Trying to think of some animals that start with “A” but can’t come up with any? There are lots of interesting and fascinating animals whose names begin with “A.”
From Alligators to Atlas moths, we’ve compiled a detailed and extensive list of these animals, including astonishing facts and other important information.
We hope you will enjoy this article about animals that start with “A.” Let’s dive in…
Animals That Start With A
1. Alligators
Alligators are big reptiles that live underwater. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals with dry, scaly skin that lay soft-shelled eggs on land. Snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles are also reptiles. Alligators have sharp teeth, a strong bite, and spend a lot of time in freshwater, found in rivers, lakes, and ponds. They make hissing and bellowing sounds.
Fun fact: Alligators can grow up to 13 feet (4 meters) long. That’s as long as a small car!
2. Anteater
Anteaters are quite strange-looking mammals. They have a long, thin snout or nose that looks a bit like a tube stuck on the end of a long head. They also have a very bushy tail and long claws on their front feet. There are different species of anteaters and they are usually found throughout Central and South America. They live in wetlands, grasslands, and tropical forests. As their name suggests, they eat ants and termites. They have very long tongues to help them lap up 35,000 ants and termites a day!
Fun fact: Anteaters don’t have any teeth, so they squish the ants against the roof of their mouths before swallowing them.
3. Aardwolf
The Aardwolf is an insectivorous species of hyena, native to East and Southern Africa. Unlike many of its relatives in the order Carnivora, the aardwolf does not hunt large animals. Instead, it eats insects and their larvae, mainly termites. They are shy and nocturnal animals that sleep in burrows by day. Their dens are usually abandoned aardvark, springhare, or porcupine dens. On occasion, they find shelter in crevices in rocks.
Fun fact: One aardwolf can lap up as many as 250,000 termites during a single night using its long, sticky tongue.
4. Arctic Fox
Arctic foxes are small, adorable animals and have natural adaptations protecting them from predators and frigid temperatures. They are usually found in North America, Eurasia, and the Arctic region. They are also Iceland’s only native mammal. The species diverged from domesticated dogs about 12 million years ago.
Fun fact: They can trek up to 155 kilometers in a single day and are extraordinarily fast animals, sprinting up to 50 km/h when avoiding predators or chasing prey.
5. Archelon Turtle
The Archelon is an extinct marine turtle from the Late Cretaceous. This animal lived around 66-83.6 million years ago. It weighed up to 5000 lbs and measured up to 13.1 ft from nose to tail and 16 ft wide. Although its shell looked much like that of modern sea turtles, it was more leathery than hardened. It is also believed that this shell had 1-2 inch ridges on it. The marine animal had a hooked beak like a parrot, with crushing jaws and strong front feet that were able to pull its mass through the water like paddles.
Fun fact: Archelons are the largest turtles to have ever lived in the world.
6. Arabian Cobra
The Arabian Cobra is the only true Cobra species found in the Arabian Peninsula. It is a venomous snake that preys on rodents and birds and has a length of up to 8 feet. Its venom is considered to be very dangerous. Symptoms of its bite may include pain, swelling, necrosis, and even paralysis. Several deaths have been known to occur from its venom.
This snake is found in the deserts, hills, and plains throughout the western and southern portions of the Arabian Peninsula. It often forages during the day and lives in close proximity to a body of water.
Fun fact: It flicks out its tongue to gather odor molecules in the air. It has an organ located on the roof of the mouth to sense these odors.
7. Appenzeller Sennenhund
The Appenzeller Sennenhund is a colorful, energetic dog originally bred to herd cattle. They are categorized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) as herding dogs. They’re bright, affectionate canines with a strong instinct to protect their territory. These dogs are native to Switzerland and are also known as mountain dogs.
Fun fact: The Appenzeller Sennenhunds are part of rescue teams that search for travelers who become lost or injured on the Swiss Alps.
8. Arctic Hare
The Arctic Hare or the Polar Hare is the largest of all hares in North America. It is found in the North American region of the Arctic and its habitat is the tundra and rocky regions of the Arctic. It weighs around 12 pounds and can reach speeds up to 60 km/h when running with all four feet on the ground.
