Animals That Start With P

77 animals Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 77 animals that start with P, 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.

P counts 77 animals, with mammals and birds sharing most of the space. Pig, pony, panda and penguin are the classic early words, while the poodle and pug add a pet angle.

Birds are especially colourful here: parrot, peacock, pelican, puffin, pheasant and parakeet. The platypus is a showstopper, a furry mammal that lays eggs and has a duck-like bill. The pangolin is covered in scales, and the prairie dog is actually a burrowing rodent, not a dog at all.

Animals starting with P: 77
Best known: pig, pony
Longest name: peacock butterfly
Most are: mammals

Best-known animals that start with P

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

pig
pony
penguin
python
panda
panther
pigeon
parrot
peacock
puma
pelican
pheasant
poodle
porcupine
piranha
platypus
puffin
pika
porpoise
parakeet
polar bear
pangolin
prairie dog
praying mantis

All animals that start with P

#	Name	What it is	Type
1	paca	large burrowing rodent of South America and Central America; highly esteemed as food	mammal
2	pack rat	any of several bushy-tailed rodents of the genus Neotoma of western North America; hoards food and other objects	mammal
3	painted turtle	freshwater turtles having bright yellow and red markings; common in the eastern United States	reptile
4	palomino	a horse of light tan or golden color with cream-colored or white mane and tail	mammal
5	panda	reddish-brown Old World raccoon-like carnivore; in some classifications considered unrelated to the giant pandas	mammal
6	pangolin	toothless mammal of southern Africa and Asia having a body covered with horny scales and a long snout for feeding on...	mammal
7	panther	a large spotted feline of tropical America similar to the leopard	mammal
8	paper wasp	any of several social wasps that construct nests of a substance like paper	insect
9	parakeet	any of numerous small slender long-tailed parrots	bird
10	parrot	usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds	bird
11	parrotfish	gaudy tropical fishes with parrotlike beaks formed by fusion of teeth	fish
12	partridge	valued as a game bird in eastern United States and Canada	bird
13	passenger pigeon	gregarious North American migratory pigeon now extinct	bird
14	pea crab	tiny soft-bodied crab living commensally in the mantles of certain bivalve mollusks	crustacean
15	peacock	male peafowl; having a crested head and very large fanlike tail marked with iridescent eyes or spots	bird
16	peacock butterfly	European butterfly having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot	insect
17	peanut worm	small unsegmented marine worm that when disturbed retracts its anterior portion into the body giving the appearance of...	other
18	pearl oyster	tropical marine bivalve found chiefly off eastern Asia and Pacific coast of North America and Central America	mollusc
19	pelican	large long-winged warm-water seabird having a large bill with a distensible pouch for fish	bird
20	penguin	short-legged flightless birds of cold southern especially Antarctic regions having webbed feet and wings modified as...	bird
21	perch	spiny-finned freshwater food and game fishes	fish
22	peregrine	a widely distributed falcon formerly used in falconry	bird
23	periwinkle	edible marine gastropod	mollusc
24	petrel	relatively small long-winged tube-nosed bird that flies far from land	bird
25	pharaoh ant	small red ant of warm regions; a common household pest	insect
26	pheasant	large long-tailed gallinaceous bird native to the Old World but introduced elsewhere	bird
27	phoebe	small dun-colored North American flycatcher	bird
28	pickerel	any of several North American species of small pike	fish
29	pig	domestic swine	mammal
30	pigeon	wild and domesticated birds having a heavy body and short legs	bird
31	pika	small short-eared burrowing mammal of rocky uplands of Asia and western North America	mammal
32	pike	any of several elongate long-snouted freshwater game and food fishes widely distributed in cooler parts of the northern...	fish
33	pill bug	small terrestrial isopod with a convex segmented body that can roll up into a ball	crustacean
34	pilot whale	small dark-colored whale of the Atlantic coast of the United States	mammal
35	pine snake	any of several bull snakes of eastern and southeastern United States found chiefly in pine woods; now threatened	reptile
36	pinto	a spotted or calico horse or pony	mammal
37	piranha	small voraciously carnivorous freshwater fishes of South America that attack and destroy living animals	fish
38	pistol shrimp	small shrimp that makes a snapping noise with one of their enlarged chelae	crustacean
39	pit viper	New World vipers with hollow fangs and a heat-sensitive pit on each side of the head	reptile
40	pitta	any bird of the genus Pitta; brilliantly colored chiefly terrestrial birds with short wings and tail and stout bills	bird
41	plaice	large European food fish	fish
42	plant bug	small bright-colored insect that feeds on plant juices	insect
43	plant hopper	related to the leafhoppers and spittlebugs but rarely damages cultivated plants	insect
44	platypus	small densely furred aquatic monotreme of Australia and Tasmania having a broad bill and tail and webbed feet	mammal
45	plover	any of numerous chiefly shorebirds of relatively compact build having straight bills and large pointed wings	bird
46	pocket mouse	any of various small nocturnal burrowing desert rodents with cheek pouches and long hind legs and tail	mammal
47	polar bear	white bear of Arctic regions	mammal
48	polecat	American musteline mammal typically ejecting an intensely malodorous fluid when startled	mammal
49	pollock	important food and game fish of northern seas (especially the northern Atlantic); related to cod	fish
50	pomfret	deep-bodied sooty-black pelagic spiny-finned fish of the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific; valued for food	fish
51	pompano	any of several deep-bodied food fishes of western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico	fish
52	pond-skater	long-legged bug that skims about on the surface of water	insect
53	pony	a range horse of the western United States	mammal
54	poodle	an intelligent dog with a heavy curly solid-colored coat that is usually clipped	mammal
55	porcupine	relatively large rodents with sharp erectile bristles mingled with the fur	mammal
56	porgy	important deep-bodied food and sport fish of warm and tropical coastal waters; found worldwide	fish
57	porpoise	any of several small gregarious cetacean mammals having a blunt snout and many teeth	mammal
58	possum	nocturnal arboreal marsupial having a naked prehensile tail found from southern North America to northern South America	mammal
59	potato beetle	black-and-yellow beetle that feeds in adult and larval stages on potato leaves	insect
60	potato bug	black-and-yellow beetle that feeds in adult and larval stages on potato leaves	insect
61	potter wasp	any of various solitary wasps that construct vase-shaped cells of mud for their eggs	insect
62	prairie chicken	brown mottled North American grouse of western prairies	bird
63	prairie dog	any of several rodents of North American prairies living in large complex burrows having a barking cry	mammal
64	prawn	shrimp-like decapod crustacean having two pairs of pincers; most are edible	crustacean
65	praying mantis	the common mantis	insect
66	primate	any placental mammal of the order Primates; has good eyesight and flexible hands and feet	mammal
67	pronghorn	fleet antelope-like ruminant of western North American plains with small branched horns	mammal
68	ptarmigan	large Arctic and subarctic grouse with feathered feet and usually white winter plumage	bird
69	pterodactyl	extinct flying reptile	reptile
70	puffer	any of numerous marine fishes whose elongated spiny body can inflate itself with water or air to form a globe	fish
71	puffin	any of two genera of northern seabirds having short necks and brightly colored compressed bills	bird
72	pug	small compact smooth-coated breed of Asiatic origin having a tightly curled tail and broad flat wrinkled muzzle	mammal
73	puma	large American feline resembling a lion	mammal
74	purple emperor	large European butterfly the male of which has wings shaded with purple	insect
75	purple finch	North American finch having a raspberry-red head and breast and rump	bird
76	purple martin	large North American martin of which the male is blue-black	bird
77	python	large Old World boas	reptile

