There are numerous fascinating animals whose names start with the letter X. We have created a comprehensive list of these animals that includes fascinating information, scientific names, and localities.
1. Xalda Sheep
Xalda Sheep, or Ovejaxalda, is found in Northern Spain. These have been around long, dating back to 27 BC. They were popular in this region, with a number of about 6000. However, they are currently viewed as endangered and on the verge of extinction.
Fun Fact: The Asturi tribe used to make black tunics out of the Xalda’s wool.
2. Xuthus Swallowtail
Xuthus Swallowtail is a mid-sized butterfly in North-East Asia. This beautiful butterfly is characterized by genetic diversity, having a high inclination to parent pair. It has a wingspan of 90 to 110 mm. Its usual color pattern consists of a black pattern on a yellow background.
Fun Fact: They are one of the few butterflies that can mate and reproduce multiple times.
3. Xoloitzcuintli
Xoloitzcuintlis are also called Hairless Mexican dogs. It is the national dog of Mexico. These are among the first few breeds ever recalled by the American Kennel Club in 1887 and finally achieved AKC recognition in 2011. Dating back about 3,000 years, the Xolo has a long and fascinating history. It was often common practice to sacrifice and bury the dog in its owner’s tomb.
Fun Fact: The reports of Aztec history say that the Xoloitzcuintli came from a sliver of the Bone of Life, giving rise to all humanity.
4. Xylophagous Leafhopper
Xylophagous Leafhopper, or Homalodisca vitripennis, is an infamous bug that initiated Pierce’s disease outbreak in Temecula, California. The locals like to call them the glassy-winged sharpshooter. They are 12-14 mm long and easily seen with the naked eye. They are dark- brown to black with yellow dots on their head and body (thorax). Their wings are translucent with distinct reddish veins visible.
Fun Fact: They can live in temperatures that are as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. X-ray Tetra
X-ray Tetra is a small species of schooling fish naturally found in South America’s Amazon River’s coastal waters. The X-Ray Tetra fish is also called the Golden Pristella Tetra or the Water Goldfinch because of the faint golden coloration of their translucent skin.
Fun Fact: These fish are incredibly peaceful and tolerant.
6. Xinjiang Ground Jay
Being a distinctive member of the Corvidae family, these are a group of slender and small-sized birds. Ground jays are classified as near-threatened because there are only a few surviving members worldwide. These birds run swiftly, chasing down invertebrates and reptiles. They inhabit dry, open areas and expansive scrub.
Fun Fact: The Xinjiang bird is only as large as an adult’s human hand.
7. Xiphactinus
Xiphactinus, or Xiphactinus audax, was one of the greedy sea creatures living in the Western Interior Seaway. These are an extinct genus of bony fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous. Only two species have been identified in this genus. One of them had reached lengths of up to 20 feet and weighed up to half a ton.
Fun Fact: Xiphactinus used to be the largest bony fish of the Cretaceous Period.
8. Xenops
Xenops is a passerine bird breeds in Mexico’s moist lowland forests. This species has a rare moustachial stripe wrapping around the lower auriculars. These birds are characterized by their small size, relatively long tails, thin but deep bills, and brown / rufous-brown coloration. They move in all directions over the surface of trees while foraging for insects.
Fun Fact: Due to their small size, they are rare to spot and often overlooked
9. Xestochilus
Xestochilus, or Xestochilus nebulosus, is an eel genus in the family of Ophichthidae. Lives in the indo-pacific ocean in 2 to 42 meters deep waters. These nebulosus snake eels are found in tidepools, weed bottoms, and sand inside tropical waters. They are characterized by a whitish head with black-edged sensory and lateral-line pores, grading to blotchy reddish to dusky brown or blackish on the body.
Fun Fact: Though they look dangerous, Xestochilus nebulosus poses no harm to humans.
10. Xenurus
Xenurus, or Xenurusunicinctus, also known as the southern naked-tailed armadillo, are well-loved animals. They rarely see above ground as they spend much of their time underground. They even build caverns underground, complete with all the necessities they need to survive.
Fun fact: Since they spend lots of time underground, they have excellent eyesight.