Fun fact: While this hare is brown or blue-gray in the summer, its coat turns white in the winter to help camouflage itself in the snow. In the northernmost parts of their range, they are white all year.
9. Asian Palm Civet
The Asian Palm Civet, also known as a toddy cat, is a viverrid with an elongated body and snout with sharp, pointed teeth. This animal occupies a broad range that stretches across much of Southern Asia, from India to China. These creatures are most closely related to mongeese and weasels. Civets climb trees both to escape from predators and to hunt.
Fun fact: Although the animal is a carnivore, its diet also includes pulpy fruits, berries, and coffee.
10. Afghan Hound
The Afghan Hound is a breed of dog native to Afghanistan. This dog has been bred since ancient times, originally for hunting and herding purposes. It is said that this dog can be as fast as a racehorse. The Afghan Hound also has excellent vision that helps it locate its prey, along with its swift speed. These dogs weigh about 50-60 lbs and have an average height of 25-27 inches.
Fun fact: This ancient breed is believed to be one of the oldest purebred dogs, with some claiming that a pair of Afghan Hounds were on Noah’s Ark.
11. Atlas Moth
The Atlas Moth is the second-largest moth species in the world found in the tropical forests of Asia. It is known for its short lifespan, large wings that resemble a snake, and unique brown and white markings. Atlas Moths only live for a few days to a few weeks; once they mate, they die. Before they are moths, they have other life cycle stages such as eggs, larvae, and a pupa.
Fun fact: These moths don’t eat anything in their entire lifespan as a moth. They don’t have the usual proboscis moths use to drink nectar from flowers so they live off of fat that they stored as larvae. They only live from 7-14 days in the moth stage.
12. American Foxhound
The American Foxhound is a breed of dog native to the United States. These dogs have an average weight of 50-60 lbs and an average lifespan of 12-14 years. They have an incredible sense of smell to pick up any scent and remember it, and they have a strong, prominent neck.
Fun fact: The American Foxhound is the state dog of Virginia.
13. Asian Water Monitor
The Asian Water Monitor is a type of lizard found in the tropics, wetlands, and Mangrove swamps of Southeast Asia. Its diet includes rodents, frogs, young crocodiles, and even dead human or animal bodies. It can weigh up to 45 lbs and has a length of about 8-9 feet.
Fun fact: It is the second heaviest and third longest lizard in the whole world.
14. Australian Flathead Perch
The Australian flathead perch are small reef fish from northern Australia. They live in the rocky coral reefs of Australia. Its head is flattened into a triangular point like a pencil. The fish is a dark-orange in color and can grow up to 5 cm in length, with the largest ever recorded reaching 15 cm or almost 6 inches. It preys on small oceanic creatures such as shrimps, plankton, and copepods.
Fun fact: This small fish fetches a high price tag, with individual fish retailing for $5000.
15. Aussiedor
The Aussiedor is an Australian breed of dog, bred as a working dog through cross-breeding the Australian Shepherd and the Labrador. Due to being a hybrid, this breed has fewer health complications than other dogs. These dogs have an average height of 20-25 inches and an average weight of 50-80 lbs. They are very affectionate and intelligent and have a gentle and kind temperament.