Mammals that start with P

pig
pony
panda
panther
puma
poodle
porcupine
platypus
pika
porpoise
polar bear
pangolin
prairie dog
primate
pinto
pug
possum
pocket mouse
pack rat
pilot whale
palomino
paca
polecat
pronghorn

Birds that start with P

penguin
pigeon
parrot
peacock
pelican
pheasant
puffin
parakeet
phoebe
partridge
peregrine
purple martin
plover
pitta
petrel
prairie chicken
passenger pigeon
ptarmigan
purple finch

Fish that start with P

piranha
pike
perch
pollock
puffer
pompano
pomfret
porgy
plaice
pickerel
parrotfish

Reptiles that start with P

python
pine snake
painted turtle
pterodactyl
pit viper

Insects that start with P

praying mantis
purple emperor
plant bug
potato bug
potato beetle
plant hopper
peacock butterfly
paper wasp
potter wasp
pharaoh ant
pond-skater

Crustaceans that start with P

prawn
pill bug
pistol shrimp
pea crab

Molluscs that start with P

periwinkle
pearl oyster

Filter all 77 animals that start with P

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Questions people ask

How many animals start with P?

This list has 77 animals starting with P, from well-known ones like pig, pony, penguin to rarer kinds.

What animals start with P?

Well-known examples are pig, pony, penguin, python, panda, panther, pigeon, parrot.

What mammals start with P?

pig, pony, panda, panther, puma.

What birds start with P?

penguin, pigeon, parrot, peacock, pelican.

What fish start with P?

piranha, pike, perch, pollock, puffer.

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