reflect specializations of eggs to survive drier environments, or the massive size and yolk content of eggs evolved for direct development to a larger size.

Anatomy of an amniotic egg
1. Eggshell
2. Outer membrane
3. Inner membrane
4. Chalaza
5. Exterior albumen (outer thin albumen)
6. Middle albumen (inner thick albumen)
7. Vitelline membrane
8. Nucleus of Pander
9. Germinal disk (blastoderm)
10. Yellow yolk
11. White yolk
12. Internal albumen
13. Chalaza
14. Air cell
15. Cuticula

Adaptions for a terrestrial life

Features of amniotes evolved for survival on land include a sturdy but porous leathery or hard eggshell and an allantois evolved to facilitate respiration while providing a reservoir for disposal of wastes. Their kidneys and large intestines are also well-suited to water retention. Most mammals do not lay eggs, but corresponding structures may be found inside the placenta.

The first amniotes, such as Casineria kiddi, which lived about 340 million years ago, evolved from amphibian reptiliomorphs and resembled small lizards. Their eggs were small and covered with a leathery membrane, not a hard shell like those of birds or crocodiles. Although some modern amphibians lay eggs on land, with or without significant protection, they all lack advanced traits like an amnion. This kind of egg only became possible with internal fertilization. The outer membrane, a soft shell, evolved as a protection against the harsher environments on land, as species evolved to lay their eggs on land where they were safer than in the water. One can assume the ancestors of the amniotes laid their eggs in moist places, as such modest-sized animals would not have difficulty finding depressions under fallen logs or other suitable places in the ancient forests, and dry conditions were probably not the main reason why the soft shell emerged.[3] Indeed, many modern day amniotes are dependent on moisture to stop their eggs from desiccating.[4]

The egg membranes

In fish and amphibians there is only one inner membrane, also called an embryonic membrane. In amniotes the inner anatomy of the egg has evolved further and new structures have developed to take care of the gas exchanges between the embryo and the atmosphere, as well as dealing with the waste problems. To grow a thicker and tougher shell required new ways to supply the embryo with oxygen, as diffusion alone was not enough. After the egg developed these structures, further sophistication allowed amniotes to lay much bigger eggs in much drier habitats. Bigger eggs allowed for bigger offspring, and bigger adults could produce bigger eggs, so amniotes grew bigger than their ancestors. Real growth was not possible, however, until they stopped relying on small invertebrates as their main food source and started to eat plants or other vertebrates, or returned to the water. New habits and heavier bodies meant further evolution for the amniotes, both in behavior and anatomy.

Amniote traits

While the early amniotes resembled their amphibian ancestors in many respects, a key difference was the lack of an otic notch at the back margin of the skull roof. In their ancestors, this notch held a spiracle, an unnecessary structure in an animal without an aquatic larval stage.[5] There are three main lines of amniotes, which may be distinguished by the structure of the skull and in particular the number of temporal fenestrae (openings) behind each eye. In anapsids (turtles) there are none, in synapsids (mammals and their extinct relatives) there is one, and in most diapsids (non-anapsid reptiles, including dinosaurs and birds) there are two.[6]

Post cranial remains of amniotes can be identified from their Labyrinthodont ancestors by their having at least two pairs of sacral ribs, a sternum in the pectoral girdle (some amniotes have lost it) and an astragalus bone in the ankle.[7]

Definition and classification

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Amniota was first formally described by embryologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866 on the presence of the amnion, hence the name. A problem with this definition is that the trait (apomorphy) in question does not fossilize, and the status of fossil forms has to be inferred from other traits. Thus Jacques Gauthier and colleagues forwarded a definition of Amniota in 1988 as "the most recent common ancestor of extant mammals and reptiles, and all its descendants".[7] Gauthiers definition being a node-based crown group, his definition of the group has a slightly different content than the group defined as biological amniotes (apomorphy-based clade).[8]

Traditional classification

Classifications of the amniotes have traditionally recognised three classes based on major traits and physiology:[6][9][10][11]

This rather orderly scheme is the one most commonly found in popular and basic scientific works. It has come under critique from cladistics, as the class Reptilia is paraphyletic, that is, it has given rise to two other classes not included in Reptilia.

Phylogenetic classification

With the advent of cladistics, some researchers have attempted to establish new classes, based on phylogeny, but disregarding the physiological and anatomical unity of the groups. One such classification, by Michael Benton, is presented in simplified form below.[12]

Cladogram

The cladogram presented here illustrates the phylogeny (family tree) of amniotes, and follows a simplified version of the relationships found by Laurin & Reisz (1995).[13] The cladogram covers the group as defined under Gauthier's definition.

st-sized animals would not have difficulty finding depressions under fallen logs or other suitable places in the ancient forests, and dry conditions were probably not the main reason why the soft shell emerged.[3] Indeed, many modern day amniotes are dependent on moisture to stop their eggs from desiccating.[4]

The egg membranes

In fish and amphibians there is only one inner membrane, also called an embryonic membrane. In amniotes the inner anatomy of the egg has evolved further and new structures have developed to take care of the gas exchanges between the embryo and the atmosphere, as well as dealing with the waste problems. To grow a thicker and tougher shell required new ways to supply the embryo with oxygen, as diffusion alone was not enough. After the egg developed these structures, further sophistication allowed amniotes to lay much bigger eggs in much drier habitats. Bigger eggs allowed for bigger offspring, and bigger adults could produce bigger eggs, so amniotes grew bigger than their ancestors. Real growth was not possible, however, until they stopped relying on small invertebrates as their main food source and started to eat plants or other vertebrates, or returned to the water. New habits and heavier bodies meant further evolution for the amniotes, both in behavior and anatomy.

Amniote traits

While the early amniotes resembled their amphibian ancestors in many respects, a key difference was the lack of an otic notch at the back margin of the skull roof. In their ancestors, this notch held a spiracle, an unnecessary structure in an animal without an aquatic larval stage.[5] There are three main lines of amniotes, which may be distinguished by the structure of the skull and in particular the number of temporal fenestrae (openings) behind each eye. In anapsids (turtles) there are none, in synapsids (mammals and their extinct relatives) there is one, and in most diapsids (non-anapsid reptiles, including dinosaurs and birds) there are two.[6]

Post cranial remains of amniotes can be identified from their Labyrinthodont ancestors by their having at least two pairs of sacral ribs, a sternum in the pectoral girdle (some amniotes have lost it) and an astragalus bone in the ankle.[7]

Definition and classification

[ Back to top ]

Amniota was first formally described by embryologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866 on the presence of the amnion, hence the name. A problem with this definition is that the trait (apomorphy) in question does not fossilize, and the status of fossil forms has to be inferred from other traits. Thus Jacques Gauthier and colleagues forwarded a definition of Amniota in 1988 as "the most recent common ancestor of extant mammals and reptiles, and all its descendants".[7] Gauthiers definition being a node-base d crown group, his definition of the group has a slightly different content than the group defined as biological amniotes (apomorphy-based clade).[8]

Traditional classification

Classifications of the amniotes have traditionally recognised three classes based on major traits and physiology:[6][9][10][11]

This rather orderly scheme is the one most commonly found in popular and basic scientific works. It has come under critique from cladistics, as the class Reptilia is paraphyletic, that is, it has given rise to two other classes not included in Reptilia.

Phylogenetic classification

With the advent of cladistics, some researchers have attempted to establish new classes, based on phylogeny, but disregarding the physiological and anatomical unity of the groups. One such classification, by Michael Benton, is presented in simplified form below.[12]

Cladogram

The cladogram presented here illustrates the phylogeny (family tree) of amniotes, and follows a simplified version of the relationships found by Laurin & Reisz (1995).[13] The cladogram covers the group as defined under Gauthier's definition.

References

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  1. ^ Benton, Michael J. (1997). Vertebrate Palaeontology. London: Chapman & Hall. pp. 105?109. ISBN 0-412-73810-4. 
  2. ^ Alexander M. Schreiber and Donald D. Brown *. "Tadpole skin dies autonomously in response to thyroid hormone at metamorphosis". Pnas.org. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/100/4/1769. Retrieved 2011-04-25. 
  3. ^ Stewart J. R. (1997): Morphology and evolution of the egg of oviparous amniotes. In: S. Sumida and K. Martin (ed.) Amniote Origins-Completing th e Transition to Land (1): 291-326. London: Academic Press.
  4. ^ Cunningham, B.; Huene, E. (Jul.-Aug. 1938). "Further Studies on Water Absorption by Reptile Eggs". The American Naturalist 72 (741): 380?385. doi:10.1086/280791. JSTOR 2457547. 
  5. ^ Lombard, R. E. & Bolt, J. R. (1979): Evolution of the tetrapod ear: an analysis and reinterpretation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society No 11: pp 19?76 Abstract
  6. ^ a b Romer, A.S. & Parsons, T.S. (1985): The Vertebrate Body. (6th ed.) Saunders, Philadelphia.
  7. ^ a b Gauthier, J., Kluge, A.G. and Rowe, T. (1988). "The early evolution of the Amniota." Pp. 103-155 in Benton, M.J. (ed.), The phylogeny and classification of the tetrapods, Volume 1: amphibians, reptiles, birds. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  8. ^ Lee, M.S.Y. & Spencer, P.S. (1997): Crown clades, key characters and taxonomic stability: when is an amniote not an amniote? In: Sumida S.S. & Martin K.L.M. (eds.) Amniote Origins: completing the transition to land. Academic Press, pp 61-84. Google books
  9. ^ Carroll, R. L. (1988), Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, WH Freeman & Co.
  10. ^ Hildebrand, M. & G. E. Goslow, Jr. Principal ill. Viola Hildebrand. (2001). Analysis of vertebrate structure. New York: Wiley. p. 429. ISBN 0471295051. 
  11. ^ Colbert, E.H. & Morales, M. (2001): Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates: A History of the Backboned Animals Through Time. 4th edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York ? ISBN 978-0-471-38461-8.
  12. ^ Benton, M.J. (2004). Vertebrate Paleontology. Blackwell Publishers. xii-452. ISBN 0-632-05614-2. 
  13. ^ Laurin, M. and Reisz, R.R. (1995). "A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 113: 165-223.

External links

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Taxonomy

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The Series Amniota is a member of the Parvorder Charadriida. Here is the complete "parentage" of Amniota:

The Series Amniota is further organized into finer groupings including:

Families

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Abderitidae

[more]

Abelisauridae

[more]

Abrocomidae

Chinchilla rats or chinchillones are members of the family Abrocomidae. This family has few members compared to most rodent families with only 9 known living species. They resemble Chinchillas in appearance, with a similar soft fur and silvery-grey color, but have a body-structure more like a short-tailed rat. They are social, tunnel-dwelling animals, and live in the Andes Mountains of South America. They are probably herbivorous, although this is not clear. [more]

Acanthisittidae

The New Zealand wrens, Acanthisittidae, are a family of tiny passerines endemic to New Zealand. They were represented by six known species in four or five genera, although only two species survive in two genera today. They are understood to form a distinct lineage within the passerines, but authorities differ on their assignment to the oscines or suboscines (the two suborders that between them make up the Passeriformes). More recent studies suggest that they form a third, most ancient, suborder Acanthisitti and have no living close relatives at all. They are called "wrens" due to similarities in appearance and behaviour to the true wrens (Troglodytidae), but are not members of that family. [more]

Acanthizidae

The Acanthizidae, also known as the Australasian warblers, are a family of passerine birds which include gerygones, thornbills, and scrubwrens. The Acanthizidae consists of small to medium passerine birds, with a total length varying between 8 and 19 cm. They have short rounded wings, slender bills, long legs, and a short tail. Most species have olive, grey, or brown plumage, although some have patches of a brighter yellow. The smallest species of acanthizid, and indeed the smallest Australian passerine, is the Weebill, the largest is the Pilotbird [more]

Accipitridae

The Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes (the diurnal birds of prey), are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a few feeding on fruit. The Accipitridae have a cosmopolitan distribution, being found on all the world's continents (except Antarctica) and a number of oceanic island groups. Some species are migratory. [more]

Acrobatidae

Acrobatidae is a small family of gliding marsupials containing two genera, each with a single species, the Feathertail Glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) from Australia and Feather-tailed Possum (Distoechurus pennatus) from New Guinea. [more]

Acrochordidae

The Acrochordidae are a monotypic family created for the genus Acrochordus. This is a group of primitive aquatic snakes found in Australia and Indonesia. Currently, 3 species are recognized. [more]

Acrodelphinidae

[more]

Adapidae

[more]

Adapisoricidae

Adapisoriculidae is an extinct family of placental mammals present during the Paleocene and possibly Cretaceous. They were once thought to be members of the order Erinaceomorpha, closely related to the Hedgehog family (Erinaceidae), because of their similar dentition, but they are now thought to be basal Euarchontans. They were also thought to be Marsupials at one point. They were small placentals of about 15 cm long, with a tail of equal length. They were probably nocturnal, eating insects and fruits. [more]

Adapisoriculidae

[more]

Adianthidae

[more]

Adocidae

[more]

Aegialodontidae

[more]

Aegialornithidae

[more]

Aegithalidae

The long-tailed tits or bushtits, Aegithalidae, are a family of small passerine birds. The family contains 13 species in four genera. [more]

Aegithinidae

The ioras are a family, Aegithinidae, of small passerine bird species found in India and southeast Asia. The family has only four species in a single genus, Aegithina. They are one of only three bird families that are entirely endemic to the Indomalayan ecozone. They were formerly grouped with the other two of those families, the leafbirds and fairy-bluebirds, in the family Irenidae. [more]

Aegothelidae

Owlet-nightjars are small nocturnal birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. Most are native to New Guinea, but some species extend to Australia, the Moluccas, and New Caledonia. A New Zealand species is extinct. There is a single monotypic family Aegothelidae with the genus Aegotheles. [more]

Aepyornithidae

[more]

Aetiocetidae

[more]

Aetosauridae

[more]

Afrotarsiidae

[more]

Agamidae

Agamids, lizards of the family Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. [more]

Agnopteridae

[more]

Agorophiidae

[more]

Agriochoeridae

[more]

Aigialosauridae

Aigialosauridae (Greek, aigialos = "seashore" + sauros= lizard) is family of Late Cretaceous semi-aquatic varanoid lizards, regarded by some paleontologists to form distinct monophyletic group and by others as an adaptive grade within the basal mosasauroids. [more]

Alagomyidae

[more]

Alaudidae

Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark. Habitats vary widely, but many species live in dry regions. [more]

Albionbaataridae

Albionbaataridae is a family of small, extinct mammals within the order Multituberculata. Fossil remains are known from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Europe and Asia. These herbivores lived their obscure lives during the Mesozoic, also known as the "age of the dinosaurs." They were among the more derived representatives of the informal suborder "Plagiaulacida". The taxon Albionbaataridae was named by Kielan-Jaworowska Z. and Ensom P.C. in 1994. [more]

Albireonidae

[more]

Alcedinidae

The river kingfishers or Alcedinidae, are one of the three families of bird in the kingfisher group. The Alcedinidae once included all kingfishers, before the widespread recognition of Halcyonidae (tree-kingfishers) and Cerylidae (water-kingfishers). The family is widespread through Africa, through east and south Asia as far as Australia, with one species, the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) also appearing in Europe and northern Asia. The origin of the family is thought to have been in Asia. [more]

Alcidae

An auk is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. Auks are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colors, their upright posture and some of their habits. Nevertheless they are not closely related to penguins, but rather are believed to be an example of moderate convergent evolution. [more]

Alexornithidae

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Alligatoridae

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Allomyidae

[more]

Allosauridae

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Alvarezsauridae

[more]

Ambulocetidae

[more]

Amilnedwardsiidae

[more]

Amphicyonidae

Amphicyonidae is an extinct family of large terrestrial carnivores belonging to the suborder Caniformia (meaning "dog-like") and which inhabited North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa from the Middle Eocene subepoch to the Pleistocene epoch 46.2?1.8 Mya, existing for approximately 44.4 million years. [more]

Amphidontidae

The Amphidontidae are a family of extinct mammals from the Early Creataceous, belonging to the triconodonts. It contains most of the species previously belonged to Amphilestidae. [more]

Amphilemuridae

[more]

Amphilestidae

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Amphimerycidae

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Amphisbaenidae

The Amphisbaenidae are a family of amphisbaenians, commonly known as worm lizards. They are found in North and South America, some Caribbean islands, and in sub-Saharan Africa. One deep branching and somewhat aberrant genus, Blanus, is native to Europe, and may represent a distinct family. [more]

Amphitheriidae

Amphitheriida is an order of mesozoic mammals restricted to the Middle Jurassic of Britain. They were closely related to the Dryolestids but possessed five molars instead of the usual four in Dryolestida, (with the exception of the family Dryolestidae whose members possessed between 8 and 9 molars). The Amphitheriida contains one family, the Amphitheriidae. [more]

Anagalidae

[more]

Anatidae

Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups. These are birds that can swim, float on the water surface, and in some cases dive in at least shallow water. (The Magpie Goose is no longer[] considered to be part of the Anatidae, but is placed in its own family Anseranatidae.) The family contains around 146 species in 40 genera. They are generally herbivorous, and are monogamous breeders. A number of species undertake annual migrations. A few species have been domesticated for agriculture, and many others are hunted for food and recreation. Five species have become extinct since 1600, and many more are threatened with extinction. [more]

Anchilophidae

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Anchisauridae

[more]

Angelinornithidae

[more]

Anguidae

Anguidae is a large and diverse family of lizards native to the northern hemisphere. The group includes the slowworms, glass lizards, and alligator lizards, among others. Anguidae is divided into three subfamilies and contains 94 species in eight genera. Their closest living relatives are the helodermatid lizards. They have hard osteoderms beneath their scales, and many of the species have reduced or absent limbs, giving them a snake-like appearance, although others are fully limbed. [more]

Anhangueridae

[more]

Anhimidae

The screamers are a small family of birds, the Anhimidae. For a long time they were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar bills, but they are truly related to ducks (family Anatidae), most closely to the Magpie Goose (which some DNA evidence suggests[] are closer to screamers than to ducks). The family is exceptional within the living birds in lacking uncinate processes of ribs. [more]

Anhingidae

The darters or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term "snakebird" is usually used without any additions to signify whichever of the completely allopatric species occurs in any one region. It refers to their long thin neck, which has a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged, or when mated pairs twist it during their bonding displays. "Darter" is used with a geographical term when referring to particular species. It alludes to their manner of procuring food, as they impale fishes with their thin, pointed beak. The American Darter (A. anhinga) is more commonly known as the Anhinga. It is sometimes called "water turkey" in the southern United States for little clearly apparent reason; though the Anhinga is quite unrelated to the wild turkey, they are both large, blackish birds with long tails that are sometimes hunted for food. [more]

Aniliidae

The Aniliidae are a monotypic family created for the monotypic genus Anilius that contains the species A. scytale, found in South America. This snake possesses a vestigial pelvic girdle that is visible as a pair of cloacal spurs. It is ovoviviparous. The diet consists mainly of amphibians and other reptiles. Currently, two subspecies are recognized, including the typical form described here. [more]

Ankylosauridae

[more]

Anniellidae

The family Anniellidae, known as American legless lizards contains two species in a single genus Anniella: A. pulchra, the California Legless Lizard, and the rare, A. geronimensis, Baja California Legless Lizard. [more]

