Animal Names Starts With Letter: U

Animals that start with U are uncommon but unforgettable. Rainforests host the red-faced uakari and the booming umbrellabird, while Central Africa’s Ugandan kob grazes riverine savannas. Mountain slopes shelter the wild sheep urial, and North American grasslands bustle with the Uinta ground squirrel and sleek upland sandpiper. Desert heat suits rock-dwelling uromastyx lizards, and night forests hide the leaf-mimicking Uroplatus geckos. Along tropical reefs, horn-nosed unicornfish cruise in schools; rocky shores bristle with grazing sea urchins. Look closer and you’ll find the brilliant Ulysses butterfly in Australian tropics, small Umbra mudminnows in weedy ponds, and the gentle “two-toed sloth” known as the unau. This “U” lineup spans herbivores, insectivores, and carnivores across rainforests, savannas, deserts, mountains, grasslands, wetlands, rivers, and coral reefs. Browse the species below for profiles with scientific names, habitats, diets, and conservation status—and uncover how unique the letter U truly is.