One of 10,000 species of ants, this leaf-cutter ant hauls a leaf more than three times its size back to the nest.
Photograph by Roy Toft
Map
Ant Range
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Bug
- Diet:
- Omnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- Several weeks to several years
- Size:
- 0.08 to 1 in (2 to 25 mm)
- Group name:
- Army or colony
- Did you know?
- Ants can lift and carry more than three times their own weight.
- Size relative to a paper clip:
-
Ants are common insects, but they have some unique capabilities. More than 10,000 known ant species occur around the world. They are especially prevalent in tropical forests, where they may be up to half of all the insects living in some locations.
Ants look much like termites, and the two are often confused—especially by nervous homeowners. However, ants have a narrow "waist" between the abdomen and thorax, which termites do not. Ants also have large heads, elbowed antennae, and powerful jaws. These insects belong to the order Hymenoptera, which includes wasps and bees.
Enthusiastically social insects, ants typically live in structured nest communities that may be located underground, in ground-level mounds, or in trees. Carpenter ants nest in wood and can be destructive to buildings. Some species, such as army ants, defy the norm and do not have permanent homes, instead seeking out food for their enormous colonies during periods of migration.
Ant communities are headed by a queen or queens, whose function in life is to lay thousands of eggs that will ensure the survival of the colony. Workers (the ants typically seen by humans) are wingless females that never reproduce, but instead forage for food, care for the queen's offspring, work on the nest, protect the community, and perform many other duties.
Male ants often have only one role—mating with the queen. After they have performed this function, they may die.
Ants communicate and cooperate by using chemicals that can alert others to danger or lead them to a promising food source. They typically eat nectar, seeds, fungus, or insects. However, some species have diets that are more unusual. Army ants may prey on reptiles, birds, or even small mammals.
One Amazon species (Allomerus decemarticulatus) cooperatively builds extensive traps from plant fiber. These traps have many holes and, when an insect steps on one, hundreds of ants inside use the openings to seize it with their jaws.
Another species, the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), is capable of forming so-called supercolonies that house multiple queens. On Australia’s Christmas Island, the accidental introduction of yellow crazy ants in the early 20th century has led to a destructive infestation. The ants are a significant threat to the island’s endemic population of red crabs, which are displaced by the ants from their burrows or killed as they pass through ant nest sites during the crabs' large-scale annual migration from the forest to the coast.
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Animals
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Aardvark
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Adélie Penguin
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African Elephant
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African Lion
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African Wild Dog
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Albatross
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Alligator Snapping Turtle
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Amazon Horned Frog
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American Alligator
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American Bison
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American Bullfrog
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American Crocodile
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Ammonite
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Andean Condor
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Anglerfish
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Ankylosaurus Magniventris
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Ant
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Arabian (Dromedary) Camel
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Arctic Fox
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Arctic Hare
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Arctic Skua
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Armadillo
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Asian Elephant
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Asian Lion
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Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
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Atlantic Puffin
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Aye-Aye
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Baboon
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Bald Eagle
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Baltimore Oriole
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Bengal Tiger
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Black Bear
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Black-Footed Ferret
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Black Mamba
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Black Rhinoceros
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Blacktip Shark
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Black Widow Spider
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Bluebird
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Blue-Footed Booby
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Blue Jay
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Blue Marlin
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Blue Whale
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Boa Constrictor
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Bobcat
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Box Jellyfish
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Brachychampsa Montana
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Brown Bear
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Bull Shark
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Burmese Python
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Butterflyfish
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California Condor
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California Sea Lion
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Canada Goose
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Cane Toad
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Canvasback
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Caribou
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Carolina Wren
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Cheetah
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Chimpanzee
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Chipmunk
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Cicada
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Clouded Leopard
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Clown Anemonefish
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Coelacanth
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Common Earthworm
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Common Loon
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Common Octopus
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Common Sandpiper
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Common Vampire Bat
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Common Wombat
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Coral
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Cottontail Rabbit
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Coyote
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Cretoxyrhina Mantelli
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Cuban Screech Owl
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Cubera Snapper
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Deer Tick
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Devil Frog
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Dingo
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Dog Snapper
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Dolichorhynchops Osborni
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Domestic Cat
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Domestic Dog
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Draco Lizard
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Dugong
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Eastern Coral Snake
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Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
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Eastern Gray Kangaroo
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Egyptian Giant Solpugid (Camel Spider)
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Electric Eel
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Elephant Seal
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Elk
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Emperor Penguin
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Fennec Fox
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Firefly (Lightning Bug)
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Flying Fish
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Flying Snake
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Fossa
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Frilled Lizard
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Fur Seal
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Galápagos Tortoise
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Gelada
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Gentoo Penguin
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Geographic Cone Snail
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Giant Anteater
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Giant Clam
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Giant Pacific Octopus
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Giant Panda
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Giant River Otter
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Giant Squid
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Gibbon
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Gila Monster
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Giraffe
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Golden Cowrie