Anomalepidae

[more]

Anomalophiidae

[more]

Anomaluridae

Anomaluridae is a family of rodents found in central Africa. They are known as anomalures or scaly-tailed squirrels. There are seven extant species, classified into three genera. Most are brightly colored. [more]

Anomochilidae

The Anomochilidae, or anomochilids, are a monotypic family created for the genus Anomochilus, which currently contains 3 monotypic species. [more]

Anomoepodidae

[more]

Anoplotheriidae

[more]

Anseranatidae

Anseranatidae, the magpie-geese, is a biological family of waterbirds. It is a unique member of the order Anseriformes. The only living species, the Magpie Goose, is a resident breeder in northern Australia and in southern New Guinea. [more]

Anteosauridae

The Anteosauridae or Anteosaurinae are a family (e.g. Boonstra 1963, 1969, Carroll 1988) or subfamily (e.g. Hopson & Barghusen 1986, King 1988) of very large carnivorous Dinocephalia (Anteosaurs) that are known from the Middle Permian of Russia (Doliosauriscus, Titanophoneus) and South Africa (Anteosaurus). The Russian genera were previously included by Efremov in the Brithopodidae. [more]

Anthracobunidae

[more]

Anthracotheriidae

[more]

Antilocapridae

Antilocapridae is a family of artiodactyls endemic to North America. Their closest extant relatives are the giraffids. Only one species, the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), is living today; all other members of the family are extinct. The living pronghorn is a small ruminant mammal resembling an antelope. It bears small, forked horns. [more]

Anurognathidae

The Anurognathidae were a group of small pterosaurs, with short tails or tailless, that lived in Europe and Asia during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. Four genera are known: Anurognathus, from the Late Jurassic of Germany, Jeholopterus, from the Middle or Late Jurassic of China, Dendrorhynchoides, from the Early Cretaceous of China, and Batrachognathus, from the Late Jurassic of Kazakhstan. Bennett (2007) claimed that the holotype of Mesadactylus, BYU 2024, a synsacrum, belonged to an Anurognathid. Mesadactylus is from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of the USA. Indeterminate Anurognathid remains have also been reported from the Middle Jurassic Bakhar Svita of Mongolia. [more]

Aotidae

The night monkeys, also known as the owl monkeys or douroucoulis, are the members of the genus Aotus of New World monkeys (monotypic in family Aotidae). They are widely distributed in the forests of Central and South America, from Panama south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. The species that live at higher elevations tend to have thicker fur than the monkeys at sea level. The genus name means "earless"; they have ears, of course, but the external ears are tiny and hard to see. Night monkeys have big brown eyes and therefore have increased ability to be active at night. They are called night monkeys because all species are active at night and are in fact the only truly nocturnal monkeys (an exception is the subspecies , which is cathemeral). Both male and female night monkeys weigh almost the same amount. For example, in one of these Night Monkeys, A. azarae, the male weighs 2.76 pounds while the female weighs 2.75 pounds. [more]

Apatemyidae

[more]

Aplodontidae

[more]

Apodidae

The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae. [more]

Apternodontidae

[more]

Apterygidae

Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae. [more]

Aptornithidae

The adzebills, genus Aptornis, were two closely related bird species, the North Island Adzebill, Aptornis otidiformis, and the South Island Adzebill, Aptornis defossor, of the extinct family Aptornithidae. The family was endemic to New Zealand. [more]

Araeoscelididae

[more]

Aramidae

[more]

Archaeohyracidae

[more]

Archaeolemuridae

The Monkey lemurs or Baboon lemurs are an extinct type of lemurs that includes one family, Archaeolemuridae, two genera (Hadropithecus and Archaeolemur) and three species. Despite their common names, members of Archaeolemuridae were not as closely related to monkeys as they were to other lemurs. [more]

Archaeonycteridae

Archaeonycteridae (formerly spelled Archaeonycterididae) is a family of extinct bats. It was originally erected by the Swiss naturalist Pierre Revilliod as Archaeonycterididae to hold the genus Archaeonycteris. It was formerly classified under the superfamily Icaronycteroidea (disused) by Kurten and Anderson in 1980. In 2007, the spelling was corrected to Archaeonycteridae and it was reclassified to the unranked clade by Smith et al.. The family Palaeochiropterygidae was also merged into Archaeonycteridae by Kurten and Anderson, but modern authorities specializing in bat fossils maintain the distinction between the two. [more]

Archaeophiidae

[more]

Archaeopithecidae

Archaeopithecidae is an extinct family comprising two genera of notoungulate mammals, and Archaeopithecus, both known from the early Eocene of South America (McKenna and Bell, 1997). [more]

Archaeopterygidae

[more]

Arctocyonidae

Arctocyonidae (from Greek arktos ky?n, "bear/dog-like") is an extinct family of unspecialized, primitive mammals with more than 20 genera most abundant during the Paleocene, but extant from the late Cretaceous to the early Eocene (65.5 to 50 million years ago). These animals are thought to be the ancestors of the orders Mesonychia and Cetartiodactyla. [more]

Arctostylopidae

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Ardeidae

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron". [more]

Ardeosauridae

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Arginbaataridae

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Arguimuridae

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Arguitheriidae

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Argyrolagidae

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Armintomyidae

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Arsinoitheriidae

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Artzosuchidae

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Asiatheriidae

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Astrapotheriidae

Astrapotheria is an extinct order of South American hoofed animals. The history of this order is enigmatic, but it may taxonomically belong to Meridiungulata (along with Notoungulata, Litopterna and Pyrotheria). In turn, Meridungulata is believed to belong to the extant superorder Laurasiatheria. However, some scientists regard the astrapotheres (and sometimes the Meridiungulata all together) to be members of the clade Atlantogenata. An example of this order is Astrapotherium magnum. When alive, Astrapotherium might have resembled a mastodon, but was only three meters (ten feet) long. [more]

Atelidae

Atelidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It was formerly included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are generally larger monkeys; the family includes the howler, spider, woolly and woolly spider monkeys (the latter being the largest of the New World monkeys). They are found throughout the forested regions of Central and South America, from Mexico to northern Argentina. [more]

Atoposauridae

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Atractaspididae

The Atractaspididae are a family of snakes found in Africa and the Middle East. Currently, 12 genera are recognized. [more]

Atrichornithidae

Scrub-birds are shy, secretive, ground-dwelling birds of the family Atrichornithidae. There are just two species. The Rufous scrub-bird is rare and very restricted in its range, and the Noisy scrub-bird is so rare that until 1961 it was thought to be extinct. Both are native to Australia. [more]

Australochelidae

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Austrotriconodontidae

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Avimimidae

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Avisauridae

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Azhdarchidae

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Bachitheriidae

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Baenidae

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Balaenicipitidae

The Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) also known as Whalehead or Shoe-billed Stork, is a very large stork-like bird. It derives its name from its massive shoe-shaped bill. The adult bird is 115 to 150 centimeters (45 to 59 in) tall, 100 to 140 centimeters (39 to 55 in) long, 230 to 260 centimeters (91 to 100 in) across the wingspan and weighs 4 to 7 kilograms (8.8 to 15 lb). Their beaks have an average length of 30 centimeters (12 in). The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are browner. It lives in tropical east Africa in large swamps from Sudan to Zambia. [more]

Balaenidae

Balaenidae () is a family of mysticete whales that contains two living genera. Commonly called the right whales as it contains mainly right whale species. This name can be confusing, however, since one of the species is the Bowhead Whale, which is different from the right whales. [more]

Balaenopteridae

Rorquals () (family Balaenopteridae) are the largest group of baleen whales, with nine species in two genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale, which can reach 150 tonnes (170 short tons), and another that reaches 70 tonnes (77 short tons); even the smallest of the group, the northern minke whale, reaches 9 tonnes (9.9 short tons). [more]

Baptornithidae

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Barbereniidae

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Barylambdidae

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Baryonychidae

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Barytheriidae

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Basilosauridae

Basilosauridae is family of extinct cetaceans that lived in tropical seas during the late Eocene. [more]

Bataguridae

Geoemydidae (formerly known as Bataguridae) is the largest and most diverse family[] in the order Testudines (turtles) with about 70 species. It includes the Eurasian pond and river turtles and Neotropical wood turtles. [more]

Bathornithidae

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Bathyergidae

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Bathyergoididae

Bathyergoides is an extinct genus of rodent from Africa thought to be related to the modern blesmols. It is the only member of the family Bathyergoididae. [more]

Batrachostomidae

The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds related to the nightjars. They are found from the Indian Subcontinent across Southeast Asia to Australia. [more]

Bauriidae

Bauriidae is a family of therocephalian therapsids. Bauriids are among the most advanced eutherocephalians and possess several mammal-like features such as a secondary palate. Unlike other therocephalians, bauriids were herbivorous. Two subfamilies are classified within Bauriidae: Nothogomphodontinae and Bauriinae. [more]

Baurusuchidae

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Bavarisauridae

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Bemalambdidae

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Bernissartiidae

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Bipedidae

Bipedidae, are a family of amphisbaenians. They are found only in Mexico. Ajolotes are carnivorous, burrowing reptiles, but unlike other species of amphisbaenian, they possess two stubby forelimbs placed far forward on the body. The shovel-like limbs are used to scrape away soil while burrowing through the soil, in a similar manner to a mole. [more]

Blikanasauridae

The Blikanasauridae were a group of early sauropodomorph dinosaurs. The clade was first proposed by Galton and van Heerden in 1985. The family consists of Blikanasaurus and its nearest relatives. However, it is not clear which other genera are included in the family. The family is not used in many current taxonomies; Benton (2004) does not list the clade. The Blikanasaurids were once considered Prosauropods, but new research indicates they may in fact have been basal Sauropods. [more]

Boidae

The Boidae are a family of nonvenomous snakes found in America, Africa, Europe, Asia and some Pacific Islands. Relatively primitive snakes, adults are medium to large in size, with females usually larger than the males. Two subfamilies comprising eight genera and 43 species are currently recognized. [more]

Bolodontidae

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Bolosauridae

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Bolyeridae

The Bolyeriidae are a family of snakes native to Mauritius and a few islands around it, especially Round Island. In the past they also occurred on the island of Mauritius, but were extirpated there due to human influence and foraging pigs in particular. These snakes were formerly placed in the Boidae, but are now classed as a separate family. Currently, two monotypic genera are recognized, but only a single species is extant. [more]

Bombycillidae

The waxwings form the genus Bombycilla of passerine birds. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae. [more]

Bonapartheriidae

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Borhyaenidae

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Bovidae

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Brachiosauridae

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Brachypteraciidae

The ground rollers are a small family of non-migratory near-passerine birds restricted to Madagascar. They are related to the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. They most resemble the latter group, and are sometimes considered a sub-family of the true rollers. [more]

Bradycnemidae

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Bradypodidae

The three-toed sloths are tree-living mammals from South and Central America. They are the only members of the genus Bradypus and the family Bradypodidae. There are four living species of three-toed sloths. These are the Brown-throated Sloth, the Maned Sloth, the Pale-throated Sloth, and the Pygmy Three-toed Sloth. [more]

Brandoniidae

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Brithopodidae

Brithopus is an extinct genus of dinocephalian therapsid. It was first named in 1838 and was traditionally classified in the Anteosauria, a group of carnivorous dinocephalians. In fact, Brithopus served as the basis for the family Brithopodidae, which once included many anteosaurian species. Because it is based on fragmentary, non-diagnostic material, Brithopus is now regarded as a nomen dubium, and the sole member of Brithopodidae. Brithopus may even be more closely related to herbivorous tapinocephalids than to anteosaurians. [more]

Brontornithidae

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Brontotheriidae

Brontotheriidae, also called Titanotheriidae, is a family of extinct mammals belonging to the order Perissodactyla, the order that includes horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs. Superficially they looked rather like rhinos, although they were not true rhinos and are probably most closely related to horses. They lived around 56?34 million years ago, until the very close of the Eocene. [more]

Bucconidae

The puffbirds and their relatives in the near passerine family Bucconidae are tropical birds breeding from South America up to Mexico. [more]

Bucerotidae

Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family refer to the shape of the bill, "buceros" being "cow horn" in Greek. In addition, they possess a two-lobed kidney. Hornbills are the only birds in which the first two neck vertebrae (the axis and atlas) are fused together; this probably provides a more stable platform for carrying the bill. The family is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals. They are monogamous breeders nesting in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs. A number of species of hornbill are threatened with extinction, mostly insular species with small ranges. [more]

Bucorvidae

The ground hornbills (Bucorvinae) are a subfamily of the hornbill family Bucerotidae, with a single genus Bucorvus and two extant species. [more]

Burhinidae

The Stone-curlews, also known as Dikkops or Thick-knees are a group of largely tropical birds in the family Burhinidae. Despite the group being classified as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. [more]

Burramyidae

The pygmy possums are a family of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. There are five extant species of pygmy possum, grouped into two genera. Four of the species are endemic to Australia, with one species also co-occurring in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. [more]

Cacatuidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[1] [more]

Caenagnathidae

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Caenolestidae

The order Paucituberculata () contains the six surviving species of shrew opossum: small, shrew-like marsupials which are confined to the Andes mountains of South America. It is thought that the order diverged from the ancestral marsupial line very early. As recently as 20 million years ago, there were at least seven genera in South America. Today, just three genera remain. They live in inaccessible forest and grassland regions of the High Andes. Insectivores were entirely absent from South America until the Great American Interchange three million years ago, and are currently present only in the northwestern part of the continent. Shrew opossums have lost ground to the these and other placental invaders that fill the same ecological niches. Nevertheless, the ranges of shrew opossums and insectivores overlap broadly. [more]

Cainotheriidae

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Callaeatidae

The small bird family Callaeidae (also named in some sources as Callaeatidae) is endemic to New Zealand. It contains three monotypic genera; of the three species in the family, only two survive and both of them, the Kokako and the Saddleback, are endangered species, threatened primarily by the predations of introduced mammalian species such as rats, mustelids and possums. A third, the Huia became extinct early in the 20th century. [more]

Callitrichidae

The Callitrichidae (synonym Hapalidae) is one of five families of New World monkeys. The family includes several genera, including the marmosets, tamarins, and lion tamarins. For a few years, this group of animals was regarded as a subfamily, called the Callitrichinae, of the family Cebidae. [more]

Camarasauridae

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Camelidae

Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only living family in the suborder Tylopoda. dromedaries, Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicu?as, and guanacos are in this group. [more]

Campanorcidae

Campanorco is an extinct genus of notoungulate mammal from the early Eocene of South America and the only member of the family Campanorcidae (McKenna and Bell, 1997). [more]

Campephagidae

The cuckooshrikes and allies in the Campephagidae family are small to medium-sized passerine bird species found in the subtropical and tropical Africa, Asia and Australasia. The roughly 85 species are found in eight (or nine) genera which comprise five distinct groups, the 'true' cuckooshrikes (Campephaga, Coracina, , Pteropodocys and Campochaera) the trillers (Lalage), the minivets (Pericrocotus), the flycatcher-shrikes (Hemipus). The wood-shrikes (Tephrodornis) were often considered to be in this family but are probably closer to the helmetshrikes or bushshrikes. Another genus, Chlamydochaera, which has one species, the Black-breasted Fruithunter was often placed in this family but has now been shown to be a thrush (Turdidae). [more]

Camptosauridae

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Canidae

Canidae () is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and many other lesser known extant and extinct dog-like mammals. A member of this family is called a canid (/'ke?n?d/). The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini (related to wolves) and Vulpini (related to foxes). The two species of the basal Caninae are more primitive and do not fit into either tribe. [more]

Capitonidae

American barbets, family Capitonidae, are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes which inhabit humid forests in Central and South America. They are closely related to the toucans. [more]

Caprimulgidae

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats (the Latin for goatsucker is Caprimulgus). Some New World species are named as nighthawks. Nightjars usually nest on the ground. [more]

Capromyidae

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Captorhinidae

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Carcharodontosauridae

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Cardinalidae

The Cardinals or Cardinalidae are a family of passerine birds found in North and South America. The South American cardinals in the genus Paroaria are placed in another family, the Thraupidae (previously placed in Emberizidae). [more]

Carettochelyidae

The pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta), also known as the pitted-shelled turtle or fly river turtle, is a species of turtle native to freshwater streams, lagoons and rivers of Australia and New Guinea. This species is the only living member of the genus Carettochelys, the subfamily Carettochelyinae and the family Carettochelyidae; however, numerous extinct carettochelyid species have been described from all over the world. [more]

Cariamidae

The seriemas are the sole extant members of the small and ancient family Cariamidae, which is also the sole surviving family of the Cariamae. Once believed to be related to cranes, they have been placed by one recent study near the falcons, parrots and passerines, as well as the extinct terror birds. There are two species: [more]

Carodniidae

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Caroloameghiniidae

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Carpolestidae

Carpolestidae is a family of primate-like Plesiadapiformes that were prevalent in North America and Asia from the mid Paleocene through the early Eocene. Typically, they are characterized by two large upper posterior premolars and one large lower posterior premolar. They weighed about 20-150g, and were about the size of a mouse. Though they come from the order, Plesiadapiformes, that may have given rise to the primate order, carpolestids are too specialized and derived to be ancestors of primates. [more]

Caseidae

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Castoridae

The family Castoridae contains the two living species of beaver and their fossil relatives. This was once a highly diverse group of rodents, but is now restricted to a single genus, Castor. [more]

Casuariidae

The bird family Casuariidae has four surviving members: the three species of cassowary, and the only remaining species of Emu. The emus were formerly classified in their own family, Dromaiidae, but are regarded as sufficiently closely related to the cassowaries to be part of the same family. [more]

Cathartidae

The New World Vulture or Condor family Cathartidae contains seven species in five genera, all but one of which are monotypic. It includes five vultures and two condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas. [more]

Caudipterygidae

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Caviidae

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Cearadactylidae

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Cebidae

The Cebidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It includes the capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys. These species are found throughout tropical and subtropical South and Central America. [more]

Cebochoeridae

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Centropodidae

A coucal "????????" is one of about 30 species of birds in the cuckoo family. All of them belong in the subfamily Centropodinae and the genus Centropus. Unlike many Old World cuckoos, coucals are not brood parasites. On the other hand they do have their own reproductive peculiarity: all members of the genus are to varying degrees sex-role reversed so that the smaller male provides most of the parental care. At least one coucal species, the Black Coucal, is polyandrous. Some species (Centropus phasianinus) have the male investing more in incubation and parental care. Recent DNA evidence[] suggests that they should be raised to family status, as Centropodidae. [more]

Ceratopsidae

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Ceratosauridae

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Cercopithecidae

The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of primates, falling in the superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the clade (or parvorder) of Catarrhini. The Old World monkeys are native to Africa and Asia today, inhabiting a range of environments from tropical rain forest to savanna, shrubland and mountainous terrain, and are also known from Europe in the fossil record. However, a (possibly introduced) free-roaming group of monkeys still survives in Gibraltar (Europe) to this day. Old World monkeys include many of the most familiar species of nonhuman primates, such as baboons and macaques. [more]

Certhiidae

The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. The family contains ten species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis. Their plumage is dull-colored, and as their name implies, they climb over the surface of trees in search of food. [more]

