Animals That Start With D

36 animals Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 36 animals that start with D, 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.

D offers 36 animals, and familiar mammals dominate: dog, deer, donkey, dolphin and dingo. Dog breeds add the dalmatian and dachshund, which are fun names for kids to sound out.

Some D entries are rare even for animal lovers. The dodo is an extinct flightless bird, the dugong is a sea mammal related to the manatee, and the dik-dik is a tiny African antelope. The dromedary is the camel with one hump. Insects round out the page with the dragonfly and dung beetle.

Animals starting with D: 36
Best known: dog, duck
Longest name: desert tortoise
Most are: mammals

Best-known animals that start with D

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

dog
duck
deer
dinosaur
dolphin
dove
donkey
dragonfly
dodo
dingo
dalmatian
dachshund
dromedary
dhole
dik-dik
dormouse
dugong

All animals that start with D

#	Name	What it is	Type
1	dace	small European freshwater fish with a slender bluish-green body	fish
2	dachshund	small long-bodied short-legged German breed of dog having a short sleek coat and long drooping ears	mammal
3	dalmatian	a large breed having a smooth white coat with black or brown spots; originated in Dalmatia	mammal
4	daphnia	minute freshwater crustacean having a round body enclosed in a transparent shell	crustacean
5	darter	fish-eating bird of warm inland waters having a long flexible neck and slender sharp-pointed bill	bird
6	deer	distinguished from Bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers	mammal
7	deer mouse	brownish New World mouse; most widely distributed member of the genus	mammal
8	deer tick	a northeastern tick now recognized as same species as Ixodes scapularis	spider or scorpion
9	desert tortoise	burrowing tortoise of the arid western United States and northern Mexico	reptile
10	dhole	wild dog of Asia that hunts in packs	mammal
11	diamondback	large deadly rattlesnake with diamond-shaped markings	reptile
12	digger wasp	solitary wasp that digs nests in the soil and stocks them with paralyzed insects for the larvae	insect
13	dik-dik	tiny African antelope with large eyes	mammal
14	dingo	wolflike yellowish-brown wild dog of Australia	mammal
15	dinosaur	any of numerous extinct terrestrial reptiles of the Mesozoic era	reptile
16	dipper	small North American diving duck; males have bushy head plumage	bird
17	dobson fly	large soft-bodied insect having long slender mandibles in the male; aquatic larvae often used as bait	insect
18	dodo	extinct heavy flightless bird of Mauritius related to pigeons	bird
19	doe	mature female of mammals of which the male is called `buck'	mammal
20	dog	a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since...	mammal
21	dog flea	flea that attacks dogs and cats	insect
22	dogfish	primitive long-bodied carnivorous freshwater fish with a very long dorsal fin; found in sluggish waters of North America	fish
23	dolphin	any of various small toothed whales with a beaklike snout; larger than porpoises	mammal
24	donkey	domestic beast of burden descended from the African wild ass; patient but stubborn	mammal
25	dormouse	small furry rodent known for its long hibernation	mammal
26	dory	marine fishes widely distributed in mid-waters and deep slope waters	fish
27	dove	any of numerous small pigeons	bird
28	draft horse	horse adapted for drawing heavy loads	mammal
29	dragonfly	slender-bodied non-stinging insect having iridescent wings that are outspread at rest	insect
30	drake	adult male of a wild or domestic duck	bird
31	drill	similar to the mandrill but smaller and less brightly colored	mammal
32	driver ant	tropical nomadic ant that preys mainly on other insects	insect
33	dromedary	one-humped camel of the hot deserts of northern Africa and southwestern Asia	mammal
34	duck	small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs	bird
35	dugong	large plant-eating sea mammal related to the manatee	mammal
36	dung beetle	any of numerous beetles that roll balls of dung on which they feed and in which they lay eggs	insect

Mammals that start with D

dog
deer
dolphin
donkey
dingo
dalmatian
dachshund
dromedary
dhole
dik-dik
dormouse
dugong
drill
doe
draft horse
deer mouse

Birds that start with D

duck
dove
dodo
drake
dipper
darter

Fish that start with D

dory
dogfish
dace

Reptiles that start with D

dinosaur
diamondback
desert tortoise

Insects that start with D

dragonfly
driver ant
dog flea
dung beetle
digger wasp
dobson fly

Questions people ask

How many animals start with D?

This list has 36 animals starting with D, from well-known ones like dog, duck, deer to rarer kinds.

What animals start with D?

Well-known examples are dog, duck, deer, dinosaur, dolphin, dove, donkey, dragonfly.

What mammals start with D?

dog, deer, dolphin, donkey, dingo.

What birds start with D?

duck, dove, dodo, drake, dipper.

What fish start with D?

dory, dogfish, dace.

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