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Golden Eagle
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Golden Jellyfish
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Golden Lion Tamarin
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Golden Poison Dart Frog
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Gray Whale
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Great Blue Heron
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Great Egret
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Greater Flamingo
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Greater Rhea
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Great Horned Owl
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Great White Shark
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Green Anaconda
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Green Basilisk Lizard
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Green-Eyed Tree Frog
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Green Iguana
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Green Sea Turtle
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Grizzly Bear
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Groundhog
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Hammerhead Shark
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Harbor Porpoise
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Harp Seal
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Hawaiian Monk Seal
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Hawksbill Sea Turtle
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Hedgehog
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Henodus Chelyops
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Hesperornis Regalis
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Hippopotamus
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Honeybee
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Horned Toad (Short-Horned Lizard)
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Hornet
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Horse
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Howler Monkey
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Humpback Whale
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Impala
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Indian Rhinoceros
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Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
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Jackrabbit
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Jaguar
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Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
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Killer Whale (Orca)
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King Cobra
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King Vulture
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Kinkajou
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Koala
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Komodo Dragon
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Krill
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Ladybug
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Laughing Kookaburra
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Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon
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Leatherback Sea Turtle
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Leopard
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Leopard Seal
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Leptoceratops Gracilis
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Lesothosaurus Diagnosticus
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Lionfish
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Little Red Flying-Fox
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Llama
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Lobster
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Locust
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Loggerhead Sea Turtle
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Lynx
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Macaw
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Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
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Mallard Duck
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Manatee
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Mandrill
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Marine Iguana
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Matschie's Tree Kangaroo
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Meerkat
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Meller's Chameleon
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Mexican Axolotl
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Mola (Sunfish)
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Mole Rat
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Mononykus Olecranus
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Moose
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Mosquito
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Mountain Goat
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Mountain Gorilla
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Mountain Lion
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Mouse Lemur
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Mudpuppy
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Musk-Ox
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Narwhal
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Nudibranch
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Nurse Shark
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Nutria
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Ocelot
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Orangutan
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Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad
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Osprey
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Ostrich
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Oyster
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Ozark Big-Eared Bat
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Parrot
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Peacock
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Pelican
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Platecarpus
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Platypus
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Poison Dart Frog
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Polar Bear
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Porcupine
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Portuguese Man-of-War
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Prairie Dog
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Praying Mantis
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Proboscis Monkey
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Pronghorn
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Protosphyraena
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Protostega Gigas
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Przewalski's Horse
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Pufferfish
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Queen Angelfish
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Quetzal
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Raccoon
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Rainbow Trout
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Raven
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Red Crab
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Red-Eyed Tree Frog
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Red-Footed Booby
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Red Fox
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Red Kangaroo
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Red Leaf Monkey
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Red Panda
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Red-Tailed Hawk
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Red Uakari
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Rhesus Monkey
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Right Whale
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Ringed Seal
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Ring-Necked Pheasant
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Ring-Tailed Lemur
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Rockhopper Penguin
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Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
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Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
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Sailfish
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Sand Tiger Shark
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Sea Cucumber
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Seahorse
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Sea Otter
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Siberian Tiger
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Skunk
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Snowshoe Hare
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Snowy Owl
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Spider Monkey
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Spotted Hyena
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Spotted Salamander
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Squirrel
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Steller Sea Lion
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Steller's Sea Eagle
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Stick Insect
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Stingray
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Sun Bear
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Tapir
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Tarantula
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Triggerfish
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Tundra Swan
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Tusotheuthis Longa
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Warty Newt
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Wasp
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