Cervidae

Deer (singular and plural) are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, mule deer such as black-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer (caribou), fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer) and also female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year. In this they differ from permanently horned animals such as antelope; these are in the same order as deer and may bear a superficial resemblance. The musk deer of Asia and water chevrotain (or mouse deer) of tropical African and Asian forests are not usually regarded as true deer and form their own families, Moschidae and Tragulidae, respectively. [more]

Cerylidae

The water kingfishers or Cerylidae are one of the three families of kingfishers, and are also known as the cerylid kingfishers. All six American species are in this family. [more]

Cetiosauridae

Cetiosaurus (SEET-ee-oh-sawr-us) meaning 'whale lizard', from the Greek cetus/??t?? meaning 'sea monster' (later, 'whale') and saurus/sa???? meaning 'lizard', was a sauropod dinosaur from the Mid to Late Jurassic Period (181-169 million years ago) in what are now Europe and Africa. It is estimated to have been about 53 feet (16 m) long and to have weighed roughly 24.8 tonnes (27.3 short tons). It was so named because its discoverer, Sir Richard Owen supposed it was a marine creature, initially an extremely large crocodile. [more]

Cetotheriidae

Cetotheriidae is an extinct family of baleen whales in the suborder Mysticeti. The family existed from the Late Oligocene to the Late Pliocene before going extinct. [more]

Chaeropodidae

The Pig-footed Bandicoot, Chaeropus ecaudatus, was a small marsupial of the arid and semi-arid plains of Australia. The distribution range of the species was later reduced to an inland desert region, where it was last recorded in the 1950s, and is now presumed to be extinct. [more]

Chalicotheriidae

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Chamaeleonidae

Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a prehensile tail, crests or horns on their distinctively shaped heads, and the ability of some to change color. Uniquely adapted for climbing and visual hunting, the approximately 160 species of chameleon range from Africa, Madagascar, Spain and Portugal, across south Asia, to Sri Lanka, have been introduced to Hawaii, California and Florida, and are found in warm habitats that vary from rain forest to desert conditions. Chameleons are often kept as household pets. [more]

Champsosauridae

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Chaoyoungosauridae

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Chapattimyidae

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Charadriidae

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all. [more]

Chatterjeeidae

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Cheirogaleidae

Cheirogaleidae is the family of strepsirrhine primates that contains the various dwarf and mouse lemurs. Like all other lemurs, cheirogaleids live exclusively on the island of Madagascar. [more]

Chelidae

The Chelidae are one of three living families of the turtle suborder Pleurodira and are commonly called the Austro-South American side neck turtles. The family is distributed in Australia, New Guinea, parts of Indonesia and throughout most of South America. It is a large family of turtles with a significant fossil history going back to the Cretaceous. The family is entirely Gondwanan in origin, with no members found outside of Gondwana, either in the present day or as a fossil. [more]

Cheloniidae

Cheloniidae is a family of turtles belonging to the sea turtle superfamily Chelonioidea. [more]

Chelydridae

Chelydridae is a family of turtles which has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are Chelydra the snapping turtles, and its larger relative Macrochelys, of which the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is the only species. Both are endemic to the Western Hemisphere. The extinct genera are Acherontemys, Chelydrops, Chelydropsis, Emarginachelys, Macrocephalochelys, Planiplastron, and Protochelydra. [more]

Chinchillidae

The family Chinchillidae contains the chinchillas, viscachas, and their fossil relatives. They are restricted to southern and western South America, often in association with the Andes. They are large rodents, weighing from 800 g (28 oz) to 8 kg (18 lb), with strong hind legs and large ears. All species have thick, soft fur, which is considered valuable in some species. [more]

Chiniquodontidae

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Chionidae

The sheathbills are a family of birds, Chionidae. Classified in the wader order Charadriiformes, the family contains one genus, Chionis, with only two species. They breed on subantarctic islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, and the Snowy Sheathbill migrates to the Falkland Islands and coastal southern South America in the southern winter; they are the only bird family endemic as breeders to the Antarctic region. They are also the only Antarctic birds without webbed feet. [more]

Chionididae

The sheathbills are a family of birds, Chionidae. Classified in the wader order Charadriiformes, the family contains one genus, Chionis, with only two species. They breed on subantarctic islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, and the Snowy Sheathbill migrates to the Falkland Islands and coastal southern South America in the southern winter; they are the only bird family endemic as breeders to the Antarctic region. They are also the only Antarctic birds without webbed feet. [more]

Chloropseidae

The leafbirds (Chloropseidae) are a family of small passerine bird species found in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. They are one of only three bird families that are entirely endemic to the Indomalayan ecozone. They were formerly grouped with the ioras and fairy-bluebirds in the family Irenidae. As presently defined, the leafbird family is monotypic, with all species placed in the genus Chloropsis. [more]

Choeropotamidae

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Chronoperatidae

Chronoperates paradoxus is a possible therapsid whose remains have been found in Alberta, Canada. It has also been suggested that it may be a symmetrodont. [more]

Chrysochloridae

Golden moles are small, insectivorous burrowing mammals native to southern Africa. They form the family Chrysochloridae, and are taxonomically distinct from the true moles which they resemble due to convergence. The golden moles bear a remarkable resemblance to the marsupial moles of Australia, so much so that, the marsupial/placental divide notwithstanding, arguments were once made that they were related, possibly because they are very primitive placentals and because of the many mole-like specializations. [more]

Ciconiidae

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families. [more]

Cimolestidae

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Cimoliasauridae

Elasmosauridae was a family of plesiosaurs. They had the longest necks of the plesiosaurs and survived from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous. They had a diet of fish and shelless cephalopods. [more]

Cimolodontidae

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Cimolomyidae

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Cimolopterygidae

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Cinclidae

Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. [more]

Cistecephalidae

Cistecephalidae is an extinct family of dicynodont therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. It includes the genera Cistecephalus, Cistecephaloides, and Kawingasaurus. Cistecephalids are thought to have had a fossorial or burrowing lifestyle, with adaptations such as broad skulls, strong forelimbs, and squat bodies. A similar group of dicynodonts called the were also fossorial, although to a lesser extent than cistecephalids. [more]

Cisticolidae

The Cisticolidae family of small passerine birds is a group of about 110 warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are often included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae. [more]

Climacoceratidae

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Climacteridae

There are 7 species of Australasian treecreeper in the passerine bird family Climacteridae. They are medium-small, mostly brown birds with patterning on their underparts, and all are endemic to Australia-New Guinea. They resemble, but are not closely related to, the Holarctic treecreepers. The family is one of several families identified by DNA-DNA hybridisation studies to be part of the Australo-Papuan songbird radiation. There is some molecular support for suggesting that their closest relatives are the large lyrebirds. [more]

Cnemophilidae

The Satinbirds or Cnemophilines, Cnemophilidae are a group of passerine birds which consists of three species found in the mountain forests of New Guinea. They were originally thought to be part of the birds of paradise family Paradisaeidae until genetic research suggested that the birds are not closely related to Birds of Paradise at all and are perhaps closer to Melanocharitidae. [more]

Coccyzidae

Coccyzidae is a family of birds comprising 18 new world cuckoos, ranging from Canada to Argentina. The family consists of the genera Coccyzus, Hyetornis, Piaya and Saurothera. [more]

Coelophysidae

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Coeluridae

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Coerebidae

The Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) is a species of passerine bird of uncertain relation. It is tentatively placed in the tanager family, but classified as incertae sedis by other authorities such as the American Ornithologists' Union. Its classification is debated, and it is often placed in its own family: Coerebidae. It has recently been suggested the Bananaquit should be split into three species, but this has yet to receive widespread recognition. This small, active nectarivore is found in warmer parts of the Americas, and is generally common. [more]

Coliidae

The mousebirds are a small group of (possibly near passerine) birds which have no known close affinities to other groups, though they and the parrots and cockatoos (Psittaciformes) may be closer to each other than to other birds. The mousebirds are therefore given order status as Coliiformes. This group is confined to sub-Saharan Africa, and is the only bird order confined entirely to that continent. They had a wider range in prehistoric times and apparently evolved in Europe. [more]

Colluricinclidae

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Colubridae

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Columbidae

Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general the terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably. In ornithological practice, there is a tendency for "dove" to be used for smaller species and "pigeon" for larger ones, but this is in no way consistently applied, and historically the common names for these birds involve a great deal of variation between the terms "dove" and "pigeon." This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones. Young doves and pigeons are called "squabs." [more]

Confuciusornithidae

[more]

Conopophagidae

The gnateaters are a bird family, Conopophagidae, consisting of ten small passerine species in two genera, which occur in South and Central America. The family was formerly restricted to the gnateater genus Conopophaga; analysis of mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequences (Rice 2005a,b) indicates that the "antpittas" of the genus Pittasoma also belong in this family. The association between this genus and Conopophaga is also supported by traits in their natural history, morphology, and vocalizations (Rice, 2005a). The members of this family are very closely related to the antbirds and less closely to the antpittas and tapaculos. Due to their remote and dim habitat, gnateaters are a little-studied and poorly known family of birds, though they are often sought after by birdwatchers. [more]

Coraciidae

The rollers are an Old World family, Coraciidae, of near passerine birds. The group gets its name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colorful appearance of kingfishers and bee-eaters, blues and pinkish or cinnamon browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but not the outer one. [more]

Cordylidae

Cordylidae is a family of small to medium sized lizards that occur in southern and eastern Africa. They are commonly known as "Girdled", Spinytail lizards or Girdle-tail lizards. [more]

Corvidae

Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids (more technically) or the crow family (more informally), and there are over 120 species. The genus Corvus, including the jackdaws, crows and ravens, makes up over a third of the entire family. [more]

Coryphodontidae

[more]

Corytophanidae

Corytophanidae is a family of lizards also called casque head lizards or helmeted lizards. They typically have well-developed head crests in the shape of a casque. This crest is a sexually dimorphic characteristic in males of Basiliscus, but is present in both sexes of Corytophanes and Laemanctus (Pough et al. 2003). In Corytophanes, these crests are used in defensive displays where the lateral aspect of the body is brought about to face a potential predator in an effort to look bigger (Pough et al. 2003). There are 9 known species of casque heads from 3 genera. [more]

Cotingidae

The cotingas are a large family of passerine bird species found in Central America and tropical South America. Cotingas are birds of forests or forest edges, which mostly eat fruit or insects and fruit. Comparatively little is known about this diverse group, although all have broad bills with hooked tips, rounded wings, and strong legs. They may be the most diverse passerine family in body size, ranging from the 8-cm Kinglet Calyptura to the 50-cm male Amazonian Umbrellabird, although the smaller bird may not be a true cotinga. [more]

Cracidae

The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae. [more]

Cracticidae

The family Cracticidae, Bellmagpies and allies, gathers together 12 species of mostly crow-like birds native to Australasia and nearby areas. [more]

Crapartinellidae

[more]

Craseonycteridae

Kitti's hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai), also known as the bumblebee bat, is a vulnerable species of bat and the only extant member of the family Craseonycteridae. It occurs in western Thailand and southeast Burma, where it occupies limestone caves along rivers. [more]

Creotarsidae

[more]

Criorhynchidae

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Crocodylidae

[more]

Crotaphytidae

[more]

Crotophagidae

The anis (Crotophagidae) are a small family of gregarious birds occurring in the Americas. They are part of the cuckoo order Cuculiformes and are sometimes placed as a subfamily Crotophaginae within the cuckoo family Cuculidae. [more]

Cryptoclididae

Cryptoclididae is a family of medium-sized plesiosaurs that lived from the Middle Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous. In 2010, Kaiwhekea was transferred to Leptocleididae and Aristonectes was transferred to Elasmosauridae. [more]

Ctenochasmatidae

[more]

Ctenodactylidae

Gundis or comb rats (family Ctenodactylidae) are a group of small, stocky rodents found in Africa. They live in rocky deserts across the northern parts of the continent. The family comprises 4 living genera and 5 species (Speke's Gundi, Felou Gundi, Desert Gundi, North African Gundi and Mzab Gundi), as well as numerous extinct genera and species (McKenna and Bell, 1997). They are in the superfamily . They first came to the notice of western naturalists in Tripoli in 1774 and were given the name 'gundi mice'. [more]

Cuculidae

The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos (family Musophagidae, sometimes treated as a separate order, Musophagiformes). Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute. The cuckoo family, in addition to those species named as such, also includes the roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae respectively. [more]

Cursornithidae

[more]

Cyamodontidae

[more]

Cyclopedidae

Cyclopedidae is a family of anteaters that includes the silky anteater and its extinct relatives. [more]

Cylindrodontidae

[more]

Cylindrophiidae

The Cylindrophiidae are a monotypic family containing the genus Cylindrophis found in Asia. These are burrowing snakes and all have checkered black-and-white bellies. Currently, 8 species are recognized and no subspecies. [more]

Cynognathidae

Cynognathus crateronotus was a meter-long predator of the Early to Middle Triassic. It was among the more mammal-like of the Synapsids, a member of a grouping called Eucynodontia. The genus Cynognathus had an almost worldwide distribution. Fossils have so far been recovered from South Africa, South America, China and Antarctica. [more]

Cyriacotheriidae

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Dacrytheriidae

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Dakotornithidae

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Dalpiazinidae

[more]

Dasyornithidae

The bristlebirds are a family, Dasyornithidae, of passerine bird. There are three species in one genus, Dasyornis. The family is endemic to Australia. The genus Dasyornis was sometimes placed in the Acanthizidae or, as a subfamily, Dasyornithinae, along with the Acanthizinae and Pardalotinae, within an expanded Pardalotidae, before being elevated to full family level by Christidis & Boles (2008). [more]

Dasypodidae

Armadillos are New World placental mammals with a leathery armor shell. The Dasypodidae are the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo in Spanish means "little armored one". The Aztec called them azotochtli, Nahuatl for ?turtle-rabbit?. [more]

Dasyproctidae

[more]

Dasyuridae

Dasyuridae is a family of marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea, including 61 species divided into 15 genera. Many are small and mouse-like, giving them the misnomer marsupial mice, but the group also includes the cat-sized quolls, as well as the Tasmanian Devil. They are found in a wide range of habitats, including grassland, forests, and mountains, and some species are arboreal or semi-aquatic. [more]

Daubentoniidae

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Deinocheiridae

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Deinotheriidae

Deinotheriidae ("terrible beasts") is a family of prehistoric elephant-like proboscideans that lived during the Tertiary period, first appearing in Africa, then spreading across southern Asia (Indo-Pakistan) and Europe. During that time they changed very little, apart from growing much larger in size - by the late Miocene they had become the largest land animals of their time. Their most distinctive feature was the downward curving tusks on the lower jaw. [more]

Delphinidae

Oceanic dolphins are the members of the Delphinidae family of cetaceans. These marine mammals are related to whales and porpoises. They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves. As the name implies, these dolphins tend to be found in the open seas, unlike the river dolphins, although a few species such as the Irrawaddy dolphin are coastal or riverine. [more]

Deltatheridiidae

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Deltatheroididae

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Dendrocolaptidae

The woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptinae) comprise a subfamily of sub-oscine passerine birds endemic to the Neotropics. They have traditionally been considered a distinct family Dendrocolaptidae, but most authorities now place them as a subfamily of the ovenbirds (Furnariidae). They superficially resemble the Old World treecreepers, but they are unrelated and the similarities are due to convergent evolution. The subfamily contains around 57 species in 15 to 20 genera. [more]

Dendrocygnidae

The whistling ducks or tree ducks are a subfamily, Dendrocygninae of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae. In other taxonomical approaches, they are either considered a separate family "Dendrocygnidae", or a tribe "Dendrocygnini" in the goose subfamily Anserinae (e.g. Terres & NAS, 1991). [more]

Deperetellidae

[more]

Dermatemydidae

The Central American river turtle or Mesoamerican river turtle (Dermatemys mawii) locally known as the "hickatee" or "tortuga blanca"-(white turtle) is the only living species in the family Dermatemydidae. Its closest relatives are only known from fossils [more]

Dermochelyidae

Dermochelyidae is a family of turtles which has eight extinct and one extant genera. [more]

Desmostylidae

[more]

Deuterosauridae

Deuterosaurus is a genus of the Therapsids, one of the "mammal-like? reptiles dominating land during the late Palaeozoic. [more]

Diademodontidae

[more]

Diamantomyidae

Diamantomyidae is a family of extinct hystricognath rodents from Africa and Asia. [more]

Diatomyidae

Diatomyidae is a family of hystricomorphous, rodents found in Asia. It is currently represented by a single known living species, Laonastes aenigmamus. [more]

Diatrymidae

[more]

Dibamidae

[more]

Dicaeidae

The flowerpeckers are a family, Dicaeidae , of passerine birds. The family comprises two genera, Prionochilus and Dicaeum, with 44 species in total. The family has sometimes been included in an enlarged sunbird family Nectariniidae. The berrypeckers of the family Melanocharitidae and the painted berrypeckers, Paramythiidae, were once lumped into this family as well. The family is distributed through tropical southern Asia and Australasia from India east to the Philippines and south to Australia. The family is catholic in its habitat preferences, occupying a wide range of environments from sea level to montane habitats. Some species, such as the Mistletoebird of Australia, are recorded as being highly nomadic over parts of their range. [more]

Dichobunidae

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Dicraeosauridae

Dicraeosauridae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs known from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Africa and South America. Currently only three genera are recognised; the Jurassic South American genus Brachytrachelopan, the Jurassic African Dicraeosaurus and the South American Early Cretaceous Amargasaurus, with its distinctive neck spines. All three animals are small by sauropod standards, with relatively short necks. [more]

Dicruridae

The drongos are a family of small passerine birds of the Old World tropics, the Dicruridae. This family was sometimes[] much enlarged to include a number of largely Australasian groups, such as the Australasian fantails, monarchs and paradise flycatchers. The name is originally from the indigenous language of Madagascar, where it refers to local species, but is now used to refer to all members of the family. The family is usually treated as having two genera, Chaetorhynchus and Dicrurus. The genus Chaetorhynchus contains a single species, the New Guinea endemic Pygmy Drongo. The placement of this species in the family is highly dubious due to both morphological and genetic differences, and it has recently been placed, along with the closely related Silktail of Fiji, with the fantails (Rhipiduridae). The remaining genus contains the remaining 25 species of drongo. [more]

Dicynodontidae

Dicynodon ("Two Dog-teeth") is a type of dicynodont therapsid that flourished during the Permian period between 251 and 299 million years ago. Like all dicynodonts, it was herbivorous. This animal was toothless, except for prominent tusks, hence the name. It probably cropped vegetation with a horny beak, much like a tortoise, while the tusks may have been used for digging up roots and tubers. [more]

Didelphidae

Opossums (colloquially possums)(Didelphimorphia, ) make up the largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, including 103 or more species in 19 genera. They are also commonly called possums, though that term technically refers to Australian fauna of the suborder Phalangeriformes. The Virginia opossum was the first animal to be named an opossum; usage of the name was published in 1610. The word opossum comes from the Proto-Algonquian aposoum, pronounced *wa?p- a??emw, meaning "white dog" or "white beast/ animal". Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. [more]

Didolodontidae

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Didymoconidae

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Dimorphodontidae

Dimorphodontidae is a family of early "rhamphorhynchoid" pterosaurs named after Dimorphodon, that lived in the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic. [more]