11. Xenarthra
Xenarthra is a major clade of placental mammals native to the Americas. Xenarthrans originated in South America about 60 million years ago during the late Palaeocene. There are 31 living species of this mammal in the world. The Xenarthra bear several unique anatomic traits, such as additional (xenarthrans) joints of lumbar vertebrae, the fusion of the ischium to the anterior caudal vertebrae, extensive retia mirabile in the limbs, and a few others.
Fun Fact: The Xenarthra features an extra joint that aids food hunting.
12. Xiphosura
Xiphosura is an order of arthropods related to arachnids. Locals are more used to knowing them as horseshoe crabs. They first appeared in the Hirnantian. Currently, there are only four living species of Xiphosura. All of them have two main body parts, the prosoma (head) and the opisthosoma (a body composed of multiple plates for breathing).
Fun Fact: The blood of horseshoe crabs is essential to the medical field. That’s because of its ability to identify bacterial contamination in minute quantities.
13. Xeme
Xeme is a tiny gull. It is the only species in the genus Xema. They typically reside on the Arctic coasts and tundra. They are also known as the fork-tailed gull or sabine’s gull. It reproduces in colonies on coasts and tundra and can lay two or three spotted olive-brown eggs in a grounded nest bordered with grass. This gull is pelagic outside the breeding season.
Fun Fact: When a single Xeme male and female pair up, they become mating partners for life.
14. Xerus
Xerus are squirrels found in African caves. They are known as African ground squirrels and can be found in South Africa. The upper parts are cinnamon-colored with a lateral white stripe on either side of the body. White underparts and the distinctive bushy fan-like tail have black-based, white-tipped hairs.
Fun Fact: These squirrels mate all around the year rather than in a single season.
15. Xingu Corydoras
Xingu Corydoras is a tropical freshwater fish that belongs to the family Callichthyidae. Its origins are inland waters of South America and in Brazil’s upper Xingu River basin. It is named for the river in which it is located. They are omnivores that feed on both plants and animals.
Fun Fact: The Xingu females lay their eggs all over the river when spawning.
16. Xantus Murrelet
Xantus Murrelet is a small seabird found in the California Current system in the Pacific Ocean. This auk breeds on islands off California and Mexico. Additionally, they are particular types of seabirds that fish in pairs. However, It is threatened by predators introduced to its breeding colonies and oil spills.
Fun Fact: The Xantus Murrelet is considered one of the most endangered species on earth.
17. Xantus Leaf-Toed Gecko
Xantus Leaf-toed Gecko, or Phyllodactylus anti, is a species of lizard in the family Phyllodactylidae. It is endemic to northwestern Mexico. It loves places where shrublands are abundant. Additionally, the leaf-toed geckos are a highly-reproductive group. A female gecko is able to lay up to 20 eggs in one cycle.
Fun Fact: The Xantus Leaf-toed gecko protects itself against predators by losing its vulnerable tail.
18. Xantus’s Hummingbird
Xantus’s Hummingbird, or Basilinnaxantusii, is endemic to the Baja California Peninsula. Previously known as the black-fronted hummingbird, Xantus’s Hummingbird is a rare bird. They are green-colored birds with black cheeks. They have a unique white stripe behind their eyes. The Xantus’s birds are nectar-loving birds with loud and metallic voices.
Fun Fact: The Xantus’s hummingbirds only grow to about 9cm long.
19. Xanthippe’s Shrew
Xanthippe’s Shrew, or Crocidura Xantippe, is a mammal found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitats include dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Xanthippe’s shrew is a mole that bears semblance to a rodent. They are omnivores that feed on plants and other small animals, including worms, slugs, and snails.
Fun Fact: The shrews’ offspring become independent three weeks after birth.
20. Xingu River Ray
Xingu River Ray is a freshwater cartilaginous fish from the Potamotrygonidae family. This species is found in the Brazilian Xingu River Basin. The fish’s mouth and gills are linked to the belly. When Xingu rays are young, they are likely to be black, white, or grey. The spotted color only starts to appear as they age.
Fun Fact: The white-blotched river stingray reproduces faster than other freshwater stingrays.
Wrapping Up
We hope you enjoyed reading our article and could find any animals that start with X that you were looking for.
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