Animals That Start With A

48 animals Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 48 animals that start with A, each with a one-line description so you can tell what it is. The best-known ones come first, then the full list in A to Z order.

A is a wonderfully mixed letter, with 48 animals spread across mammals, birds, fish, insects, reptiles and amphibians. Ant, ape and alligator are the easy wins for small children, and alpaca and armadillo are favourites in picture books.

Some entries are real surprises. The axolotl is a salamander from Mexican mountain lakes that keeps its larval form, and the aardvark is a burrowing night feeder of African grasslands. The arctic tern is known for a very long yearly migration. Watch for paired names too, such as anteater and army ant.

Animals starting with A: 48
Best known: ant, ape
Longest name: antelope squirrel
Most are: mammals

Best-known animals that start with A

The ones most people will recognise, good for school lists, quizzes and games.

ant
ape
alligator
antelope
anaconda
albatross
alpaca
armadillo
adder
anchovy
aardvark
aphid
army ant
anteater
axolotl
angelfish
anglerfish
arctic fox
arctic tern
avocet

All animals that start with A

#	Name	What it is	Type
1	aardvark	nocturnal burrowing mammal of the grasslands of Africa that feeds on termites	mammal
2	abalone	any of various large edible marine gastropods of the genus Haliotis having an ear-shaped shell with pearly interior	mollusc
3	adder	small terrestrial viper common in northern Eurasia	reptile
4	adjutant bird	large Indian stork with a military gait	bird
5	admiral	any of several brightly colored butterflies	insect
6	ai	a sloth that has three long claws on each forefoot and each hindfoot	mammal
7	albacore	large pelagic tuna the source of most canned tuna	fish
8	albatross	large web-footed birds of the southern hemisphere having long narrow wings; noted for powerful gliding flight	bird
9	alligator	either of two amphibious reptiles related to crocodiles but with shorter broader snouts	reptile
10	alligator lizard	slim short-limbed lizard having a distinctive fold on each side that permits expansion; of western North America	reptile
11	alligator snapper	large species having three ridges on its back; found in southeastern United States	reptile
12	almond moth	a moth whose larvae feed on and mat together with webbing various stored products of vegetable origin	insect
13	alpaca	domesticated llama with long silky fleece; believed to be a domesticated variety of the guanaco	mammal
14	amphibian	cold-blooded vertebrate typically living on land but breeding in water	amphibian
15	anaconda	large arboreal boa of tropical South America	reptile
16	anchovy	small herring-like plankton-eating fishes often canned whole or as paste; abundant in tropical waters worldwide	fish
17	anemone	marine polyps that resemble flowers but have oral rings of tentacles; differ from corals in forming no hard skeleton	other
18	angel shark	sharks with broad flat bodies and winglike pectoral fins but that swim the way sharks do	fish
19	angelfish	colorful flat-bodied fish often kept in aquariums	fish
20	anglerfish	deep-sea fish that lures prey with a glowing lure	fish
21	ani	black tropical American cuckoo	bird
22	ant	social insect living in organized colonies	insect
23	ant bird	any of various dull-colored South American birds that feeding on ants some following army ant swarms	bird
24	ant lion	the larva of any of several insects	insect
25	anteater	toothless mammal of southern Africa and Asia having a body covered with horny scales and a long snout for feeding on...	mammal
26	antelope	graceful Old World ruminant with long legs and horns directed upward and backward	mammal
27	antelope squirrel	small ground squirrel of western United States	mammal
28	ape	any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all	mammal
29	aphid	any of various small plant-sucking insects	insect
30	arachnid	air-breathing arthropods characterized by simple eyes and four pairs of legs	spider or scorpion
31	archaeopteryx	extinct primitive toothed bird of the Jurassic period having a long feathered tail and hollow bones	bird
32	arctic fox	fox of the far north with thick white winter fur	mammal
33	arctic tern	seabird famous for the longest yearly migration	other
34	argus pheasant	large brilliantly patterned East Indian pheasant	bird
35	ark shell	marine bivalve mollusk having a heavy toothed shell with a deep boat-like inner surface	mollusc
36	armadillo	burrowing chiefly nocturnal mammal with body covered with strong horny plates	mammal
37	armored catfish	South American catfish having the body covered with bony plates	fish
38	army ant	tropical nomadic ant that preys mainly on other insects	insect
39	army worm	noctuid moth larvae that travel in multitudes destroying especially grass and grain	other
40	arthropod	invertebrate having jointed limbs and a segmented body with an exoskeleton made of chitin	other
41	asp	cobra used by the Pharaohs as a symbol of their power over life and death	reptile
42	asp viper	of southern Europe; similar to but smaller than the adder	reptile
43	assassin bug	a true bug: long-legged predacious bug living mostly on other insects; a few suck blood of mammals	insect
44	atlas moth	giant saturniid moth widespread in Asia; sometimes cultured for silk	insect
45	auk	black-and-white short-necked web-footed diving bird of northern seas	bird
46	avocet	wading bird with long legs and an upturned bill	bird
47	axolotl	larval salamander of mountain lakes of Mexico that usually lives without metamorphosing	amphibian
48	aye-aye	nocturnal lemur with long bony fingers and rodent-like incisor teeth closely related to the lemurs	mammal

Mammals that start with A

ape
antelope
alpaca
armadillo
aardvark
anteater
arctic fox
ai
aye-aye
antelope squirrel

Birds that start with A

albatross
avocet
ani
ant bird
auk
archaeopteryx
adjutant bird
argus pheasant

Fish that start with A

anchovy
angelfish
anglerfish
angel shark
albacore
armored catfish

Reptiles that start with A

alligator
anaconda
adder
asp
alligator lizard
asp viper
alligator snapper

Amphibians that start with A

axolotl
amphibian

Insects that start with A

ant
aphid
army ant
admiral
ant lion
assassin bug
almond moth
atlas moth

Molluscs that start with A

abalone
ark shell

Other animals that start with A

arctic tern
anemone
arthropod
army worm

Filter all 48 animals that start with A

Narrow the full list by ending, letters inside and length. The list updates as you type.

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Questions people ask

How many animals start with A?

This list has 48 animals starting with A, from well-known ones like ant, ape, alligator to rarer kinds.

What animals start with A?

Well-known examples are ant, ape, alligator, antelope, anaconda, albatross, alpaca, armadillo.

What mammals start with A?

ape, antelope, alpaca, armadillo, aardvark.

What birds start with A?

albatross, avocet, ani, ant bird, auk.

What fish start with A?

anchovy, angelfish, anglerfish, angel shark, albacore.

Source: Princeton WordNet, a public dictionary database, reviewed by our editors to keep only clear, real members of the list. Meanings are short dictionary glosses.

See every letter on one page: animals A to Z