Dimylidae

[more]

Dinilysiidae

[more]

Dinomyidae

[more]

Dinornithidae

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Diomedeidae

Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil remains show they once occurred there too and occasional vagrants are found. [more]

Diomedeoididae

The Diomedeoididae are a prehistoric family of seabirds. The family was in the order Procellariiformes which today is composed of the albatrosses and petrels. At present the family contains a single genus, Diomedeoides, in which there are three described species. The taxonomy of the family and genus is still in need to revision, and it is likely that the genus name Diomedeoides is actually the junior synonym to Rupelornis (van Beneden, 1871). [more]

Diplodocidae

[more]

Dipodidae

The Dipodidae, or dipodids, are a family of rodents found across the northern hemisphere. This family includes over 50 species among the 16 genera. They include the jerboas, jumping mice, and birch mice. Different species are found in grassland, deserts, and forests. They are all capable of saltation (jumping while in a bipedal stance), a feature that is most highly evolved in the desert-dwelling jerboas. [more]

Diprotodontidae

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Docodontidae

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Dolichochampsidae

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Dolichosauridae

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Donodontidae

Donodon is an extinct genus of mammal from the Early Cretaceous (?Berriasian) S?quence B des Couches Rouges of Talssint, Morocco. It is the only member of the family Donodontidae. It differs from dryolestids in having upper molars that are not compressed mesiodistally. [more]

Dormaaliidae

[more]

Dortokidae

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Dromadidae

The Crab-plover or Crab Plover (Dromas ardeola) is a bird related to the waders, but sufficiently distinctive to merit its own family Dromadidae. Its relationship within the Charadriiformes is unclear, some have considered it to be closely related to the thick-knees, or the pratincoles, while others have considered it closer to the auks and gulls. It is the only member of the genus Dromas and is unique among waders in making use of ground warmth to aid incubation of the eggs. [more]

Dromaeosauridae

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Dromaiidae

The bird family Casuariidae has four surviving members: the three species of cassowary, and the only remaining species of Emu. The emus were formerly classified in their own family, Dromaiidae, but are regarded as sufficiently closely related to the cassowaries to be part of the same family. [more]

Dromornithidae

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Dryolestidae

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Dryornithidae

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Dryosauridae

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Dryptosauridae

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Dsungaripteridae

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Dugongidae

Dugongidae is a family in the order of Sirenia. [more]

Dyrosauridae

[more]

Echimyidae

The spiny rats are a group of hystricognath rodents in the family Echimyidae. They are distributed from central Central America through much of South America. They were also found in the West Indies until the 19th century. Some authorities consider the nutria from southern and central South America to be a part of this family. [more]

Edaphosauridae

Edaphosauridae is a family of mostly large (up to 3 meters or more) advanced, Late Pennsylvanian to early Permian pelycosaurs. [more]

Ektopodontidae

[more]

Elapidae

[more]

Elasmosauridae

[more]

Elephantidae

Elephantidae is a taxonomic family, collectively elephants and mammoths. These are terrestrial large mammals with a trunk and tusks. Most genera and species in the family are extinct. Only two genera, Loxodonta (African elephants) and Elephas (Asiatic elephants), are living. [more]

Eleutherornithidae

[more]

Elopterygidae

[more]

Emballonuridae

The 51 species of sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats constitute the family Emballonuridae, and can be found in tropical and subtropical regions all over the world. Emballonurids include some of the smallest of all bats, and range from 3.5 to 10 cm in body length. They are generally brown or grey, although the ghost bats (genus Diclidurus) are white. [more]

Emberizidae

The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. [more]

Emeidae

[more]

Emydidae

Emydidae, commonly called the pond turtles or marsh turtles, is a family of turtles. Previously, several species of Asian box turtle were classified in the family. However, revised taxonomy has separated them to a different family. Now, Emydidae, with the exception of two species of pond turtle, is entirely a Western Hemisphere family. The family Emydidae includes close to 50 species in 10 genera. [more]

Enaliornithidae

[more]

Endotheriidae

[more]

Endothiodontidae

[more]

Enigmosauridae

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Entelodontidae

Entelodonts, sometimes nicknamed hell pigs or terminator pigs, is an extinct family of pig-like omnivores endemic to forests and plains of North America, Europe, and Asia from the middle Eocene to early Miocene epochs (37.2?16.3 mya), existing for approximately 20.9 million years. [more]

Entelopidae

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Eoastrapostylopidae

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Eocardiidae

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Eocypselidae

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Eogruidae

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Eomoropidae

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Eomyidae

Eomyidae is a family of extinct rodents from North America and Eurasia related to modern day pocket gophers and kangaroo rats. The family includes the earliest known gliding rodent, Eomys (Storch et al., 1996) [more]

Eosimiidae

[more]

Eothyrididae

[more]

Epoicotheriidae

[more]

Equidae

Equidae (sometimes known as the horse family) is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, donkeys, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. All extant species are in the genus Equus. Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla, which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros, and still more fossils. [more]

Erethizontidae

The New World porcupines, or Erethizontidae, are large arboreal rodents, distinguished by the spiny covering from which they take their name. They inhabit forests and wooded regions across North America, and into northern South America. Although both the New World and Old World porcupine families belong to the Hystricognathi branch of the vast order Rodentia, they are quite different and are not closely related. [more]

Ergilornithidae

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Ericiolacertidae

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Erinaceidae

Erinaceidae is the only living family in the order Erinaceomorpha, which has recently been subsumed with Soricomorpha into the order Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyphla has been shown to be monophyletic; Soricomorpha is paraphyletic because Soricidae shared a more recent common ancestor with Erinaceidae than with other soricomorphs. [more]

Ernanodontidae

[more]

Erythrosuchidae

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Estemmenosuchidae

[more]

Estrildidae

The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They can be classified as the family Estrildidae (weaver-finch), or as a sub-group within the family Passeridae, which also includes the true sparrows. [more]

Eubrontidae

[more]

Eucosmodontidae

Eucosmodontidae is a poorly preserved family of fossil mammals within the extinct order Multituberculata. Representatives are known from strata dating from the Upper Cretaceous through the Lower Eocene of North America, as well as the Paleocene to Eocene of Europe. The family is part of the suborder of Cimolodonta. They might be related with the Djadochtatherioidea but without further finds, this remains unclear. Other than a partial snout, fossil evidence is presently limited to teeth. [more]

Eudimorphodontidae

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Euhelopodidae

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Euparkeriidae

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Eupetidae

The Rail-babbler or Malaysian Rail-babbler (Eupetes macrocerus) is a strange, rail-like, brown and pied inhabitant of the floor of primary forest in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra (the nominate subspecies macrocerus), as well as Borneo (ssp. borneensis), distantly related to African crow-like birds. Its population has greatly decreased because much of the lowland primary forest has been cut, and secondary forests usually have too dense a bottom vegetation or do not offer enough shade to be favourable for the species. However, it is locally still common in logged forest or on hill-forest on slopes, and probably not in immediate danger of extinction. The species is poorly known and rarely seen, in no small part due to its shyness. [more]

Eurolimnornithidae

[more]

Eurostopodidae

The Eared nightjars are a small family (or subfamily) of nocturnal birds related to nightjars, although the taxonomy is uncertain. There are seven species, mainly found in forest and scrub from China to Australia. All are placed in one genus, Eurostopodus. They are long winged birds with plumage patterned with grey and brown to camouflage them when resting on the ground. They feed on insects caught in flight. A single white egg is laid directly on the ground and incubated by both adults. The chicks can walk soon after hatching. [more]

Eurylaimidae

The broadbills are a family of small passerine birds, Eurylaimidae. The Smithornis and Pseudocalyptomena species occur in sub-Saharan Africa; the rest extend from the eastern Himalayas to Sumatra and Borneo. The family possibly also includes the Sapayoa from the Neotropics and the asities from Madagascar. [more]

Eurymylidae

[more]

Eurypygidae

The Sunbittern, Eurypyga helias is a bittern-like bird of tropical regions of the Americas, and the sole member of the family Eurypygidae (sometimes spelled Eurypigidae) and genus Eurypyga. [more]

Eutypomyidae

[more]

Fabrosauridae

[more]

Falconidae

The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets. [more]

Felidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[2] [more]

Ferugliotheriidae

[more]

Florentiamyidae

[more]

Formicariidae

The Formicariidae, formicariids, or ground antbirds are a family of smallish passerine birds of subtropical and tropical Central and South America. They are between 10 and 20 cm (4?8 in) in length, and are related to the antbirds, Thamnophilidae, and gnateaters, Conopophagidae. This family contains probably (see below) some 100?120 species in 1 or 2 large and a number of fairly small genera. [more]

Fregatidae

The frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them. They have long wings, tails and bills and the males have a red gular pouch that is inflated during the breeding season to attract a mate. [more]

Fringillidae

[more]

Furipteridae

Furipteridae is one of the families of bats. This family contains only two species, the Smokey Bat and the Thumbless Bat. Both are from Central and South America, and are closely related to the bats in the Natalidae and Thyropteridae families. They can be recognized by their reduced and functionless thumbs, enclosed by the wing membranes, and their broad, funnel-shaped ears. There are only two genera in the group, each with a single species. They are insectivorous and can live in many different kinds of environments. They have greyish fur, and a small . Like many bats, they roost in caves. [more]

Furnariidae

Ovenbirds or furnariids are a large family of small suboscine passerine birds found in Mexico, and Central and South America. They form the family Furnariidae. The Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus), which breeds in North America, is not actually a furnariid - rather it is a distantly related bird of the wood warbler family, Parulidae. [more]

Galagidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[3] [more]

Galbulidae

The jacamars are a family, Galbulidae, of near passerine birds from tropical South and Central America, extending up to Mexico. The order contains five genera and 18 species. The family is closely related to the puffbirds, another Neotropical family, and the two families are often separated into their own order away from the Piciformes, instead being placed in the Galbuliformes. They are principally birds of low altitude woodlands and forests, and particularly of forest edge and canopy. [more]

Galeopithecidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[4] [more]

Galeopsidae

[more]

Galesauridae

[more]

Gallodactylidae

[more]

Garudimimidae

[more]

Gastornithidae

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Gavialidae

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Gaviidae

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Gekkonidae

Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm. [more]

Gelocidae

[more]

Geolabididae

[more]

Geomyidae

The pocket gophers are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. These are the "true" gophers, though several ground squirrels of the family Sciuridae are often called gophers as well. The name "pocket gopher" on its own may be used to refer to any of a number of subspecies of the family. [more]

Germanodactylidae

[more]

Gerrhosauridae

The Gerrhosauridae is a family of lizards native to Africa and Madagascar. Also known as plated lizards, they live in a range of habitats, from rocky crevices to sand dunes. Their form is variable, with some species having four fully developed limbs, and others with vestigial hind limbs only. Most species are believed to be oviparous. [more]

Giraffidae

The giraffids are ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a common ancestor with deer and bovids. The biological family Giraffidae, once a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa, contains only two living members, the giraffe and the okapi. Both are confined to sub-saharan Africa: the giraffe to the open savannas, and the okapi to the dense rainforest of the Congo. The two species look very different on first sight, but share a number of common features, including a long, dark-colored tongue, lobed canine teeth, and horns covered in skin, called "ossicones". [more]

Glareolidae

Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadri. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The coursers include the atypical Egyptian Plover, Pluvianus aegyptius, which has sometimes been placed in its own family. The family contains 17 species in five genera. [more]

Glasbiidae

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Gliridae

The dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae. (This family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists.) Dormice are mostly found in Europe, although some live in Africa and Asia. They are particularly known for their long periods of hibernation. Because only one species of dormouse is native to the British Isles, in everyday English usage dormouse usually refers to one species (the hazel dormouse) as well as to the family as a whole. [more]

Glyptodontidae

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Glyptopsidae

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Gobiosuchidae

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Gomphotheriidae

[more]

Goniopholididae

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Gorgonopsidae

[more]

Grallatoridae

[more]

Groeberiidae

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Gruidae

Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Cranes live on all continents except Antarctica and South America. [more]

Gryzajidae

[more]

Gymnophthalmidae

Gymnophthalmidae is a family of lizards, sometimes known as spectacled lizards or microteiids. They are called 'spectacled' because of their transparent lower eyelids, so they can still see with closed eyes. Like most lizards, but unlike geckos, these eyelids are movable. [more]

Gypsonictopidae

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Hadrosauridae

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Hahnodontidae

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Halcyonidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[5] [more]

Hapalodectidae

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Haplobunodontidae

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Haramiyidae

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Harpyodidae

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Hassianycterididae

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Hegetotheriidae

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Helaletidae

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Heliornithidae

The Heliornithidae are a small family of tropical birds with webbed lobes on their feet like those of grebes and coots. The family overall are known as finfoots, although one species is known as a Sungrebe. The family is composed of three species in three genera. [more]

Helodermatidae

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Helohyidae

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Helveticosauridae

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Hemicyonidae

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Hemimastodontidae

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Hemiprocnidae

The treeswifts or crested swifts are a family, Hemiprocnidae, of aerial near passerine birds, closely related to the true swifts. The family contains a single genus, Hemiprocne, with four species. They are distributed from India and South East Asia through Indonesia to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. [more]

Hemisyntrachelidae

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Henodontidae

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Henricosborniidae

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Heptaxodontidae

The giant hutias are an extinct group of large rodents known from fossil and subfossil material in the West Indies. One species, Amblyrhiza inundata, is estimated to have weighed between 50 and 200 kg (110 and 440 lb), big specimens being as large as an American Black Bear. This is much larger than Capybara, the largest rodent living today, but still much smaller than Josephoartigasia monesi, the largest rodent known. These animals may have persisted into historic times and were probably used as a food source by aboriginal humans. All giant hutias are in a single family Heptaxodontidae, which contains no living species; this grouping seems to be paraphyletic and artificial however. [more]

Herpestidae

Mongooses (Herpestidae) are a family of 33 living species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also referred to as "mongooses" or "mongoose-like". Genetic evidence indicates that the Galidiinae are more closely related to other Madagascar carnivorans in the family Eupleridae, which is the closest living group to the true mongooses. [more]

Herrerasauridae

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Hesperornithidae

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Heterodontosauridae

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Hippopotamidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[6] [more]

Hirundinidae

The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Swallow is used colloquially in Europe as a synonym for the Barn Swallow. [more]

Holoclemensiidae

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Homalodotheriidae

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Hominidae

The Hominidae (; anglicized hominids, also known as great apes), as the term is used here, form a taxonomic family, including four extant genera: chimpanzees (Pan), gorillas (Gorilla), humans (Homo), and orangutans (Pongo). The term "hominid" is also used in the more restricted sense of humans and relatives of humans closer than chimpanzees. In this usage, all hominid species other than Homo sapiens are extinct. [more]

Hondadelphidae

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Hoplitomerycidae

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Hoplocercidae

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Huayangosauridae

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Hyaenidae

Hyenas or Hyaenas (from Greek "?a??a" - hyaina) are the animals of the family Hyaenidae ( /h?'?n?d?/) of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora (consisting of four species), and one of the smallest in the mammalia. Despite their low diversity, hyenas are unique and vital components to most African and some Asian ecosystems. [more]

Hyaenodontidae

Hyaenodontidae ("Hyena teeth") is a family of the extinct order Creodonta, which contains several dozen genera. [more]

Hydrochoeridae

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Hylaeochampsidae

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Hylobatidae

Gibbons are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family is divided into four genera based on their diploid chromosome number: Hylobates (44), Hoolock (38), Nomascus (52), and Symphalangus (50). The extinct Bunopithecus sericus is a gibbon or gibbon-like ape which, until recently, was thought to be closely related to the hoolock gibbons. Gibbons occur in tropical and subtropical rainforests from northeast India to Indonesia and north to southern China, including the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java. [more]

Hyopsodontidae

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Hyperoodontidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[7] [more]

Hypertragulidae

Hypertragulidae is an extinct family of even-toed ungulates (order Artiodactyla), endemic to North America, Europe, and Asia during the Eocene through Miocene, living 46.2?13.6 Ma, existing for approximately 32.6 million years. [more]

Hypsilophodontidae

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Hypsiprymnodontidae

The Hypsiprymnodontidae () are a family of macropods, one of two families containing animals commonly referred to as rat-kangaroos. There is a single known extant genus and species in this family, the Musky Rat-kangaroo, Hypsiprymnodon moschatus, which occurs in northern Australia and New Guinea. During the Pleistocene megafauna from this family occurred in the genera Ekaltadeta. [more]

Hyracodontidae

Hyracodontidae is an extinct family of rhinoceroses endemic to North America, Europe, and Asia during the Eocene through early Miocene living from 55.8?20 mya, existing for approximately 35.8 million years. [more]

Hystricidae

The Old World porcupines, or Hystricidae, are large terrestrial rodents, distinguished by the spiny covering from which they take their name. They range over the south of Europe, most of Africa, India, and the Maritime Southeast Asia as far east as Borneo. Although both the Old World and New World porcupine families belong to the Hystricognathi branch of the vast order Rodentia, they are quite different and are not closely related. [more]

Ichthyornithidae

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Ichthyosauridae

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Icteridae

The Icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange or red. The family is extremely varied in size, shape, behavior and coloration. The name, meaning "jaundiced ones" (from the prominent yellow feathers of many species) comes from the Ancient Greek ikteros, through the Latin ictericus. This group includes the New World blackbirds, New World orioles, the Bobolink, meadowlarks, grackles, cowbirds, oropendolas and caciques. [more]

Ictidosuchidae

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Idiornithidae

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Iguanidae

Iguanidae is a family of lizards, composed of iguanas and related species. [more]

Iguanodontidae

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Ilariidae

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Indicatoridae

Honeyguides (family Indicatoridae) are near passerine bird species of the order Piciformes. They are also known as indicator birds, or honey birds, although the latter term is also used more narrowly to refer to species of the genus Prodotiscus. They have an Old World tropical distribution, with the greatest number of species in Africa and two in Asia. These birds are best known for their interaction with humans. Honeyguides are noted and named for one or two species that will deliberately lead humans directly to bee colonies, so that they can feast on the grubs that are left behind. [more]

Indridae

The Indriidae (sometimes incorrectly spelled Indridae) are a family of strepsirrhine primates. They are medium to large sized lemurs with only four teeth in the toothcomb instead of the usual six. Indriids, like all lemurs, live exclusively on the island of Madagascar. [more]

Indriidae

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Iniidae

Iniidae is a family of river dolphins containing one living and three extinct genera. [more]

Interatheriidae

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Irenidae

The two fairy-bluebirds are small passerine bird species found in forests and plantations in tropical southern Asia and the Philippines. They are the sole members of the genus Irena and family Irenidae, and are related to the ioras and leafbirds. [more]

Ischyromyidae

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Isectolophidae

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Isotemnidae

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Ivanantoniidae

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Jacanidae

The ja?anas (sometimes referred to as Jesus birds or lily trotters) are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone. See Etymology below for pronunciation. [more]

Jeholodentidae

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Jonkeriidae

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Jungornithidae

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Kannemeyeriidae

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Kayentachelyidae

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Kentriodontidae

Kentriodontidae is an extinct family of odontocet whales related to modern dolphins. The Family lived from the Oligocene to the Pliocene before going extinct. [more]

