Animals That Start With M

97 animals Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 97 animals that start with M, 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.

Ninety-seven animals open with M, and mammals clearly lead. Mouse, monkey, moose and mole are short and simple, while the mammoth reminds kids that some animals are long gone.

The word mountain builds names like mountain lion and mountain goat. Monkeys come in several forms, from the marmoset to the mandrill. Sea life adds the manatee, mussel and moray, and the mudskipper is a fish that can spend time out of water. The meerkat is a firm favourite for younger readers.

Animals starting with M: 97
Best known: mouse, monkey
Longest name: monarch butterfly
Most are: mammals

Best-known animals that start with M

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

mouse
monkey
mole
moose
mosquito
moth
mule
mammoth
mink
mantis
mackerel
marlin
mockingbird
magpie
mallard
mountain lion
manatee
mussel
mongoose
mountain goat
meerkat
muskrat
macaw
monarch butterfly
marmoset
mandrill
monk seal
mudskipper
myna

All animals that start with M

#	Name	What it is	Type
1	macaque	short-tailed monkey of rocky regions of Asia and Africa	mammal
2	macaw	long-tailed brilliantly colored parrot of Central America and South America; among the largest and showiest of parrots	bird
3	mackerel	any of various fishes of the family Scombridae	fish
4	mackerel shark	fierce pelagic and oceanic sharks	fish
5	maggot	the larva of the housefly and blowfly commonly found in decaying organic matter	other
6	magpie	long-tailed black-and-white crow that utters a raucous chattering call	bird
7	mako	powerful mackerel shark of the Atlantic and Pacific	fish
8	mallard	wild dabbling duck from which domestic ducks are descended; widely distributed	bird
9	mamba	arboreal snake of central and southern Africa whose bite is often fatal	reptile
10	mammal	any warm-blooded vertebrate having the skin more or less covered with hair	mammal
11	mammoth	any of numerous extinct elephants widely distributed in the Pleistocene	mammal
12	manatee	sirenian mammal of tropical coastal waters of America; the flat tail is rounded	mammal
13	mandarin duck	showy crested Asiatic duck; often domesticated	bird
14	mandrill	large African monkey with a colorful blue and red face	mammal
15	manta	extremely large pelagic tropical ray that feeds on plankton and small fishes	fish
16	mantis	predacious long-bodied large-eyed insect of warm regions; rests with forelimbs raised as in prayer	insect
17	mantis shrimp	tropical marine burrowing crustaceans with large grasping appendages	crustacean
18	mara	hare-like rodent of the pampas of Argentina	mammal
19	mare	female equine animal	mammal
20	margate	a grunt with a red mouth that is found from Florida to Brazil	fish
21	marlin	large long-jawed oceanic sport fishes	fish
22	marmoset	small soft-furred South American and Central American monkey with claws instead of nails	mammal
23	marmot	stocky coarse-furred burrowing rodent with a short bushy tail found throughout the northern hemisphere	mammal
24	marsh hawk	common harrier of North America and Europe; nests in marshes and open land	bird
25	marsh wren	a wren of the genus Cistothorus that frequents marshes	bird
26	marsupial	mammals of which the females have a pouch (the marsupium) containing the teats where the young are fed and carried	mammal
27	marten	agile slender-bodied arboreal mustelids somewhat larger than weasels	mammal
28	martin	any of various swallows with squarish or slightly forked tail and long pointed wings; migrate around Martinmas	bird
29	mason bee	any of numerous solitary bees that build nests of hardened mud and sand	insect
30	mason wasp	solitary wasp that constructs nests of hardened mud or clay for the young	insect
31	mastodon	extinct elephant-like mammal that flourished worldwide from Miocene through Pleistocene times	mammal
32	mayfly	slender insect with delicate membranous wings having an aquatic larval stage and terrestrial adult stage usually...	insect
33	meadow mouse	widely distributed in grasslands of northern United States and Canada	mammal
34	meadowlark	North American songbirds having a yellow breast	bird
35	measuring worm	small hairless caterpillar having legs on only its front and rear segments	other
36	medicinal leech	large European freshwater leech formerly used for bloodletting	worm
37	meerkat	a mongoose-like viverrine of South Africa having a face like a lemur and only four toes	mammal
38	merino	white sheep originating in Spain and producing a heavy fleece of exceptional quality	mammal
39	merlin	small falcon of Europe and America having dark plumage with black-barred tail; used in falconry	bird
40	mew gull	the common gull of Eurasia and northeastern North America	bird
41	midge	minute two-winged mosquito-like fly lacking biting mouthparts; appear in dancing swarms especially near water	insect
42	midwife toad	European toad whose male carries the fertilized eggs wrapped around its hind legs until they hatch	amphibian
43	migratory locust	Old World locust that travels in vast swarms stripping large areas of vegetation	insect
44	milk snake	nonvenomous tan and brown king snake with an arrow-shaped occipital spot	reptile
45	mining bee	a bee that is a member of the genus Andrena	insect
46	mink	slender-bodied semiaquatic mammal having partially webbed feet; valued for its fur	mammal
47	minnow	very small European freshwater fish common in gravelly streams	fish
48	mirror carp	domestic carp with some large shining scales	fish
49	mite	any of numerous very small to minute arachnids often infesting animals or plants or stored foods	spider or scorpion
50	mockingbird	long-tailed grey-and-white songbird of the southern United States able to mimic songs of other birds	bird
51	mola	among the largest bony fish	fish
52	mole	small velvety-furred burrowing mammal having small eyes and fossorial forefeet	mammal
53	mole cricket	digs in moist soil and feeds on plant roots	insect
54	mole rat	African rodent resembling a mole in habits and appearance	mammal
55	mollusk	invertebrate having a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a shell	mollusc
56	molly	popular aquarium fish	fish
57	monarch	large migratory American butterfly having deep orange wings with black and white markings; the larvae feed on milkweed	insect
58	monarch butterfly	large migratory American butterfly having deep orange wings with black and white markings; the larvae feed on milkweed	insect
59	mongoose	agile grizzled Old World viverrine; preys on snakes and rodents	mammal
60	monitor	any of various large tropical carnivorous lizards of Africa and Asia and Australia; fabled to warn of crocodiles	reptile
61	monitor lizard	any of various large tropical carnivorous lizards of Africa and Asia and Australia; fabled to warn of crocodiles	reptile
62	monk seal	seal of warm tropical waters, now endangered	other
63	monkey	any of various long-tailed primates (excluding the prosimians)	mammal
64	monkfish	fishes having large mouths with a wormlike filament attached for luring prey	fish
65	moon shell	marine gastropods having smooth rounded shells that form short spires	mollusc
66	moose	large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in Europe and `moose' in North America	mammal
67	moray	family of brightly colored voracious eels of warm coastal waters	fish
68	moray eel	family of brightly colored voracious eels of warm coastal waters	fish
69	mosquito	two-winged insect whose female has a long proboscis to pierce the skin and suck the blood of humans and animals	insect
70	moth	typically crepuscular or nocturnal insect having a stout body and feathery or hairlike antennae	insect
71	mountain beaver	bulky nocturnal burrowing rodent of uplands of the Pacific coast of North America; the most primitive living rodent	mammal
72	mountain goat	sure-footed mammal of mountainous northwestern North America	mammal
73	mountain gorilla	gorilla of Kivu highlands	mammal
74	mountain lion	large American feline resembling a lion	mammal
75	mountain quail	California partridge; slightly larger than the California quail	bird
76	mountain zebra	narrow-striped nearly extinct zebra of southern Africa	mammal
77	mourning cloak	of temperate regions; having dark purple wings with yellow borders	insect
78	mourning dove	wild dove of the United States having a mournful call	bird
79	mouse	any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated...	mammal
80	mouse deer	very small hornless deer-like ruminant of tropical Asia and west Africa	mammal
81	mud puppy	large salamander of North American rivers and streams	amphibian
82	mud turtle	bottom-dwelling freshwater turtle inhabiting muddy rivers of North America and Central America	reptile
83	mudskipper	small fish that can walk and breathe out of water	fish
84	mule	hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse; usually sterile	mammal
85	mule deer	long-eared deer of western North America with two-pronged antlers	mammal
86	mullet	freshwater or coastal food fishes a spindle-shaped body; found worldwide	fish
87	mushroom coral	flattened disk-shaped stony coral (usually solitary and unattached)	other
88	musk deer	small heavy-limbed upland deer of central Asia; male secretes valued musk	mammal
89	musk duck	large crested wild duck of Central America and South America; widely domesticated	bird
90	musk ox	large shaggy-coated bovid mammal of Canada and Greenland; intermediate in size and anatomy between an ox and a sheep	mammal
91	musk turtle	small freshwater turtle having a strong musky odor	reptile
92	muskrat	beaver-like aquatic rodent of North America with dark glossy brown fur	mammal
93	mussel	marine or freshwater bivalve mollusk that lives attached to rocks etc.	mollusc
94	mustang	small hardy range horse of the western plains descended from horses brought by the Spanish	mammal
95	mute swan	soundless Eurasian swan; commonly domesticated	bird
96	mutton snapper	similar to and often marketed as `red snapper'	fish
97	myna	Asian starling known for copying sounds and human speech	bird

