Animal Names Starts With Letter: R

Animals that start with R run from river hunters to rainforest climbers. Meet the antlered reindeer crossing Arctic tundra; stealthy red fox thriving from suburbs to steppe; and the powerful rhinoceros browsing savannas. Tropical forests echo with knuckle-walking roloway monkeys and gliding red colobus, while Asia’s mountains hide the elusive red panda. Wetlands and rivers host keen-eyed rails, booming bittern relatives like the rufescent tiger heron, and ambush-hunting river otters. Reptile fans can spot basking red-eared sliders and coiled rat snakes; deserts shelter nimble roadrunners and armored round-tailed ground squirrels. Oceans add schooling rays, swift razzorfish (razor fish), and reef-bright royal grammas; intertidal rocks hold clinging ribbed limpets. Look closer and you’ll find pollinating ruby-throated hummingbirds, soil-turning rainworms (earthworms), and jewel-toned rose chafers. This “R” roster spans herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores across tundra, forests, grasslands, deserts, wetlands, rivers, reefs, and coasts. Browse below for species profiles—scientific names, habitats, diets, and conservation status—and roam through the remarkable diversity that begins with R.