Kenyamyidae

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Kermackiidae

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Kinosternidae

Kinosternidae is a family of mostly small turtles that includes the mud turtles and musk turtles. The family Kinosternidae contains 25 species within 4 genera, but taxonomic reclassification is an ongoing process so many sources vary on the exact numbers of species and subspecies. They inhabit slow-moving bodies of water, often with soft, muddy bottoms and abundant vegetation. [more]

Kogaionidae

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Kollikodontidae

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Kuehneosauridae

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Kuehneotheriidae

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Kulbeckiidae

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Lacertidae

Lacertidae is the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Europe, Africa, and Asia. The group includes the genus Lacerta, which contains some of the most commonly seen lizard species in Europe. It is a diverse family with hundreds of species in 37 genera. [more]

Lagerpetonidae

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Lagosuchidae

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Lambeosauridae

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Laniidae

Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. Note that the Australasian butcherbirds are not shrikes. [more]

Lanthanotidae

The earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis) is a semi-aquatic, brown lizard native to northern Borneo. It is the only species in the family Lanthanotidae, a group related to the true monitor lizards, as well as to the beaded lizards. [more]

Laornithidae

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Laredomyidae

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Laridae

Gulls (often informally called seagulls) are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns (family Sternidae) and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders. Until the twenty-first century most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but this arrangement is now known to be polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several genera. [more]

Leiosauridae

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Lemuridae

Lemuridae is a family of prosimian primates native to Madagascar, and one of five families commonly known as lemurs. These animals were thought to be the evolutionary predecessors of monkeys and apes, but this is no longer considered correct. The family gets its name from the Ancient Roman belief[] that the animals were ghosts or spirits ('lemures'), because many species are nocturnal. [more]

Leontiniidae

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Lepilemuridae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[8] [more]

Leporidae

Leporids are the approximately 50 species of rabbits and hares which form the family Leporidae. The leporids, together with the pikas, constitute the mammalian order Lagomorpha. Leporids differ from pikas in having short furry tails, and elongated ears and hind legs. The name leporid is simply an abbreviation of the family name Leporidae meaning animals resembling "lepus", Latin for hare. [more]

Leptictidae

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Leptomerycidae

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Leptopterygiidae

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Leptosomidae

The Cuckoo Roller (Leptosomus discolor) is the only bird in the family Leptosomatidae, which is usually considered to be within the order Coraciiformes, which also includes the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. However, the position of this family is not very clear. Morphological evidence may suggest a placement within or near to Falconiformes. In the rather comprehensive DNA study by Hackett et al. this is one of only two birds ? besides the Hoatzin ? of which the position is not clear, although it seems to be at the root of a group that contains the Trogoniformes, Bucerotiformes, Piciformes and Coraciiformes. [more]

Leptotyphlopidae

The Leptotyphlopidae (commonly called Slender Blind Snakes or Thread Snakes) are a family of snakes found in North and South America, Africa, and Asia. All are fossorial and adapted to burrowing, feeding on ants and termites. Two genera are recognized comprising eighty-seven species. [more]

Limnornithidae

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Limnoscelidae

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Lipotidae

The Baiji (Chinese: ; pinyin: About this sound b?ij?t?n (help?info)) (Lipotes vexillifer, Lipotes meaning "left behind", vexillifer "flag bearer") is a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze River in China. Nicknamed "Goddess of the Yangtze" (simplified Chinese: ????; traditional Chinese: ????; pinyin: Ch?ng Jiang nush?n) in China, the dolphin is also called Chinese River Dolphin, Yangtze River Dolphin, Whitefin Dolphin and Yangtze Dolphin. It is not to be confused with the Chinese White Dolphin. [more]

Lithornithidae

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Llanocetidae

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Lonchodytidae

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Lophialetidae

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Lophiodontidae

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Lophiomerycidae

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Loridae

Lorisidae (or sometimes Loridae) is a family of strepsirrhine primates. The lorisids are all slim arboreal animals and include the lorises, pottos and angwantibos. Lorisids live in tropical, central Africa as well as in south and southeast Asia. [more]

Lorisidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[9] [more]

Loxocemidae

The Loxocemidae are a monotypic family of snakes created for the monotypic genus Loxocemus that contains the species L. bicolor found in Central America. Loxocemidae is the smallest snake family, having just one species and one genera. No subspecies are currently recognized. [more]

Lybiidae

The Lybiidae is a bird family containing the African barbets. They were usually united with their American and Asian relatives in the Capitonidae for quite some time, but this has been confirmed to be limited to the main American lineage[]. There are 42 species ranging from the type genus Lybius of forest interior to the tinkerbirds (Pogoniulus) of forest and scrubland. They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the far south-west of South Africa. [more]

Lystrosauridae

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Macraucheniidae

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Macrocephalosauridae

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Macropodidae

Macropods are marsupials belonging to the family Macropodidae, which includes kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, pademelons, and several others. Macropods are native to Australia, New Guinea, and some nearby islands. Before European settlement of Australia, there were about 53 species of Macropods. Six species have since become extinct. Another 11 species have been greatly reduced in numbers. Other species (e.g. Simosthenurus, Propleopus, Macropus titan) became extinct after the Australian Aborigines arrived and before the Europeans arrived. [more]

Macroscelididae

Elephant shrews or jumping shrews are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the family Macroscelididae, in the order Macroscelidea. Their traditional common English name comes from a fancied resemblance between their long noses and the trunk of an elephant, and an assumed relationship with the true shrews (family Soricidae) in the order Insectivora because of their superficial similarities. As it has become plain that the elephant shrews are unrelated to the shrews, the biologist Jonathan Kingdon has proposed that they instead be called sengis, a term derived from the Bantu languages of Africa. [more]

Madtsoiidae

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Malaconotidae

The bushshrikes are smallish passerine bird species. They were formerly classed with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, but are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated from that group as the family Malaconotidae. [more]

Maluridae

The Maluridae are a family of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens of the Northern Hemisphere. The family includes 14 species of fairywren, 3 emu-wrens, and 10 grasswrens. [more]

Mammalodontidae

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Mammutidae

Mammutidae is a family of extinct proboscideans that lived between the Miocene to the Pleistocene or Holocene. The family was first described in 1922, classifying fossil specimens of the type genus Mammut (mastodons), and has since been placed in various arrangements of the order. The name mastodon derives from Greek, ?ast?? "nipple" and ?d??? "tooth", as with the genus, to indicate a characteristic that distinguishes them from allied families. The genus Zygolophodon has also been assigned to this family. [more]

Manidae

A pangolin (), scaly anteater, or trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. The only one extant family (Manidae) has one genus (Manis) of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with this adaptation. They are found in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. The name "pangolin" derives from the Malay word pengguling ("something that rolls up"). [more]

Massospondylidae

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Mayulestidae

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Megadermatidae

Megadermatidae, or False Vampire Bats, are a family of bats found from central Africa, eastwards through southern Asia, and into Australia. They are relatively large bats, ranging from 6.5 cm to 14 cm in head-body length. They have large eyes, very large ears and a prominent . They have a wide membrane between the hind legs, or uropatagium, but no tail. Many species are a drab brown in color, but some are white, bluish-grey or even olive-green, helping to camouflage them against their preferred roosting environments. They are primarily insectivorous, but will also eat a wide range of small vertebrates. [more]

Megalaimidae

A family of birds comprising the Asian barbets, the Megalaimidae were once united with all other barbets in the Capitonidae (Short & Horne 2002) but they have turned out to be distinct[]. There are 26 species living in wooded areas from Tibet to Indonesia. [more]

Megalonychidae

Megalonychidae is a group of sloths including the extinct Megalonyx and the living two toed sloths. Megalonychids first appeared in the early Oligocene, about 35 million years ago, in southern Argentina (Patagonia), and spread as far as the Antilles by the early Miocene. Megalonychids first reached North America by island-hopping, about 9 million years ago, prior to the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. Some lineages of megalonychids increased in size as time passed. The first species of these were small and may have been partly tree-dwelling, whereas the Pliocene (about 5 to 2 million years ago) species were already approximately half the size of the huge Late Pleistocene Megalonyx jeffersonii from the last ice age. Some West Indian island species were as small as a large cat; their dwarf condition typified both tropical adaptation and their restricted island environment. This small size also enabled them a degree of arboreality. [more]

Megalosauridae

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Megapodiidae

The megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, are stocky, medium-large chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet in the family Megapodiidae. Their name literally means large foot (Greek: mega = large, poda = foot), and is a reference to the heavy legs and feet typical of these terrestrial birds. All are browsers, all but the Malleefowl occupy wooded habitats, and most are brown or black colored. Megapodes are superprecocial, hatching from their eggs in the most mature condition of any birds. They hatch with open eyes, with bodily coordination and strength, with full wing feathers and downy body feathers, able to run, pursue prey, and, in some species, fly on the same day they hatch. [more]

Megatheriidae

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Megazostrodontidae

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Meiolaniidae

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Mekosuchidae

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Melanocharitidae

The Melanocharitidae, the berrypeckers and longbills, is a small bird family restricted to the forests of New Guinea. The family contains ten species in four (sometimes three) genera. They are small songbirds with generally dull plumage but a range of body shapes. [more]

Melanorosauridae

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Meleagrididae

A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species. The other living species is Meleagris ocellata or the Ocellated Turkey, native to the forests of the Yucat?n Peninsula. [more]

Meliphagidae

The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea. Bali, on the other side of the Wallace Line, has a single species. [more]

Menuridae

A Lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds, that form the genus, Menura, and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral colored tailfeathers. [more]

Mephitidae

Skunks (in the United States, occasionally called polecats) are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks, together with their closest living relatives, the stink badgers, belong to the "skunk family", the "Mephitidae" and to the order Carnivora. There are twelve species of Mephistids, which are divided into four genera: Mephitis, the (hooded and striped skunks, two species), Spilogale the (spotted skunks, four species), the Mydaus or stink badgers, two species), and Conepatus, the (hog-nosed skunks, four species). The two stink badgers in the Mydaus genus inhabit Indonesia and the Philippines; while all skunks inhabit the Americas from Canada to central South America. All other known Mephistids are extinct and known only through fossils, many in Eurasia[]. [more]

Meropidae

The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly colored plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers. All have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar. There are 26 different species of bee-eaters. [more]

Merycoidodontidae

Oreodonts, sometimes called prehistoric "ruminating hogs," were a family of cud-chewing plant-eater with a short face and tusk-like canine teeth. As their name implies, some of the better known forms were generally hog-like, and the group was once thought to be a member of Suina, the pigs, peccaries and their ancestors, though recent work indicate they were more closely related to camels. The scientific name means Mountain teeth and refer to the appearance of the molars. Most oreodonts were sheep-sized, though some genera grew to the size of cattle. They were heavy bodied, with short four-toed hooves. Unlike any modern ruminant, they had long tails. [more]

Mesitornithidae

The mesites (Mesitornithidae) are a family of birds of uncertain affinities. They are smallish, near flightless birds endemic to Madagascar. Generally brownish with paler undersides, they are of somewhat pheasant-like appearance and were initially placed with the Galliformes. Most commonly, they are placed in the Gruiformes (cranes, rails and allies), but this has been disputed in more recent times. They are the only family with more than two species in which every species is threatened; all three are listed as vulnerable and are expected to decline greatly in the next 20 years.[] [more]

Mesonychidae

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Mesosauridae

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Mesotheriidae

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Messelornithidae

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Mesungulatidae

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Metacheiromyidae

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Metriorhynchidae

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Miacidae

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Microbiotheriidae

The Monito del Monte is the only extant member of its family (Microbiotheriidae) and the only surviving member of an ancient order, the Microbiotheria. The oldest microbiothere currently recognised is , based on fossil teeth from Early Palaeocene deposits at Tiupampa, Bolivia. Numerous genera are known from various Palaeogene and Neogene fossil sites in South America. A number of possible microbiotheres, again represented by isolated teeth, have also been recovered from the Middle Eocene La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island, Western Antarctica. Finally, several undescribed microbiotheres have been reported from the Early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna in Northeastern Australia; if this is indeed the case, then these Australian fossils have important implications for our understanding of marsupial evolution and biogeography. [more]

Microchoeridae

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Micromomyidae

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Micropternodontidae

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Microsyopidae

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Millerettidae

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Millerosauridae

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Mimidae

The mimids are the New World family of passerine birds, Mimidae, that includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers, and the New World catbirds. As their name (Latin for "mimic") suggests, these birds are notable for their vocalization, especially some species' remarkable ability to mimic a wide variety of birds and other sounds heard outdoors. [more]

Mimotonidae

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Mioclaenidae

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Miralinidae

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Mixodectidae

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Mixosauridae

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Mixtotheriidae

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Moeritheriidae

[more]

Molossidae

Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. They are generally quite robust, and consist of many strong flying forms with relatively long and narrow wings. Another common name for some members of this group, and indeed a few species from other families, is mastiff bat. The western mastiff bat, Eumops perotis, a large species from the southwestern United States and Mexico with wings over 0.5 m (1.6 ft) across, is perhaps one of the best known with this name. They are widespread, being found on every continent except Antarctica. [more]

Momotidae

The motmots or Momotidae are a family of birds in the near passerine order Coraciiformes, which also includes the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. All extant motmots are restricted to woodland or forest in the Neotropics, and the largest diversity is in Middle America. They have a colorful plumage and a relatively heavy bill. All except the Tody Motmot have relatively long tails that in some species has a distinctive racket-like tip. [more]

Monarchidae

The monarch flycatchers (Monarchidae) comprise a family of passerine birds which includes boatbills, shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and magpie-larks. [more]

Monodontidae

The cetacean family Monodontidae comprises two unusual whale species, the narwhal, in which the male has a long tusk, and the white beluga whale. They are native to coastal regions and pack ice around the Arctic Sea, and the far north of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. [more]

Morganucodontidae

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Mormoopidae

The family Mormoopidae contains bats known generally as mustached bats, ghost-faced bats, and naked-backed bats. They are found in the Americas from the Southwestern United States to Southeastern Brazil. [more]

Mosasauridae

Mosasaurs (from Latin Mosa meaning the 'Meuse river', and Greek sauros meaning 'lizard') are large extinct marine lizards. The first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764. Mosasaurs are now considered to be the closest relatives of snakes, due to cladistic analyses that have taken into account similarities in jaw and skull anatomies. Mosasaurs were varanoids closely related to terrestrial monitor lizards. They probably evolved from semi-aquatic squamates known as aigialosaurs, which were more similar in appearance to modern-day monitor lizards, in the Early Cretaceous. During the last 20 million years of the Cretaceous Period (Turonian-Maastrichtian), with the extinction of the ichthyosaurs and pliosaurs, mosasaurs became the dominant marine predators. [more]

Moschidae

Musk deer are artiodactyls of the genus Moschus, the only genus of family Moschidae. They are more primitive than the cervids, or true deer, in not having antlers or facial glands, in having only a single pair of teats, and in possessing a gall bladder, a caudal gland, a pair of tusk-like teeth and?of particular economic importance to humans?a musk gland. Moschids live mainly in forested and alpine scrub habitats in the mountains of southern Asia, notably Himalayas. Moschids are entirely Asian in their present distribution, being extinct in Europe where the earliest musk deer are known from Oligocene deposits. [more]

Moschorhinidae

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Motacillidae

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genera and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominately found in Europe, Africa and Asia, with two species migrating and breeding in Alaska. The pipits have the most cosmopolitan distribution, being found across mostly in the Old World but occurring also in the Americas and oceanic islands such as New Zealand and the Falklands. Two African species, the Yellow-breasted Pipit and Sharpe's Longclaw are sometimes placed in a separate seventh genus, Hemimacronyx, which is closely related to the longclaws. [more]

Muridae

Muridae is the largest family of mammals. It contains over 700 species found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. They have been introduced worldwide. The group includes true mice and rats, gerbils, and relatives. [more]

Muscicapidae

The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing. [more]

Musophagidae

The turacos make up the bird family Musophagidae (literally "banana-eaters"), which includes plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. In southern Africa both turacos and go-away-birds are commonly known as louries. They are semi-zygodactylous - the fourth (outer) toe can be switched back and forth. The second and third toes, which always point forward, are conjoined in some species. Musophagids often have prominent crests and long tails; the turacos are noted for peculiar and unique pigments giving them their bright green and red feathers. [more]

Mustelidae

Mustelidae (from Latin mustela, weasel), commonly referred to as the weasel family, are a family of carnivorous mammals. Mustelids are diverse and the largest family in the order Carnivora, at least partly because in the past it has been a catch-all category for many early or poorly differentiated taxa.[] The internal classification seems to be still quite unsettled, with rival proposals containing between two and eight subfamilies. One study published in 2008 questions the long-accepted Mustelinae subfamily, and suggests Mustelidae consists of four major clades and three much smaller lineages. [more]

Mylagaulidae

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Mylodontidae

Mylodontidae is a family of extinct mammals within the order of Pilosa and suborder Folivora living from approximately 23 mya?11,000 years ago, existing for approximately 22.89 million years. This family of ground sloths is related to the other families of extinct ground sloths, being the Megatheriidae, the , the Orophodontidae and the Scelidotheriidae. The only extant families of the suborder Folivora are the Bradypodidae and the Megalonychidae. Phylogenetic analyses using homologous sequences from all extant edentate groups indicates that the Mylodontidae were closer related to Megalonychidae than to Bradypodidae. [more]

Myophiomyidae

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Myrmecobiidae

The numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), also known as the banded anteater, or walpurti, is a marsupial found in Western Australia. Its diet consists almost exclusively of termites. Once widespread across southern Australia, the range is now restricted to several small colonies and it is listed as an endangered species. The numbat is an emblem of Western Australia and protected by conservation programs. [more]

Myrmecophagidae

Myrmecophagidae is a family of anteaters, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek words for 'ant' and 'eat' (Myrmeco- and phagos). Myrmecophagids are native to Central and South America, from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. There are 2 genera and 3 species in the family, consisting of the Giant Anteater, and the tamanduas. The fossil Eurotamandua from the Messel Pit in Germany may be an early anteater, but its status is currently debated. [more]

Mystacinidae

Mystacinidae is a family of unusual bats, the New Zealand short-tailed bats. There is one living genus, Mystacina, with two extant species, one of which is believed to have become extinct in the 1960s. They are medium-sized bats, about 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in length, with grey, velvety fur. [more]

Myzopodidae

Myzopoda is the only genus in family Myzopodidae, a family of bats, endemic to Madagascar. [more]

Nandiniidae

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Natalidae

The family Natalidae, or funnel-eared bats are found from Mexico to Brazil and the Caribbean islands. The family has three genera, Chilonatalus, Natalus and Nyctiellus. They are slender bats with unusually long tails and, as their name suggests, funnel-shaped ears. They are small, at only 3.5 to 5.5 cm in length, with brown, grey, or reddish fur. Like many other bats, they are insectivorous, and roost in caves. [more]

Necrolestidae

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Necrosauridae

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Nectariniidae

The sunbirds and spiderhunters are a family, Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. There are 132 species in 15 genera. The family is distributed throughout Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders, especially when feeding young. Flower tubes that bar access to nectar because of their shape, are simply punctured at the base near the nectaries. Fruit is also part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings. [more]