Mammals that start with M

mouse
monkey
mole
moose
mule
mammoth
mink
mountain lion
manatee
mongoose
mountain goat
meerkat
muskrat
marmoset
mandrill
mare
mustang
mara
mammal
merino
marten
mouse deer
mastodon
macaque
marsupial
marmot
mole rat
mountain gorilla
mountain beaver
meadow mouse
musk deer
musk ox
mule deer
mountain zebra

Birds that start with M

mockingbird
magpie
mallard
macaw
myna
martin
merlin
marsh hawk
mourning dove
mute swan
meadowlark
mandarin duck
musk duck
mountain quail
marsh wren
mew gull

Fish that start with M

mackerel
marlin
mudskipper
molly
moray
mako
mullet
manta
margate
minnow
mola
monkfish
mirror carp
mackerel shark
moray eel
mutton snapper

Reptiles that start with M

monitor
milk snake
mamba
mud turtle
monitor lizard
musk turtle

Amphibians that start with M

mud puppy
midwife toad

Insects that start with M

mosquito
moth
mantis
monarch butterfly
monarch
midge
mason bee
mining bee
mole cricket
mourning cloak
mayfly
mason wasp
migratory locust

Molluscs that start with M

mussel
moon shell
mollusk

Other animals that start with M

monk seal
maggot
measuring worm
mushroom coral

Filter all 97 animals that start with M

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Questions people ask

How many animals start with M?

This list has 97 animals starting with M, from well-known ones like mouse, monkey, mole to rarer kinds.

What animals start with M?

Well-known examples are mouse, monkey, mole, moose, mosquito, moth, mule, mammoth.

What mammals start with M?

mouse, monkey, mole, moose, mule.

What birds start with M?

mockingbird, magpie, mallard, macaw, myna.

What fish start with M?

mackerel, marlin, mudskipper, molly, moray.

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.

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