Fun fact: Aussiedors come in black, brow
Here’s a full list of animals that start with A
- Aardvark
- Aardwolf
- Abyssinian
- Abyssinian Guinea Pig
- Acadian Flycatcher
- Achrioptera Manga
- Ackie Monitor
- Addax
- Adelie Penguin
- Admiral Butterfly
- Aesculapian Snake
- Affenpinscher
- Afghan Hound
- African Bullfrog
- African Bush Elephant
- African Civet
- African Clawed Frog
- African Fish Eagle
- African Forest Elephant
- African Golden Cat
- African Grey Parrot
- African Jacana
- African Palm Civet
- African Penguin
- African Sugarcane Borer
- African Tree Toad
- African Wild Dog
- Africanized bee (killer bee)
- Agama Lizard
- Agkistrodon Contortrix
- Agouti
- Aidi
- Ainu
- Airedale Terrier
- Airedoodle
- Akbash
- Akita
- Akita Shepherd
- Alabai (Central Asian Shepherd)
- Alaskan Husky
- Alaskan Klee Kai
- Alaskan Malamute
- Alaskan Pollock
- Alaskan Shepherd
- Albacore Tuna
- Albatross
- Albertonectes
- Albino (Amelanistic) Corn Snake
- Aldabra Giant Tortoise
- Alligator Gar
- Allosaurus
- Allosaurus
- Alpaca
- Alpine Dachsbracke
- Alpine Goat
- Alusky
- Amano Shrimp
- Amargasaurus
- Amazon Parrot
- Amazon River Dolphin (Pink Dolphin)
- Amazon Tree Boa
- Amazonian Royal Flycatcher
- Amberjack
- Ambrosia Beetle
- American Alligator
- American Alsatian
- American Bulldog
- American Bully
- American Cocker Spaniel
- American Cockroach
- American Coonhound
- American Dog Tick
- American Eel
- American Eskimo Dog
- American Foxhound
- American Hairless Terrier
- American Leopard Hound
- American Paddlefish
- American Pit Bull Terrier
- American Pugabull
- American Pygmy Goat
- American Robin
- American Staffordshire Terrier
- American Toad
- American Water Spaniel
- American Wirehair
- Amethystine Python (Scrub Python)
- Amphicoelias Fragillimus
- Amur Leopard
- Anaconda
- Anatolian Shepherd Dog
- Anchovies
- Andrewsarchus
- Angelfish
- Angelshark
- Angled Sunbeam Caterpillar
- Anglerfish
- Angora Ferret
- Angora Goat
- Anhinga
- Anna’s Hummingbird
- Anole Lizard
- Anomalocaris
- Ant
- Antarctic Scale Worm
- Anteater
- Antelope
- Anteosaurus
- Antiguan Racer Snake
- Ape
- Apennine Wolf
- Appenzeller Dog
- Apple Head Chihuahua
- Apple Moth
- Arabian Cobra
- Arabian Wolf
- Arafura File Snake
- Arambourgiania
- Arapaima
- Archaeoindris
- Archaeopteryx
- Archaeotherium
- Archelon Turtle
- Archerfish
- Arctic Char
- Arctic Fox
- Arctic Hare
- Arctic Wolf
- Arctodus
- Arctotherium
- Argentavis Magnificens
- Argentine Black and White Tegu
- Argentine Horned Frog
- Argentinosaurus
- Arizona Bark Scorpion
- Arizona Black Rattlesnake
- Arizona Blonde Tarantula
- Arizona Coral Snake
- Armadillo
- Armadillo Lizard
- Armenian Gampr
- Armored Catfish
- Armyworm
- Arsinoitherium
- Arthropleura
- Aruba Rattlesnake
- Ashy Mining Bee
- Asian Arowana
- Asian Carp
- Asian Cockroach
- Asian Elephant
- Asian Giant Hornet
- Asian Lady Beetle
- Asian Longhorn Beetle
- Asian Palm Civet
- Asian Vine Snake
- Asian Water Monitor
- Asiatic Black Bear
- Asp
- Asp Caterpillar
- Assassin Bug
- Assassin Snail
- Atlantic Cod
- Atlantic Salmon
- Atlantic Sturgeon
- Atlas Beetle
- Atlas Moth
- Aurochs
- Aussiedoodle
- Aussiedor
- Aussiepom
- Australian Bulldog
- Australian Cattle Dog
- Australian Cockroach
- Australian Firehawk
- Australian Flathead Perch
- Australian Gecko
- Australian Kelpie Dog
- Australian Labradoodle
- Australian Mist
- Australian Retriever
- Australian Shepherd
- Australian Shepherd Mix
- Australian Terrier
- Australopithecus
- Avocet
- Axanthic Ball Python
- Axolotl
- Ayam Cemani
- Aye-aye
- Azawakh
Jump to any letter
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z