Neocathartidae

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Neoepiblemidae

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Neomorphidae

Neomorphidae is a proposed family of birds, separating the ground cuckoos (including roadrunners) from the rest of the cuckoo family. It is traditionally nested within the family Cuculidae as the subfamily Neomorphinae. [more]

Nesophontidae

The members of the genus Nesophontes, sometimes called West Indies shrews, were members of the extinct family of mammals Nesophontidae in the order Soricomorpha. This is the only genus described for this family. They were endemic to Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. Although reliable estimates are unavailable, these animals are widely believed to have survived the Pleistocene extinction since remains have been found among those of Rattus and Mus species. Some authorities estimate extinction coinciding with the arrivals of rats (Rattus) aboard Spanish vessels in the early 16th century (1500). Others, such as Morgan and Woods, claim that some species survived until the early 20th century. Their relations to the other West Indian soricomorphs, the solenodons, remain unclear. [more]

Nigeropheidae

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Nimravidae

The Nimravidae, sometimes known as false saber-toothed cats, are an extinct family of mammalian carnivores belonging to the suborder Feliformia and endemic to North America, Europe, and Asia living from the Eocene through the Miocene epochs (42?7.2 mya), existing for approximately 34.8 million years. [more]

Noctilionidae

The Noctilionidae family of bats, commonly known as bulldog bats or fisherman bats, are represented by two species, the Greater Bulldog Bat and the Lesser Bulldog Bat. They are found near water, from Mexico to Argentina. The Naked Bulldog Bat (Cheiromeles torquatus) does not belong to this family, but to the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. [more]

Nodosauridae

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Notharctidae

Notharctidae is an extinct family of primitive primates. [more]

Nothosauridae

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Notohippidae

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Notonychopidae

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Notoryctidae

Marsupial moles (Notoryctidae) is a family of marsupials of the order Notoryctemorphia, consisting of only two extant species: [more]

Notostylopidae

Notostylopidae is an extinct family comprising five genera of notoungulate mammals known from the early Eocene to early Oligocene of South America [more]

Notosuchidae

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Numididae

The guineafowl (; sometimes called guineahen) are a family of birds in the Galliformes order, although some authorities (for example the American Ornithologists' Union) include the guineafowl as a subfamily, Numidinae, of the family Phasianidae. The guineafowl are native to Africa, but the Helmeted Guineafowl has been domesticated, and both feral and wild-type birds have been introduced elsewhere. [more]

Numidotheriidae

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Nycteridae

Nycteridae is the family of slit-faced or hollow-faced bats. They are grouped in a single genus, Nycteris. The bats are found in East Malaysia, Indonesia and many parts of Africa. [more]

Nyctibiidae

The potoos are a family, Nyctibiidae of near passerine birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. They are sometimes called Poor-me-ones, after their haunting calls. There are seven species in one genus, Nyctibius, in tropical Central and South America. [more]

Nyctitheriidae

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Nyctosauridae

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Ochotonidae

The pika ( py-k?; archaically spelled pica) is a small mammal, with short limbs, rounded ears, and short tail. The name pika is used for any member of the Ochotonidae, a family within the order of lagomorphs, which also includes the Leporidae (rabbits and hares). One genus, Ochotona, is recognised within the family, and it includes 30 species. It is also known as the "whistling hare" due to its high-pitched alarm call when diving into its burrow. The name "pika" appears to be derived from the Tungus piika. [more]

Octodontidae

Octodontidae is a family of rodents, restricted to southwestern South America. Thirteen species of octodontid are recognised, arranged in nine genera. The best known species is the degu, Octodon degus. [more]

Odobenocetopsidae

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Odontophoridae

The New World quails or Odontophorids are small birds only distantly related to the Old World Quails, but named for their similar appearance and habits. The American species are in their own family Odontophoridae, whereas Old World Quail are in the pheasant family Phasianidae. The family ranges from Canada through to southern Brazil, and two species, the California Quail and the Bobwhite Quail, have been successfully introduced to New Zealand. A variety of habitats are used by the family from tropical rainforest to deserts, although few species are capable of surviving at very low temperatures. There are 32 species in nine genera. [more]

Ogygoptyngidae

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Oldfieldthomasiidae

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Omeisauridae

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Omomyidae

Omomyids (members of the family Omomyidae) are a diverse group of early primates that radiated during the Eocene epoch between about 55 to 34 million years ago (mya). Fossils of omomyids are found in North America, Europe, Asia, and possibly Africa, making it one of two groups of Eocene primates with a geographic distribution spanning holarctic continents, the other being the adapids (family Adapidae). Early representatives of the Omomyidae and Adapidae appear suddenly at the beginning of the Eocene (59 mya) in North America, Europe, and Asia, and are the earliest known crown primates. [more]

Omphalosauridae

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Ophiacodontidae

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Opisthocomidae

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Opisthodactylidae

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Opluridae

The Opluridae, or Madagascan iguanas, are a family of moderately sized lizards native to Madagascar. There are seven species in two genera, with most of the species being in Oplurus. The family includes species that live amongst rocks, some that live in trees, and one that inhabits sand dunes. All of the species lay eggs, and have teeth that resemble those of the true iguanas. [more]

Oreodontidae

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Oriolidae

The orioles are a family of Old World passerine birds. [more]

Ornithocheiridae

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Ornithodesmidae

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Ornithomimidae

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Ornithorhynchidae

Ornithorhynchidae is one of the two extant families in the order Monotremata, and contains the Platypus and its extinct relatives. The other family is the Tachyglossidae, or echidnas. Within Ornithorhynchidae are two genera, Obdurodon and Ornithorhynchus: [more]

Ornithosuchidae

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Oromerycidae

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Orophodontidae

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Orthonychidae

The Orthonychidae is a family of birds with a single genus, Orthonyx, which comprises three species of passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea, the Logrunners and the Chowchilla. Some authorities consider the Australian family Cinclosomatidae to be part of the Orthonychidae. The three species use their stiffened tails to brace themselves when feeding. [more]

Orycteropodidae

Orycteropodidae is a family of afrotherian mammals. Although there are many fossil species, the only species surviving today is the aardvark, Orycteropus afer. Orycteropodidae is recognized as the only family within the order Tubulidentata, so the two are effectively synonyms. [more]

Otariidae

The eared seals or otariids are marine mammals in the family Otariidae, one of three groupings of Pinnipeds. They comprise 16 species in seven genera commonly known either as sea lions or fur seals, distinct from true seals (phocids) and the Walrus (odobenids). Otariids are adapted to a semi-aquatic lifestyle, feeding and migrating in the water but breeding and resting on land or ice. They reside in subpolar, temperate, and equatorial waters throughout the Pacific and Southern oceans and the southern Indian and Atlantic oceans. They are conspicuously absent in the north Atlantic. [more]

Otididae

Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World. They make up the family Otididae (formerly known as Otidae). [more]

Otlestidae

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Oviraptoridae

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Oxyaenidae

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Oxyclaenidae

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Pachycephalidae

The family Pachycephalidae, collectively the whistlers, includes the whistlers, shrike-thrushes, shrike-tits, pitohuis and Crested Bellbird, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds. Its members range from small to medium in size, and occupy most of Australasia. Australia and New Guinea are the centre of their diversity, with species and genera also reaching New Zealand, and in the case of the whistlers, the South Pacific islands as far as Tonga and Samoa and parts of Asia as far as India. The exact delimitation of boundaries of the family are uncertain, for example the genus Mohoua, which is endemic to New Zealand has been placed with the family based on a number of morphological features and DNA-DNA hybridization studies, but the placement is still controversial. [more]

Pachycephalosauridae

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Pachyophiidae

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Pachypleurosauridae

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Pachystropheidae

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Pakicetidae

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Palaechthonidae

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Palaelodidae

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Palaeochiropterygidae

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Palaeomastodontidae

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Palaeomerycidae

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Palaeopeltidae

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Palaeophiidae

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Palaeopropithecidae

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Palaeoryctidae

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Palaeothentidae

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Palaeotheriidae

Palaeotheres are an extinct group of herbivorous mammals related to tapirs and rhinoceros, and probably ancestral to horses. They ranged across Europe and Asia during the Eocene through Oligocene 55?28 Ma, existing for approximately 27 million years. [more]

Palaeotididae

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Palorchestidae

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Pampatheriidae

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Pantolambdidae

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Pantolambdodontidae

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Pantolestidae

Pantolestidae is an extinct family of semi-aquatic, placental mammals that took part in the first placental evolutionary radiation together with other early mammals such as the leptictids. Forming the core of the equally extinct order , the pantolestids evolved as a series of increasingly otter-like forms, ranging from the Middle Paleocene (60 mya) Bessoecetor to the Middle Eocene (50-40 mya) Buxolestes. They first appear in North America from where they spread to Europe. [more]

Pappotheriidae

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Paradisaeidae

The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species in this family are found on the island of New Guinea and its satellites, with a few species occurring in the Moluccas and eastern Australia. The family has forty species in 14 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of most species, in particular highly elongated and elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat. The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. The birds-of-paradise have a variety of breeding systems, ranging from monogamy to lek-based polygamy. [more]

Paralligatoridae

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Paramacellodidae

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Paramythiidae

The painted berrypeckers, Paramythiidae, are a very small bird family restricted to the mountain forests of New Guinea. The family comprises two species in two genera: the Tit Berrypecker (Oreocharis arfaki) and the Crested Berrypecker (Paramythia montium). These are colorful medium-sized birds which feed on fruit and some insects. These species were formerly included in the Dicaeidae, but DNA-DNA hybridization studies showed these species were related to each other but distinct from the flowerpeckers. Some sources [1] group painted berrypeckers as two genera belonging to the berrypecker family Melanocharitidae. [more]

Parapedetidae

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Parapithecidae

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Parasaniwidae

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Pardalotidae

Pardalotes or peep-wrens are a family, Pardalotidae, of very small, brightly colored birds native to Australia, with short tails, strong legs, and stubby blunt beaks. This family is composed of four species in one genus, Pardalotus, and several subspecies. The name derives from a Greek word meaning "spotted". The family once contained several other species now split into the family Acanthizidae. [more]

Pareiasauridae

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Paridae

The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa. Most were formerly classified in the genus Parus. [more]

Paromomyidae

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Paroxyclaenidae

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Parulidae

The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are closely related to neither the Old World warblers nor the Australian warblers. [more]

Parvicuculidae

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Passeridae

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Pastoralodontidae

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Patagoniidae

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Patriocetidae

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Pedeticosauridae

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Pedetidae

Pedetidae is a family of mammals from the rodent order. The two living species, the springhares, are distributed throughout much of southern Africa and also around Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Fossils have been found as far north as Turkey. Together with the anomalures, Pedetidae forms the suborder Anomaluromorpha. The fossil genus is also related. [more]

Pediomyidae

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Pedionomidae

The Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus) or Plains Wanderer, is a bird, the only representative of its family. It is endemic to Australia. The majority of the remaining population are found in the Riverina region of New South Wales. [more]

Pelagornithidae

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Pelecanidae

A pelican, derived from the Greek word pe?e??? pelekys (meaning ?axe? and applied to birds that cut wood with their bills or beaks) is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae. [more]

Pelecanoididae

The diving petrels are seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. There are four very similar species all in the family Pelecanoididae and genus Pelecanoides (Lac?p?de, 1799), distinguished only by small differences in the coloration of their plumage and their bill construction. [more]

Peligrotheriidae

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Pelomedusidae

Pelomedusidae is a family of freshwater turtles native to eastern and southern Africa. They range in size from 12 centimetres (4.7 in) to 45 centimetres (18 in) in shell length, and are generally roundish in shape. They are unable to fully withdraw their heads into their shells, instead drawing it to the side and folding it beneath the upper edge of the shell, and hence are called African side-necked turtles. [more]

Peltephilidae

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Peramelidae

Peramelidae is the family of marsupials that contains all of the extant bandicoots. One known extinct species of bandicoot, the Pig-footed bandicoot, was so different than the other species that it was recently moved into its own family. There are four described fossil Peramelids. They are found throughout Australia and New Guinea, with at least some species living in every available habitat, from rain forest to desert. [more]

Peramuridae

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Periptychidae

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Peroryctidae

The New Guinean long-nosed bandicoots (genus Peroryctes) are members of the Peramelemorphia order. They are small to medium sized marsupial omnivores native to New Guinea. [more]

Perutheriidae

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Petauridae

The family Petauridae includes 11 medium-sized possum species: four striped possums, the six species wrist-winged gliders in genus Petaurus, and Leadbeater's Possum which has only vestigal gliding membranes. Most of the wrist-winged gliders are native to Australia, most of the striped possums (genus Dactylopsila) to New Guinea, but some members of each are found on both sides of Torres Strait. [more]

Petroicidae

The bird family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called the Australasian robins. Within the family the species are known not only as robins but as scrub-robins and flycatchers. They are, however, only distantly related to the Old World family Muscicapidae (to which other species with such names belong) and the monarch flycatchers (Monarchidae). [more]

Petrolacosauridae

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Petromuridae

The dassie rat, Petromus typicus, is an African rodent found among rocky outcroppings. It is the only living member of its genus, Petromus, and family, Petromuridae. The name "dassie" means "hyrax" in Afrikaans, and the two animals are found in similar habitats. Petromus means "rock mouse" and dassie rats are one of many rodents that are sometimes called rock rats. The family and genus names are sometimes misspelled as Petromyidae and Petromys. [more]

Phaethontidae

Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon. They have predominately white plumage with elongated tail feathers and small feeble legs and feet. [more]

Phalacrocoracidae

The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed. [more]

Phalangeridae

Phalangeridae is a family of nocturnal marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea, including the cuscuses, brushtail possums, and their close relatives. Considered a type of possum, most species are arboreal, and they inhabit a wide range of forest habitats from alpine woodland to eucalypt forest and tropical jungle. [more]

Phascolarctidae

Phascolarctidae (Phasco - pouch or bag, larct- from the Greek ?arctos? meaning bear) is a family of marsupials of the order Diprotodontia, consisting of only one extant species, the koala, six well-known fossil species, with another five less well known fossil species, and two fossil species of the genus Koobor, whose taxonomy is debatable but are placed in this group. The closest relatives of the Phascolarctidae are the wombats, which comprise the family Vombatidae. [more]

Phasianidae

The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl (including chicken), Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae. Sometimes additional families and birds are treated as being in this family as well; the American Ornithologists' Union includes Tetraonidae (the grouse), Numididae (guineafowls), and Meleagrididae (turkeys) in Phasianidae as subfamilies. [more]

Phenacodontidae

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Phenacolophidae

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Philepittidae

The asities, are a family, the Philepittidae, of small suboscine passerine birds. The family consists of four species in two genera endemic to Madagascar. They were thought to have been related to the pittas, hence the scientific name of the family, but a 1993 study suggested that they are actually just a subfamily of broadbills. The morphology of the syrinx is very similar to the Grauer's Broadbill of Africa. Here they are considered traditionally as a separate family. Some authors have placed the Sapayoa of South America in the family, although it is now mostly considered a broadbill. The Neodrepanis species are known as sunbird-asities and were formerly known as false sunbirds. [more]

Philisidae

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Phiomiidae

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Phiomyidae

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Phocidae

The true seals or earless seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal superfamily, Pinnipedia. All true seals are members of the family Phocidae (). They are sometimes called crawling seals to distinguish them from the fur seals and sea lions of the family Otariidae. Seals live in the oceans of both hemispheres and are mostly confined to polar, subpolar, and temperate climates, with the exception of the more tropical monk seals. [more]

Phocoenidae

Porpoises (; also called mereswine) are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen. The most obvious visible difference between the two groups is that porpoises have shorter beaks and flattened, spade-shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins. [more]

Phoenicopteridae

Flamingos or flamingoes (About this sound  (help?info)) are a type of wading bird in the genus Phoenicopterus (from Greek f??????pte??? meaning "purple wing"), the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae. There are four flamingo species in the Americas and two species in the Old World. [more]

Phoeniculidae

The Wood hoopoes and scimitarbills are a small African family, Phoeniculidae, of near passerine birds. They live south of the Sahara Desert and are not migratory. While the family is now restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, fossil evidence shows that the family once had a larger distribution. Fossils attributed to this family have been found in Miocene rocks in Germany. [more]

Phorusrhacidae

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Phrynosomatidae

Phrynosomatidae is a diverse family of lizards, found from Panama to the extreme south of Canada. Many members of the group are adapted to life in hot, sandy deserts, although the spiny lizards prefer rocky deserts or even relatively moist forest edges, and the short-horned lizard lives in prairie or sagebrush environments. The group includes both egg-laying and viviparous species, with the latter being more common in species living at high elevations. [more]

Phyllostomidae

The New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are found throughout Central and South America, from Mexico to northern Argentina. They are ecologically the most varied and diverse family within the order Chiroptera. Most species are insectivorous, but the phyllostomid bats include within their number true predatory species as well as frugivores (subfamily Stenodermatinae and Carolliinae). For example, the False Vampire, Vampyrum spectrum, the largest bat in the Americas, eats vertebrate prey including small dove-sized birds. Members of this family have evolved to utilize food groups such as fruit, nectar, pollen, insects, frogs, other bats and small vertebrates, and, in the case of the vampire bats, even blood. [more]

Physeteridae

Physeteroidea is a superfamily including just three living species of whale; the sperm whale, in the genus Physeter, and the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale, in the genus Kogia. In the past, these genera have sometimes been united in a single family, Physeteridae, with the two Kogia species in a subfamily (Kogiinae); however, recent practice is to allocate the genus Kogia to its own family, Kogiidae, leaving Physeteridae as a monotypic (single extant species) family, although additional fossil representatives of both families are known. [more]

Phytosauridae

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Picathartidae

The picathartes, rockfowl or bald crows are a small genus of two passerine bird species forming the family Picathartidae found in the rain-forests of tropical west and central Africa. They have unfeathered heads, and feed on insects and invertebrates picked from damp rocky areas. Both species are totally non-migratory, being dependent on a specialised rocky jungle habitat. [more]

Picidae

The woodpeckers, piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia and New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known to live in treeless areas such as rocky hillsides and deserts. [more]

Picopsidae

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Picrodontidae

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Picromomyidae

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Pilkipildridae

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Pipridae

The manakins are a family, Pipridae, of unique small suboscine passerine birds. The family contains some 60 species. They are distributed through the American tropics. The name is from Middle Dutch mannekijn 'little man' (also the source of the different bird name mannikin). [more]

Pisanosauridae

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Pitheciidae

The Pitheciidae are one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly they were included in the family Atelidae. The family includes the titis, saki monkeys and uakaris. Most species are native to the Amazonia region of Brazil, with some being found from Colombia in the north to Bolivia in the south. [more]

Pittidae

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Placodontidae

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Plagiaulacidae

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Plagiomenidae

[more]

Platanistidae

The South Asian river dolphin (Platanista) is a freshwater or river dolphin found in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan which is split into two sub-species, the Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) and Indus river dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor). The Ganges river dolphin is primarily found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, while the Indus river dolphin is found in the Indus river in Pakistan and its Beas and Sutlej tributaries. From the 1970s until 1998, they were regarded as separate species; however, in 1998, their classification was changed from two separate species to subspecies of a single species (see taxonomy below). The Ganges river dolphin has been recognized by the government of India as its National Aquatic Animal. [more]

