Biggest animals in the world
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| © Krzysztof Odziomek // Shutterstock |
Humans may be the ones who cracked the code on cell phones, written
language, and sliced bread, but the animal kingdom brings a lot to the table
in terms of sheer size and strength. Yes, it was a human being who wrote
"Romeo and Juliet," as was the inventor of the vacuum cleaner, but
these accomplishments don't mean much to a 12-foot-wide crab or a
300-pound bird. As humans, we can only bow our heads in respect to these
massive kings and queens of the animal world.
The animals included on this list all share one trait: They are
larger than any other animal of their kind, which may have a little
something to do with an evolutionary trend. In recent years, new
research has emerged in support of Cope's rule, which posits that over
generations, animals will evolve to become larger. This Stanford study
found that while it's not necessarily the case that all animals have
become bigger over time, those that were already on the larger side did
evolve and branch off to become more diverse—which can ultimately prove
beneficial in terms of survival.
That being said, there are certainly some ancient creatures whose
unfathomable size would have made them an unwelcome guest in the modern
world. Take the extinct Titanoboa, for instance: a 3,000-pound, 48-foot-long snake whose remains were discovered in Colombia.
Stacker has done extensive research in order to create this unique
list, which features the largest animals of their kind for certain
categories of the animal kingdom. These categories, including mammal,
bird, fish, and beyond, offer an overall look at the living beings that
tower over others of their kind.
Read on to learn more about the biggest animals in the world.
Mammal: Blue whale
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| © Andrew Sutton // Shutterstock |
The blue whale is the largest animal on earth,
and perhaps the largest ever to have existed, usually ranging between
70 and 90 feet in length (though there are records of some that have
exceeded the 100-foot mark). These whales have been found in every ocean
across the globe, often traveling in pairs; areas off the California
coast hold the densest population. Unsurprisingly, being that big
requires many calories: Blue whales can eat between 2 and 4 tons of
krill (a shrimp-like crustacean) a day.
Land mammal: African bush elephant
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| © Gorgo // Wikimedia Commons |
The African bush elephant, which
can weigh up to 11 tons and reach 13 feet in height, is characterized by
its pronounced tusks, and large head and ears. The elephant is also
notable for its dextrous and sensitive trunk, which is made up of over 40,000 muscles and tendons
and thereby allows the elephant to handle objects of all sizes with
ease. African bush elephants can be found in most African countries,
though their survival is at stake due to both poaching concerns and
habitat destruction.
Reptile: Saltwater crocodile
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| © Pixabay |
Despite earning the cute-sounding
nickname of “saltie,” the saltwater crocodile is often regarded as a
fearsome creature—due to its 1,000-pound weight,
massive jaws, and willingness to eat nearly any animal that wanders
into its sights. These crocodiles hunt by waiting just below the surface
of a body of water, then bursting out using their tails in order to
catch and drown their prey. Saltwater crocodiles can be found in a
variety of regions, ranging from Australia to Southeast Asia.
Lizard: Komodo dragon
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| © Pixabay |
The Komodo dragon‘s name alone is
an indicator of this lizard's power and physical characteristics: It's
dark and scaly, extremely strong, and uses a long, thin forked tongue to
test the air for signs of nearby prey. At maturity, a Komodo dragon
weighs 154 pounds on average, though the largest confirmed specimen was
more than twice that size. Found in Indonesian Islands, the Komodo
dragon can both eat 80% of its own body weight in one meal, and empty
its stomach at will in order to reduce its weight and escape danger more
quickly.
Snake: Giant anaconda
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| © Patrick K. Campbell // Shutterstock |
Referenced in pop culture from hip-hop songs to action movies, this jungle-dwelling snake can weigh in at around 550 pounds.
Found in swampy regions of South America, and commonly known as the
green anaconda, this creature not only possesses the ability to swim,
but is in fact more agile in the water than on land. The mega-snake
kills its prey with asphyxiation, and is known to maintain its size by
dining on large animals such as pigs and deer.
Bird: Ostrich
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| © paula french // Shutterstock |
The ostrich may not actually be able to fly, but this African bird can run at speeds of 45 miles per hour
when threatened. An adult male ostrich may weigh close to 300 pounds,
and can reach a height of 9 feet (about half of which comes from its
neck). This last surviving member of the genus Struthio dines on things
like berries and grass, and has a progressive approach to the division
of household labor: Both females and males take turns guarding and
tending to their eggs after a female has laid them.
Amphibian : Chinese giant salamander
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| © tristan tan // Shutterstock |
Chinese giant salamanders are certainly not new on the block—they belong to the family Cryptobranchidae,
ancestors of which split off from all other types of amphibians during
the Jurassic period. This amphibian, whose wide mouth sometimes
resembles a smile, can grow to be nearly 6 feet long, with its tail
making up more than half of this overall length. The species has long
been revered in China, but is currently under threat of extinction due
primarily to over-harvesting and lack of habitat protection.