Plateosauridae

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Platysteiridae

Platysteiridae is a family of small stout passerine birds of the African tropics. The family contains the wattle-eyes, batises and shrike-flycatchers. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. [more]

Plegadornithidae

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Plesiadapidae

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Plesiochelyidae

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Plesiopithecidae

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Plesiosoricidae

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Pleurosauridae

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Pleurosternidae

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Plicatodontidae

[more]

Pliohyracidae

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Pliopithecidae

[more]

Pliosauridae

[more]

Ploceidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[10] [more]

Plotopteridae

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Pluvianellidae

The Magellanic Plover (Pluvianellus socialis) is a rare and unique wader found only in southernmost South America. It was long placed in with the other plovers in the family Charadriidae, however behavioural evidence suggested they were distinct, and molecular studies confirmed this, suggesting that they are actually more closely related to the sheathbills, a uniquely Antarctic family. As such it is now placed in its own family, Pluvianellidae. This species is not a long distance migratant, although some birds move further north in southern Argentina in winter. The species breeds inland and then moves to the coast during the winter, particularly to estuaries. [more]

Podargidae

The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds related to the nightjars. They are found from the Indian Subcontinent across Southeast Asia to Australia. [more]

Podicipedidae

A grebe () is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter. This order contains only a single family, the Podicipedidae, containing 22 species in 6 extant genera. [more]

Podocnemididae

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Polioptilidae

The 15-20 species of small passerine birds in the gnatcatcher family occur in North and South America (except far south and high Andean regions). Most species of this mainly tropical and subtropical group are resident, but the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the USA and southern Canada migrates south in winter. They are close relatives of the wrens. [more]

Polychrotidae

Polychrotidae is a family of lizards commonly known as anoles (). NCBI places the anole in subfamily Polychrotinae of the family Iguanidae. Four genera are common: Anolis, Norops, Phenacosaurus, and Polychrus. [more]

Polycotylidae

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Polydolopidae

[more]

Pomatostomidae

The Pomatostomidae (Australo-Papuan or Australasian babblers, also known as pseudo-babblers) are small to medium-sized birds endemic to Australia-New Guinea. For many years, the Australo-Papuan babblers were classified, rather uncertainly, with the Old World babblers (Timaliidae), on the grounds of similar appearance and habits. More recent research, however, indicates that they are too basal to belong the Passerida - let alone the Sylvioidea where the Old World babblers are placed - and they are now classed as a separate family close to the Orthonychidae (logrunners). Five species in one genus are currently recognised, although the red-breasted subspecies rubeculus of the Grey-crowned Babbler may prove to be a separate species. Further investigation is required. [more]

Pontoporiidae

The La Plata dolphin or Franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei) is found in coastal Atlantic waters of southeastern South America. Taxonomically, it is a member of the river dolphin group and the only one that actually lives in the ocean and saltwater estuaries, rather than inhabiting exclusively freshwater systems. [more]

Poposauridae

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Potamotelsidae

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Potoroidae

The marsupial family Potoroidae includes the bettongs, potoroos, and two of the rat-kangaroos. All are rabbit-sized, brown, jumping marsupials and resemble a large rodent or a very small wallaby. [more]

Praeornithidae

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Prepidolopidae

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Presbyornithidae

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Prestosuchidae

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Primobucconidae

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Pristerognathidae

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Procaviidae

A hyrax (from Greek "shrewmouse") is any species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. The rock hyrax Procavia capensis, the yellow-spotted rock hyrax Heterohyrax brucei, the western tree hyrax Dendrohyrax dorsalis, and the southern tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus live in Africa and the Middle East. [more]

Procellariidae

The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes (or tubenoses), which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels. [more]

Procolophonidae

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Proconsulidae

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Procynosuchidae

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Procyonidae

Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It includes the raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, ringtails and cacomistles. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments, and are generally omnivorous. [more]

Proganochelyidae

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Prorastomidae

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Proscalopidae

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Proterochampsidae

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Proterosuchidae

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Proterotheriidae

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Protoavidae

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Protobradidae

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Protoceratidae

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Protoceratopsidae

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Protocetidae

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Protolipternidae

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Protoplotidae

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Protoptychidae

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Protorosauridae

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Protorothyrididae

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Protostegidae

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Protostrigidae

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Protosuchidae

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Prunellidae

The accentors are in the only bird family, the Prunellidae, which is completely endemic to the Palearctic. This small group of closely related passerines are all in a single genus Prunella. All but the Dunnock and the Japanese Accentor are inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia; these two also occur in lowland areas, as does the Siberian Accentor in the far north of Siberia. This genus is not strongly migratory, but they will leave the coldest parts of their range in winter, and make altitudinal movements. [more]

Pseudictopidae

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Pseudocheiridae

Pseudocheiridae is a family of arboreal marsupials containing 17 extant species of ringtailed possums and close relatives. They are found in forested areas and shrublands throughout Australia and New Guinea. [more]

Pseudodontornithidae

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Pseudosulidae

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Psilopteridae

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Psittacidae

The family Psittacidae consists of the subfamilies, the African parrots (Psittacinae) and the Neotropical parrots (Arinae). [more]

Psittacosauridae

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Psophiidae

The trumpeters are a family of birds restricted to the humid forests of the Amazon and Guiana Shield in South America. They are named for the trumpeting or cackling threat call of the males. The three species resemble chickens in size; they measure 45 to 52 centimetres (18 to 20 inches) long and weigh 1 to 1.5 kilograms (2.2 to 3.3 pounds). They are dumpy birds with long necks and legs and curved bills and a hunched posture. Their heads are small, but their eyes are relatively large, making them look "good-natured". The plumage is soft, resembling fur or velvet on the head and neck. It is mostly black, with purple, green, or bronze iridescence, particularly on the wing coverts and the lower neck. In the best-known taxa the secondary and tertial flight feathers are white, grey, or greenish to black, and hairlike, falling over the lower back, which is the same color. These colors give the three generally accepted species their names. [more]

Ptenopodiscidae

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Pteranodontidae

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Pteroclidae

A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[11] [more]

Pterodactylidae

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Pterodaustridae

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Pteropodidae

Megabats constitute the suborder Megachiroptera, family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, old world fruit bats, or flying foxes. [more]

Ptilocercidae

The pen-tailed treeshrew (Ptilocercus lowii) is a species of treeshrew in the Ptilocercidae family. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. It is the only species in the genus Ptilocercus and the family Ptilocercidae. All other treeshrews are in the family Tupaiidae. [more]

Ptilodontidae

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Ptilonorhynchidae

Bowerbirds () make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. The family has 20 species in eight genera. These are medium-sized passerines, ranging from the Golden Bowerbird (22 cm and 70 grams) to the Great Bowerbird (40 cm and 230 grams). Their diet consists mainly of fruit but may also include insects (fed to young),[clarification needed] flowers, nectar and leaves in some species. [more]

Ptolemaiidae

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Purgatoriidae

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Pycnonotidae

Bulbuls are a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean There are about 130 species in around 24 genera. While some species are found in most habitats, overall African species are predominately found in rainforest whilst rainforest species are rare in Asia, instead preferring more open areas. The only Bulbul which occurs in Europe was spotted in the Cyclades and bears a yellow patch, being otherwise of a snuffy brown and this is possibly the bird which has got mixed up with the nightingale in Sufi, particularly Persian Sufi, poetry. [more]

Pygopodidae

Pygopodidae (commonly known as legless lizards, snake-lizards or flap-footed lizards) is a family of squamates that have reduced or absent limbs and are related to the geckos. There are at least 35 species in two subfamilies and eight genera. They have unusually long, slender, bodies, giving them a strong resemblance to snakes. Like both snakes and most geckos, they have no eyelids, but unlike snakes, they have external ear-holes and flat, non-forked tongues. They are native to Australia and New Guinea. [more]

Pyrotheriidae

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Quercypsittidae

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Rallidae

The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, although the family is found in every terrestrial habitat except dry deserts, polar regions and alpine areas above the snow line. [more]

Ramphastidae

Toucans are members of the family Ramphastidae of near passerine birds from the Neotropics. The Ramphastidae family is most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and about forty different species. The name of this bird group is derived from the Tupi word tukana, via Portuguese. [more]

Raoellidae

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Raphidae

The Raphinae are a subfamily of extinct flightless birds colloquially called didines or didine birds. They inhabited the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, but became extinct through hunting by humans and predation by introduced non-native mammals following human colonisation in the 17th century. [more]

Rathymotheriidae

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Rauisuchidae

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Rebbachisauridae

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Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups of birds, the avocets (one genus) and the stilts (two genera). [more]

Regulidae

The kinglets or crests are a small group of birds sometimes included in the Old World warblers, but are frequently given family status because they also resemble the titmice. The scientific name Regulidae is derived from the Latin word regulus for "petty king" or prince, and comes from the colored crowns of adult birds. This family has representatives in North America and Eurasia. There are seven species in this family; one, the Madeira Firecrest, Regulus madeirensis, was only recently split from Common Firecrest as a separate species. One species, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, differs sufficiently in its voice and plumage to occasionally be afforded its own genus, Corthylio. [more]

Reigitheriidae

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Reithroparamyidae

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Remingtonocetidae

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Remizidae

The penduline tits are a family of small passerine birds, related to the true tits. All but the Verdin and Fire-capped Tit make elaborate bag nests hanging from trees (whence "penduline", hanging), usually over water; inclusion of the Fire-capped Tit in this family is disputed by some authorities[]. [more]

Rhabdornithidae

The Philippine creepers or rhabdornises are small passerine birds. They are endemic to the Philippines. The group contains a single genus Rhabdornis with three species. They do not migrate, other than to make local movements. [more]

Rhabdosteidae

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Rhamphorhynchidae

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Rheidae

The rheas are ratites (flightless birds, with unkeeled sterna) in the genus Rhea, native to South America. There are two existing species: the Greater or American Rhea and the Lesser or Darwin's Rhea. The genus name was given in 1752 by Paul M?hring and adopted as the English common name. M?hring's named the rhea based on the greek titan Rhea, whose name is derived from the greek Rhea ('??a) by metathesis from ??a "ground". This was fitting, the rhea being a flightless ground bird. Depending on the South American region, the rhea is known locally as ?and? guazu (Guaran?, meaning big spider, most probably in relation to their habit of opening and lowering alternatively wings when they run), ema (Portuguese), suri (Quechua), or choique (Mapudungun). [more]

Rhineuridae

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Rhinocerotidae

Rhinoceros (pronounced ), often abbreviated as rhino, is a group of five extant species of knee-less, odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia. [more]

Rhinocryptidae

The tapaculos are a group of small suboscine passeriform birds with numerous species, found mainly in South America and with the highest diversity in the Andean regions. Three species, the Choco, the Pale-throated and the Silvery-fronted Tapaculo, are found in southern Central America. [more]

Rhinolophidae

Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae) are a family of bats. In addition to the single living genus, Rhinolophus, there is one extinct genus, . The closely related Hipposideridae are sometimes included within the horseshoe bats as a subfamily, Hipposiderinae. Both families are classified in the suborder Yinpterochiroptera or Pteropodiformes and were previously included in Microchiroptera. [more]

Rhinopomastidae

Scimitarbills (also spelt Scimitar-bills) are three species of African bird belonging to the genus Rhinopomastus. They are often classified in the woodhoopoe family Phoeniculidae; however, genetic studies show that they diverged from the true woodhoopoes about 10 million years ago and so they are sometimes placed in a family of their own, the Rhinopomastidae. [more]

Rhinopomatidae

Mouse-tailed bats are a group of insectivorous bats of the family Rhinopomatidae with only three to five species, all contained in the single genus Rhinopoma. They are found in the Old World, from North Africa to Thailand and Sumatra, in arid and semi-arid regions, roosting in caves, houses and even the Egyptian pyramids. They are relatively small, with a body length of just 5 to 6 centimetres. They weigh between 6 to 14 g. [more]

Rhipiduridae

Fantails are small insectivorous birds of southern Asia and Australasia belonging to the genus Rhipidura in the family Rhipiduridae. Most of the species are about 15 to 18 cm long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "fantails", but the Australian Willie Wagtail, is a little larger, and though still an expert hunter of insects on the wing, concentrates equally on terrestrial prey. [more]

Rhizospalacidae

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Rhomaleosauridae

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Rhynchosauridae

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Rhynochetidae

The Kagu or Cagou (Rhynochetos jubatus) is a crested, long-legged, and bluish-grey bird endemic to the dense mountain forests of New Caledonia. It is the only surviving member of the genus Rhynochetos and the family Rhynochetidae, although a second species has been described from the fossil record. Measuring 55 cm (22 in) in length, it has pale grey plumage and bright red legs. Its 'nasal corns' are a unique feature not shared with any other bird. Almost flightless, it a spends its time on or near the ground, where it hunts its invertebrate prey, and builds a nest of sticks on the forest floor. Both parents share incubation of single egg, as well as rearing the chick. It has proved vulnerable to introduced predators, and is threatened with extinction. [more]

Rigalitidae

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Robertiidae

Pylaecephalidae is a family of dicynodont therapsids that includes Diictodon, Robertia, and Prosictodon from the Permian of South Africa. Pylaecephalids were small burrowing dicynodonts with long tusks. The family was first named in 1934 and was redefined in 2009. Diictodontidae and Robertiidae are considered junior synonyms of Pylaecephalidae. [more]

Rostratulidae

Painted-snipes are three distinctive wader species in the family Rostratulidae. The family is composed to two genera, Rostratula and Nycticryphes. The Australian Painted-snipe is often treated as a subspecies of the Greater Painted-snipe, but morphological and genetic differences have resulted in the species being split in recent years. While they superficially resemble true snipes, they are considered to be more closely related to the jacanas. [more]

Rotodactylidae

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Sagittariidae

The Secretarybird or Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savannah of the sub-Sahara. Although a member of the order Accipitriformes, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards, vultures, and harriers, it is given its own family, Sagittariidae. [more]

Saltoposuchidae

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Sanitheriidae

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Scaloposauridae

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Scaniornithidae

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Scelidosauridae

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Scelidotheriidae

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Scincidae

Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae (the "true" or wall lizards), they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha. With about 1200 described species, the Scincidae are the second most diverse family of lizards, exceeded only by the Gekkonidae (or geckos). [more]

Sciuravidae

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Sciuridae

Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots (including woodchucks), flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and have been introduced to Australia. The earliest known squirrels date from the Eocene and are most closely related to the mountain beaver and to the dormouse among living species. [more]

Scleromochlidae

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Scolopacidae

The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. [more]

Scopidae

The Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), also known as Hammerkop, Hammerkopf, Hammerhead, Hammerhead Stork, Umbrette, Umber Bird, Tufted Umber, or Anvilhead, is a medium-sized wading bird (56 cm long, weighing 470 g). The shape of its head with a curved bill and crest at the back is reminiscent of a hammer, hence its name. [more]

Sebecidae

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Selenichnidae

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Sespedectidae

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Shartegosuchidae

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Shastasauridae

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Shuotheriidae

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Sillustaniidae

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Simimyidae

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Simoedosauridae

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Simoliophiidae

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Simosauridae

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Sinemydidae

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Sinoconodontidae

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Sittidae

The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Most species exhibit grey or bluish upperparts and a black eye stripe. [more]

Sloanbaataridae

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Solemydidae

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Solenodontidae

Solenodons (meaning "slotted-tooth") are venomous, nocturnal, burrowing, insectivorous mammals belonging to the family Solenodontidae. Only one genus, Solenodon, is known, although a few other genera were erected at one time and are now regarded as junior synonyms. Solenodontidae is interesting to phylogenetics researchers because of its retention of primitive mammal characteristics; their species resemble very closely those that lived near the end of the age of the dinosaurs. They are one of two families of Caribbean soricomorphs; it is uncertain whether the other family, Nesophontidae, which went extinct during the Holocene, was closely related to solenodons. [more]

Songzidae

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Sophiornithidae

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Soricidae

A shrew or shrew mouse (family Soricidae) is a small molelike mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders. [more]

Spalacotheriidae

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Sparassocynidae

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Sphagesauridae

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Sphenacodontidae

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Spheniscidae

Penguins (order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid, and other forms of sealife caught while swimming underwater. They spend about half of their lives on land and half in the oceans. [more]

Sphenodontidae

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Sphenosuchidae

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Spinosauridae

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Squalodontidae

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Stagodontidae

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Stagonolepididae

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Steatornithidae

The Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis), locally known as the gu?charo, is a bird found in the northern areas of South America (including the island of Trinidad in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago). They are nocturnal feeders on the fruits of the Oil Palm and tropical laurels, and are the only nocturnal fruit eating birds in the world. They forage at night, navigating by echolocation in the same way as bats, but with a high-pitched clicking sound audible to humans. [more]

Stegodontidae

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Stegosauridae

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Stenopterygiidae

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Stercorariidae

The skuas () are a group of seabirds with about seven species forming the family Stercorariidae and the genus Stercorarius. The three smaller skuas are called jaegers in the Americas. [more]

Sternbergiidae

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Stomatosuchidae

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Strigidae

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Struthionidae

Struthio is a genus of bird in the order Struthioniformes. [more]

Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent plumage. Starlings occur naturally in the Old World, from Europe, Asia and Africa, to northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. Several European and Asian species have been introduced to these areas as well as North America, Hawaii and New Zealand, where they generally compete for habitat with native birds and are considered to be invasive species. The starling species familiar to most people in Europe and North America is the European Starling, and throughout much of Asia and the Pacific the Common Myna is indeed common. [more]

Stylinodontidae

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Sudamericidae

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Suidae

Suidae is the biological family to which pigs belong. In addition to numerous fossil species, up to sixteen extant species are currently recognized, classified into between four and eight genera. The family includes the domestic pig, Sus scrofa domesticus or Sus domesticus, in addition to numerous species of wild pig, such as the babirusa Babyrousa babyrussa and the warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus. All suids are native to the Old World, ranging from Asia and its islands, to Europe, and Africa. [more]

Sulidae

The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulids, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula. However, Sula (true boobies) and Morus (gannets) can be readily distinguished by morphological and behavioral and DNA sequence characters. Abbott's Booby (Papasula) is given its own genus as it stands apart from both in these respects. It appears to be a distinct and ancient lineage, maybe closer to the gannets than to the true boobies. [more]

Sylphornithidae

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Sylviidae

Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families. Advances in classification, particularly helped with molecular data, have led to the splitting out of several new families from within this group. Today the smaller family Sylviidae includes the typical warblers in the genus Sylvia, the parrotbills of Asia (formerly a separate family Paradoxornithidae), a number of babblers formerly placed within the family Timaliidae (which is itself currently being split) and the Wrentit, an unusual North American bird that has been a longstanding taxonomic mystery. [more]

Tachyglossidae

Echidnas (), also known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. There are four extant species, which, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs. Although their diet consists largely of ants and termites, they are no more closely related to the true anteaters of the Americas than to any other placental mammal. They live in Australia and New Guinea. The echidnas are named after a monster in ancient Greek mythology. [more]

Taeniolabididae

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Talpidae

The family Talpidae includes the moles, shrew moles, desmans, and other intermediate forms of small insectivorous mammals of the order Soricomorpha. Talpids are all digging animals to various degrees: moles are completely subterranean animals; shew-moles and shrew-like moles somewhat less so; and desmans, while basically aquatic, excavate dry sleeping chambers; whilst the quite unique star-nosed mole is equally adept in the water and underground. Talpids are found across the northern hemisphere and SouthernAsia, Europe, and North America, although there are none in Ireland nor anywhere in the Americas south of northern Mexico. [more]