Invertebrates: Colossal squid
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| © Ministry of Fisheries // Getty Images |
Colossal squids aren't just
massive, measuring up to 45 feet or so in length in adulthood—they are
also incredibly mysterious, living at extreme water depths that make
gathering scientific data on them quite difficult. There have only been a few human sightings
of this cephalopod in all of history: It was first identified in 1925
due to remains discovered inside a whale's stomach; since then, it has
only been spotted in its entirety a handful of times. One notable
feature of this elusive invertebrate is its extremely large eyes—which
can be the size of basketballs.
Insect: Giant weta
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| © Viktor Hejna // Shutterstock |
This fist-sized bug has a long
history: It was able to survive due to the fact that when New Zealand
separated from other land masses millions of years ago, it was left
without predatory mammals. Today, the giant weta (of which there are 11
species) is the heaviest insect in existence, and mostly lives in trees.
The word “weta” is derived from a phrase meaning “god of ugly things” in indigenous New Zealand language Maori, which is not inaccurate when talking about this long-horned, spiny-legged creature.
Beetle: Rhinoceros beetle
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| © Pixabay |
The Rhinoceros beetle has rightfully earned its common nickname “Hercules beetle,” considering
that some adults of the species can lift objects up to 850 times their
own weight. These black, gray, or green beetles are found on every
continent except Antarctica, and can reach a length of about 6 inches.
When threatened, it can produce a sharp hissing sound that comes from
the beetle rubbing its abdomen against its wings.
Spider: Goliath bird-eating tarantula
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| © Allmy // Shutterstock |
The Goliath bird-eating
tarantula's eight eyes might give the impression that it has excellent
sight, but most of this spider's ability to "see" comes from using the
hair on its body to sense nearby vibrations. As the biggest tarantula in the world,
it boasts a body span of nearly 5 inches and a leg span of 11 inches.
They are almost always solitary, pairing up only when necessary to mate.
Marine arthropod: Japanese spider crab
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| © f11photo // Shutterstock |
It only takes one look at the Japanese spider crab to understand where its name comes from: This marine arthropod bears long, spindly legs
that can reach an overall span of 12 or 13 feet. Sporting an orange
body and white-spotted legs, it lives in the Pacific Ocean near Japan,
primarily in waters between 500 and 1,000 feet in depth. It is thought
to have a life expectancy of nearly 100 years.
Rodent: Capybara
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| © Pixabay |
Rodent haters, look away: The
capybara is the largest rodent in the world, standing about 2 feet tall
at maturity. Sometimes referred to as “capys,” they are native to South America;
they tend to live on riverbanks so that they can feast on water plants
and combat their naturally dry skin with daily swims. These hefty
rodents bear shaggy brown hair and webbed feet, and are notoriously
content to serve as another animal's chaise lounge.
Bony fish: Sunfish
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| © saulty72 // Shutterstock |
The sunfish (also known as the
mola, Latin for “millstone”) can grow to weigh a whopping 2.5 tons and
span 10 feet horizontally. Their large dorsal fin might scare swimmers
at first, as it looks quite similar to that of a shark, but in fact the
sunfish is harmless to (and unafraid of) humans. Silvery and rough skinned, these aquatic creatures can be found in tropical oceans across the globe—often soaking up sunlight near the water's surface.
Fish: Whale shark
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| © Krzysztof Odziomek // Shutterstock |
The whale shark may be the
largest shark in the world (it can reach the size of a school bus), but
it easily falls into the category of “gentle giant.” Whale sharks are filter feeders:
Rather than seeking out and attacking other ocean creatures for
sustenance, they simply swim along with their large mouths hanging open,
sucking up all the plankton they pass. They can be found in many
tropical oceans and are distinguishable from other kinds of sharks due
to their uniquely white-spotted bodies.
With a wingspan of about 10 inches,
Queen Alexandra's birdwing—which is found only in New Guinea—is the
largest butterfly in existence. That's not the only place where this
butterfly beats out others of its kind: It takes four months to become a
full adult, and then lives for three months beyond that (many other
butterflies only live for about one month at most). While the females
are mostly brown, the males of this species typically display neon green
and aquamarine wings.
Butterfly: Queen Alexandra's birdwing
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| © GR Photo // Shutterstock |
Marsupial: Red kangaroo
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| © Pixabay |
The small groups into which red kangaroos often congregate are referred to as “mobs,”
although they haven't been known thus far to participate in organized
crime. They can weigh about 200 pounds and have a lifespan of up to 23
years; their powerful legs give them the ability to move at a speed of
35 miles per hour and jump 6 feet high. In spite of its large adult
size, the red kangaroo is smaller than a cherry at birth and spends an
additional two months inside its mother's pouch before branching out
into Australia's deserts and grasslands.