Tangasauridae

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Tanystropheidae

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Tapejaridae

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Tapinocephalidae

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Tapiridae

A tapir ( TAY-p?r or /t?'p??r/ t?-PEER) is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. The four species of tapirs are: the Brazilian tapir, the Malayan tapir, Baird's tapir and the mountain tapir. All four are classified as endangered or vulnerable. Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates, including horses and rhinoceroses. [more]

Tarsiidae

Tarsiers are haplorrhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all the species living today are found in the islands of Southeast Asia. [more]

Tarsipedidae

The honey possum (Tarsipes rostratus) or tait, its Native Australian name or noolbenger is a tiny Australian marsupial weighing just seven to eleven grams for the male, and eight to sixteen grams for the female?about half the weight of a mouse. Their physical size ranges from a body length of between 6.5 ? 9 cm. They have a typical lifespan of between one and two years. [more]

Tayassuidae

A peccary (plural peccaries; also javelina and skunk pig; Portuguese javali and Spanish jabal?, sajino or pecar?) is a medium-sized mammal of the family Tayassuidae, or New World pigs. Peccaries are members of the artiodactyl suborder Suina, as are the pig family (Suidae) and possibly the hippopotamus family (Hippopotamidae). They are found in the southwestern area of North America and throughout Central and South America. Peccaries usually measure between 90 and 130 centimetres (3.0 and 4.3 ft) in length, and a full-grown adult usually weighs between about 20 to 40 kilograms (44 to 88 lb). The word ?peccary? is derived from the Carib word pakira or paquira. [more]

Teiidae

[more]

Teleosauridae

[more]

Telmabatidae

[more]

Telmatornithidae

[more]

Tenrecidae

Tenrecidae (common name tenrecs) is a family of mammals found on Madagascar and parts of Africa. Tenrecs are widely diverse, resembling hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, mice and even otters, as a result of convergent evolution. They occupy aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial and fossorial environments. Some of these species can be found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests, including the greater hedgehog tenrec. [more]

Teratornithidae

[more]

Testudinidae

Tortoises (, Testudinidae) are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles (Testudines). Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise has both an endoskeleton and an exoskeleton. Tortoises can vary in size from a few centimeters to two meters. Tortoises are usually diurnal animals with tendencies to be crepuscular depending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally reclusive animals. [more]

Tetraonidae

Grouse () are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae. Grouse inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere, from pine forests to moorland and mountainside, from 83? North (Rock Ptarmigan in northern Greenland) to 28? North (Attwater's Prairie Chicken in Texas). Presumably they evolved in this zone. [more]

Tetrapodosauridae

[more]

Thalattosauridae

[more]

Thamnophilidae

[more]

Theridomyidae

[more]

Therizinosauridae

[more]

Theroteinidae

[more]

Thescelosauridae

[more]

Thinocoridae

The seedsnipes are a small family, Thinocoridae, of small gregarious waders which have adapted to a herbivorous diet. The family is divided into two genera, Attagis and Thinocorus, each containing two species. The family has a South American distribution, in the Andean and Patagonian regions. The relationships with other families within the order Charadriiformes are uncertain, it has been suggested that the Plains Wanderer of Australia, the jacanas and the painted snipes are their closest relatives. The Plains Wanderer in particular has a similar feeding ecology, although differs markedly in breeding biology. The family's common name is misleading, as they do not resemble true snipe, having short bills on small heads, and seeds do not form a major part of the diet. [more]

Thraupidae

The tanagers (sg. ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has an American distribution. [more]

Threskiornithidae

The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large wading birds. The family has been traditionally classified into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills, however recent genetic studies are casting doubt on the arrangement, and revealing the spoonbills to be nested within the old world ibises, and the new world ibises as an early offshoot. [more]

Thryonomyidae

The genus Thryonomys, also known as cane rats, grass cutters, or cutting grass, is a genus of rodent found throughout Africa south of the Sahara, the only members of the family Thryonomyidae. They are eaten in some African countries and are a pest species on many crops. [more]

Thylacinidae

The animals in the Thylacinidae family were all carnivorous marsupials from the order Dasyuromorphia. The only recent member was the Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), which became extinct in 1936. The other animals in the group all lived in prehistoric times in Australia. [more]

Thylacoleonidae

[more]

Thylacomyidae

Bilbies are desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. Before European colonisation of Australia, there were two species. One became extinct in the 1950s; the other survives but remains endangered. [more]

Thyropteridae

Disc-winged bats are a small group of bats of the family Thyropteridae. They are found in Central and South America, usually in moist tropical rain forests. It is a very small family, consisting of a single genus with four species. [more]

Tillotheriidae

[more]

Timaliidae

The Old World babblers or timaliids are a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The timaliids are one of two unrelated groups of birds known as babblers, the other being the Australasian Babblers of the family Pomatostomidae (also known as pseudo-babblers). [more]

Tinamidae

The tinamous are a family comprising 47 species of birds found in Central and South America. One of the most ancient living groups of bird, they are related to the ratites. Generally ground dwelling, they are found in a range of habitats. [more]

Tinodontidae

[more]

Titanoideidae

[more]

Titanosauridae

[more]

Titanosuchidae

[more]

Todidae

The todies are a family, Todidae, of Caribbean birds in the order Coraciiformes, which also includes the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. The family has one genus, Todus. These are small near passerine species of forests of the Greater Antilles: Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba with adjacent islands have one species each, and Hispaniola has two, the Broad-billed Tody in the lowlands (including Gon?ve Island) and the Narrow-billed Tody in the highlands. [more]

Tomistomidae

[more]

Torotigidae

[more]

Toxochelyidae

[more]

Toxodontidae

Toxodontidae is an extinct family of notoungulate mammals known from the Oligocene through the Pleistocene of South America, with one genus, Mixotoxodon, also known from the Pleistocene of Central America. They somewhat resembled rhinoceroses, and had teeth with high crowns and open roots, suggesting that they often fed on tough pampas grass. However, isotopic analyses have led to the conclusion that the most recent forms were grazing and browsing generalists. [more]

Tragulidae

Chevrotains, also known as mouse deer, are small ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only members of the infraorder Tragulina. There are 10 living (extant) species in three genera, but there are also several species only known from fossils. The extant species are found in forests in South and Southeast Asia, with a single species in the rainforests of Central and West Africa. They are solitary or live in pairs, and feed almost exclusively on plant material. Depending on exact species, the Asian species weigh between 0.7 and 8.0 kilograms (1.5 and 18 lb), and the smallest species are also the smallest ungulates in the world. The African chevrotain is considerably larger at 7?16 kilograms (15?35 lb). [more]

Traversodontidae

[more]

Trichechidae

Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species in the order Sirenia: the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis), the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), and the West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis). They measure up to 13 feet (4.0 m) long, weigh as much as 1,300 pounds (590 kg), and have paddle-like flippers. The name manat? comes from the Ta?no, a pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean, meaning "breast". [more]

Triconodontidae

[more]

Trigonostylopidae

[more]

Triisodontidae

[more]

Trilophosauridae

Trilophosaurs were lizard-like Triassic diapsid reptiles related to the archosaurs. The best known genus is Trilophosaurus, a herbivore up to 2.5 meters long. It had a short, unusually heavily-built skull, equipped with massive, broad flattened cheek teeth with sharp shearing surfaces for cutting up tough plant material. Teeth are absent from the premaxilla and front of the lower jaw, which in life were probably equipped with a horny beak. [more]

Trionychidae

Trionychidae is a taxonomic family which comprises a number of turtle genera commonly known as softshells. They are also sometimes called pancake turtles. Softshells consist of some of the world's largest fresh water turtles, though many can adapt to living in highly brackish areas. Members of this family occur in Africa, Asia, North America, and Southeast Asia. North American members of genus Trionyx were fairly recently (1987) assigned the resurrected genus name Apalone by Meylan, though they are still listed semi-correctly as Trionyx in some texts. [more]

Tritheledontidae

[more]

Tritylodontidae

[more]

Trochilidae

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5?13 cm (3?5 in) range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12?80 times per second (depending on the species). They are also the only group of birds able to fly backwards. Their English name derives from the characteristic hum made by their rapid wing beats. They can fly at speeds exceeding 15 m/s (54 km/h; 34 mph). [more]

Troglodytidae

The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera. The genus eponymous of the family is Troglodytes. Only the Eurasian Wren occurs in the Old World, where in Anglophone regions it is commonly known simply as the "wren" as it is the originator of the name. The name wren has been applied to other unrelated birds, particularly the New Zealand wrens (Acanthisittidae) and the Australian wrens (Maluridae). [more]

Trogonidae

The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family contains 39 species in eight genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the mid-Eocene. They might constitute a member of the basal radiation of the order Coraciiformes. The word "trogon" is Greek for "nibbling" and refers to the fact that these birds gnaw holes in trees to make their nests. [more]

Trogonophidae

[more]

Troodontidae

[more]

Tropidophiidae

The Tropidophiinae, common name dwarf boas, are a subfamily of snakes found from Mexico and the West Indies south to southeastern Brazil. These are small to medium-sized fossorial snakes, some with beautiful and striking color patterns. Currently, 4 living genera containing 22 species and one extinct genus with one species are recognized. [more]

Tropiduridae

The Tropiduridae is a family of iguanid lizards native to South America and the West Indies. Commonly known as Neotropical ground lizards, most are ground-dwelling animals, and the family includes some lizards adapted to relatively cold climates, including those of the Andes mountains and Tierra del Fuego. Several species give birth to live young. [more]

Tsaganomyidae

[more]

Tupaiidae

Tupaiidae is one of two families of treeshrews, the other family being Ptilocercidae. It contains 4 genera and 19 species. The family name derives from "tupai", the Malay word for treeshrew and also for squirrel (which Tupaiidae superficially resemble). [more]

Turdidae

The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide. [more]

Turnicidae

Buttonquail or hemipodes are members of a small family of birds, Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. They inhabit warm grasslands in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. There are 16 species in two genera, with most species being found in the genus Turnix and only one being found in the genus Ortyxelos. [more]

Typhlopidae

The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel like burrowing structure. They live underground in burrows, and since they have no use for vision, their eyes are mostly vestigial. They have light-detecting black eyespots, and teeth occur in the upper jaw. The tail ends with a horn like scale. Most of these species are oviparous. Currently, 6 genera are recognized containing 203 species. [more]

Tyrannidae

The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with more than 400 species. They are the most diverse avian family in every country in the Americas, except for the United States and Canada. As could be expected from a family this large, the members vary greatly in shape, patterns, size and colors. Some Tyrant flycatchers superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers. They are members of suborder Tyranni (suboscines) that do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of other songbirds. [more]

Tyrannosauridae

[more]

Tytonidae

Barn-owls (family Tytonidae) are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. They also differ from Strigidae in structural details relating in particular to the sternum and feet. [more]

Tytthostonychidae

[more]

Uintatheriidae

[more]

Undetermined

[more]

Upupidae

The Hoopoe () (Upupa epops) is a colorful bird that is found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe of Saint Helena, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies of the Hoopoe is sometimes elevated to a full species. Like the Latin name upupa, the English name is an onomatopoetic form which imitates the cry of the bird. [more]

Uropeltidae

The Uropeltidae are a family of primitive burrowing snakes endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka. The name is derived from the Greek words ura ("tail") and pelte ("shield"), indicating the presence of the large keratinous shield at the tip of the tail. Currently, 8 genera are recognized comprising 47 species. These snakes are nonvenomous. [more]

Ursidae

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found in the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. [more]

Vangidae

The vangas (from vanga, Malagasy for the Hook-billed Vanga, Vanga curvirostris) are a group of little-known small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to Madagascar and the Comoros. They are usually classified as the family Vangidae. There are about 22 species, depending on taxonomy. Most species are shrike-like, arboreal forest birds, feeding on reptiles, frogs and insects. Several other Madagascan birds more similar to Old World warblers, Old World babblers or Old world flycatchers are now often placed in this family. Vangas differ greatly in bill shape and have a variety of foraging methods. Their stick nests are built in trees. They do not migrate. [more]

Varanidae

Varanidae is a group of lizards of the superfamily Varanoidea. The family is a group of carnivorous lizards which includes the largest living lizard, the Komodo dragon, and the crocodile monitor. Varanidae contains the living genus Varanus and a number of extinct taxa. Their closest living relatives are the anguid and helodermatid lizards. [more]

Varanopseidae

[more]

Vespertilionidae

Vesper bats (family Vespertilionidae), also known as evening bats or common bats, are the largest and best-known family of bats. They belong to the suborder Microchiroptera (microbats). Over three hundred species are distributed all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica. It owes its name to the Latin word vespertilio ("bat"), from vesper, meaning "evening". [more]

Vincelestidae

[more]

Viperidae

The Viperidae are a family of venomous snakes found all over the world, except in Antarctica, Australia, Ireland, Madagascar, Hawaii, various other isolated islands, and above the Arctic Circle. All have relatively long, hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of venom. Four subfamilies are currently recognized. They are commonly known as vipers or viperids. [more]

Vireonidae

The vireos () are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds (mostly) restricted to the New World. They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills. They range in size from the Choco Vireo, Dwarf Vireo and Lesser Greenlet, all at around 10 centimeters and 8 grams, to the peppershrikes and shrike-vireos at up to 17 centimeters and 40 grams (Forshaw & Parkes 1991). [more]

Viverravidae

[more]

Viverridae

The family Viverridae is made up of around 30 species of medium-sized mammals, the viverrids, including all of the genets, the binturong, most of the civets, and the two African linsangs. [more]

Vombatidae

Wombats, Australian marsupials, are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately 1 metre (39 in) in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in habitat tolerance, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 ha in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland. [more]

Vulcanodontidae

[more]

Waipatiidae

[more]

Waitsiidae

[more]

Wangliidae

[more]

Weigeltisauridae

[more]

Woutersiidae

[more]

Wynyardiidae

[more]

Xantusiidae

Night lizards (family name Xantusiidae) are a group of very small, viviparous (live-bearing) lizards, averaging from less than 4 cm to over 12 cm long. The family has only three genera, with approximately 23 living species. The genera are divided by geographic range: Xantusia in southwestern North America and Baja California, Cricosaura in Cuba, and Lepidophyma, the most populous night lizard genus, in Central America. [more]

Xenerodiopidae

[more]

Xenopeltidae

The Xenopeltidae are a monotypic family of snakes created to the genus Xenopeltis, which is found in Southeast Asia. Its members are known for their highly iridescent scales. Currently, two species are recognized and no subspecies. [more]

Xenosauridae

The Xenosauridae is a family of lizards native to Central America and China. Also known as knob-scaled lizards, they have rounded, bumpy scales and osteoderms. Most species prefer moist or semi-aquatic habitats, although they are widespread within their native regions, with some even inhabiting semi-arid scrub environments. They are carnivorous or insectivorous, and give birth to live young. [more]

Xiphodontidae

[more]

Yalkaparidontidae

[more]

Yingabalanaridae

[more]

Younginidae

[more]

Yunnanosauridae

[more]

Yuomyidae

[more]

Zalambdalestidae

[more]

Zegdoumyidae

[more]

Zhyraornithidae

[more]

Zosteropidae

The white-eyes are small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Guinea. Discounting some widespread members of the genus Zosterops, most species are endemic to single islands or archipelagos. The Silvereye, Zosterops lateralis, naturally colonised New Zealand, where it is known as the "Wax-eye" or Tauhau ("stranger"), from 1855. The Silvereye has also been introduced to the Society Islands in French Polynesia, while the Japanese White-eye has been introduced to Hawaii. [more]

At least 306 species and subspecies belong to the Family Zosteropidae.

More info about the Family Zosteropidae may be found here.

References

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  1. ^ Benton, Michael J. (1997). Vertebrate Palaeontology. London: Chapman & Hall. pp. 105?109. ISBN 0-412-73810-4. 
  2. ^ Alexander M. Schreiber and Donald D. Brown *. "Tadpole skin dies autonomously in response to thyroid hormone at metamorphosis". Pnas.org. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/100/4/1769. Retrieved 2011-04-25. 
  3. ^ Stewart J. R. (1997): Morphology and evolution of the egg of oviparous amniotes. In: S. Sumida and K. Martin (ed.) Amniote Origins-Completing the Transition to Land (1): 291-326. London: Academic Press.
  4. ^ Cunningham, B.; Huene, E. (Jul.-Aug. 1938). "Further Studies on Water Absorption by Reptile Eggs". The American Naturalist 72 (741): 380?385. doi:10.1086/280791. JSTOR 2457547. 
  5. ^ Lombard, R. E. & Bolt, J. R. (1979): Evolution of the tetrapod ear: an analysis and reinterpretation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society No 11: pp 19?76 Abstract
  6. ^ a b Romer, A.S. & Parsons, T.S. (1985): The Vertebrate Body. (6th ed.) Saunders, Philadelphia.
  7. ^ a b Gauthier, J., Kluge, A.G. and Rowe, T. (1988). "The early evolution of the Amniota." Pp. 103-155 in Benton, M.J. (ed.), The phylogeny and classification of the tetrapods, Volume 1: amphibians, reptiles, birds. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  8. ^ Lee, M.S.Y. & Spencer, P.S. (1997): Crown clades, key characters and taxonomic stability: when is an amniote not an amniote? In: Sumida S.S. & Martin K.L.M. (eds.) Amniote Origins: completing the transition to land. Academic Press, pp 61-84. Google books
  9. ^ Carroll, R. L. (1988), Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, WH Freeman & Co.
  10. ^ Hildebrand, M. & G. E. Goslow, Jr. Principal ill. Viola Hildebrand. (2001). Analysis of vertebrate structure. New York: Wiley. p. 429. ISBN 0471295051. 
  11. ^ Colbert, E.H. & Morales, M. (2001): Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates: A History of the Backboned Animals Through Time. 4th edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York ? ISBN 978-0-471-38461-8.
  12. ^ Benton, M.J. (2004). Vertebrate Pa leontology. Blackwell Publishers. xii-452. ISBN 0-632-05614-2. 
  13. ^ Laurin, M. and Reisz, R.R. (1995). "A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 113: 165-223.

Bibliography

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  • Gracenea M, Gómez MS, Fernández J, Feliu C, Journal of medical primatology. 1998 Feb;27(1):38-43.
  • Hershkovitz, P., Catalog of Living Whales, United States National Museum Bulletin 246, p. 6, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 1966
  • Nofre C, Tinti JM, Glaser D, Chemical senses. 1996 Dec;21(6):747-62.
  • Pence DB, Gray PN, Journal of medical entomology. 1996 Sep;33(5):772-6.

Footnotes

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  1. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=22800
  2. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=105462
  3. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=113670
  4. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=113682
  5. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=21534
  6. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=106011
  7. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=113649
  8. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=113676
  9. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=113669
  10. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=22759
  11. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=21570

Sources

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  • The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Wednesday, April 25, 2012.
  • Photographs on this page are copyrighted by individual photographers, and individual copyrights apply.
  • The technology underlying this page, including the controls behind Keep Exploring, is owned by the BayScience Foundation. All rights are reserved.
Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 13:05:04