This page includes all animals that start with the letter S that we plan to cover on Fact Animal. As we publish new content, each of these animals will be linked to their dedicated profile fact pages.
From Saiga to Swordfish, read extraordinary facts about animals beginning with the letter S.
S
Sable
Saiga Antelope
Sailfish
Saker Falcon
Salamander
Saltwater Crocodile
Sandfish
Sand Cat
Sand Flea
Sand Lizard
Saola
Sarcastic Fringehead
Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko
Sawfish
Saw-Scaled Viper
Scorpion
Scottish Wildcat
Screaming Hairy Armadillo
Sea Angel
Sea Lion
Sea Otter
Seahorse
Seal
Secretarybird
Sei Whale
Serval
Shoebill
Short-Eared Dog
Shovelnose Guitarfish
Siamese Fighting Fish
Siberian Flying Squirrel
Siberian Tiger
Sichuan Takin
Silky Anteater
Silky Shark
Silvertip Shark
Skunk
Sloth
Slow Loris
Snake
Snap-jaw Ant
Snapping Turtle
Snow Leopard
Snowy Owl
Solenodon
Southern Cassowary
Southern Tamandua
South China Tiger
Spanish Dancer
Speartooth Shark
Spectacled Bear
Sperm Whale
Spider Monkey
Squid
Squirrel Monkey
Sri Lankan Elephant
Stalk-Eyed Fly
Starfish
Star-Nosed Mole
Steller’s Sea Eagle
Steppe Eagle
Stick Insect
Stingray
Stonefish
Striped Polecat
Sumatran Elephant
Sumatran Orang-utan
Sumatran Rhinoceros
Sumatran Tiger
Sun Bear
Suriname Toad
Swordfish
Sydney Funnel-Web Spider
Please see our Animal A-Z list for animals that start with different letters.
Animal Names That Start With S
Read on for an overview of each of the animals listed above that begin with the letter S.
Sable
The sable is a small, omnivorous mustelid native to the forests of Siberia and Russia. Sables are great climbers and hunters, feeding on small rodents, birds, and insects.
Fun Fact: These small martens can be only 40cm long and weigh just over a kilo, but they can travel 12 km in search of food and take down prey as big as a musk deer.
Saiga Antelope
The saiga antelope is a distinctive bovid from Central Asia, these critically endangered antelopes have Jim Henson-esque snouts and graze on grasses and herbs.
Fun Fact: Their numbers dropped by 95% over just 15 years, but the Saiga has made an incredible comeback, being bumped up from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened and still on the rise.
Sailfish
Sailfish are large predatory fish known for their elegant sail-like fin and long, slender bodies. They hunt smaller fish in the warm oceans employing remarkable speed and agility.
Fun Fact: Sailfish are a perfect example of why it’s important to cite your sources. Commonly said to hit speeds of over 110km/h, documented speeds are closer to 37 mph!
Saker Falcon
The Saker Falcon is a large bird of prey found in varying habitats across Europe and Asia. It uses high-speed horizontal pursuits to hunt smaller birds.
Fun Fact: Saker Falcons are considered very intelligent, and have been trained for falconry for centuries. In some cultures, they were historically used for hunting game birds and even other falcons.
Salamander
Salamanders are a diverse and widespread group of amphibians, similar to newts. They are found in various wet habitats worldwide, from forests to freshwater streams. They have remarkable regenerative abilities and can regrow entire limbs.
Fun Fact: Some species of salamanders, such as the axolotl, are neotenic, meaning they retain their juvenile features even as adults.
Salmon
Salmon are iconic migratory freshwater fish known for being mauled by bears on their epic trips upstream to breeding grounds. There are several species, unusual in their ability to tolerate both salt and freshwater.
Fun Fact: Salmon can detect the unique scent of their home stream, guiding them back to breed.
Saltwater Crocodile
The saltwater crocodile, sometimes known as the estuarine crocodile, is the largest living reptile on the planet and sits ominously on the brackish and freshwater banks of Southeast Asia, Northern Australia, and Eastern India.
Fun Fact: Saltwater crocodiles have the strongest bite on record, able to snap their huge jaws shut with a force of 3,700 psi.
Sambar deer
The sambar deer is a cervid from Southern and Southeast Asia. It’s one of the largest deer species, ruggedly built with a thick coat, and occupies from dense forests to open grasslands.
Fun Fact: Sambar deer are prey species for tigers, dholes and leopards but they are formidable opponents, often luring predators into shallow water and defending in a group.
Samoyed
The Samoyed is a fluffy, white breed of dog from Siberia. Said to have friendly faces and a “Sammy smile,” they are respected as intelligent, social and loyal dogs.
Fun Fact: The Samoyed breed is named after the Samoyedic peoples of Siberia, who used these dogs for sledging and herding.
Sandhill crane
The Sandhill Crane is a large, elegant bird from North America. It has a distinctive red forehead, grey plumage and long neck, and inhabits wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural fields.
Fun Fact: Sandhill Cranes are among the oldest surviving bird species, with fossils dating back over 10 million years.
Sand Cat
Sand cats are small solitary cats native to the deserts of North Africa and Southwest Asia. They have large ears, thick fur, and wide paws for walking on sand.
Fun Fact: Despite living in the desert, sand carts rarely need to drink and will stay hydrated primarily through the moisture in their prey.
Sand Flea
Sand fleas are small amphipod crustaceans found on sandy beaches around the world. They are adapted to hop along the sand using their powerful hind legs.
Fun Fact: Sand fleas are the unsung heroes of beach ecosystems, as they help break down organic matter and provide food for shorebirds and other marine animals.
Sand Lizard
The sand lizard is a small reptile found in sandy heaths across Europe and parts of Asia. These small lizards are agile hunters, feeding primarily on insects and other small invertebrates.
Fun Fact: Sand lizards are surprisingly good at burrowing. A 19cm lizard can dig a hibernation burrow well over a meter deep.
Saola
The Saola, sometimes called the Asian unicorn due to its elusiveness, is a rare bovine species native to the Annamite Range of Vietnam and Laos. It has distinctive long, straight horns and striking white markings on its face.
Fun Fact: Saolas were first discovered by scientists in 1992, making them one of the most recently discovered large mammals.
Sarcastic Fringehead
The sarcastic fringehead is a small but ferocious fish found in the Pacific Ocean, along the coast of North America. Its fantastic mouth opens as a colourful threat display to fend off rival males.
Fun Fact: Fringeheads are solitary, occupying rock crevices and other little protective niches. It’s not uncommon to find one commandeering a plastic bottle or tin can in polluted shallows.
Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko
This gecko, native to Madagascar, possesses remarkable dead-leaf camouflage and ranges from black to brown in colour. This nocturnal lizard primarily feeds on insects.
Fun Fact: From certain angles, this highly cryptic squamate may look a bit satanic but in reality, they’re totally uninterested in religion.
Sawfish
Sawfish are incredible elasmobranch fishes with elongated, flattened and toothed noses that extend as a weapon out in front. They’re coastal fish, common in shallow, tropical waters.
Fun Fact: For a long time, it was thought this long saw was used to locate and expose hidden prey from the mud, but it was recently found that sawfish slash at swimming prey to stun it before eating.
Saw-Scaled Viper
The Saw-Scaled viper gets its name from the rough, saw-like scales along its body. It uses these as a tool to produce an intimidating hiss when threatened.
Fun Fact This snake is one of the most feared animals on the Indian subcontinent, responsible for a significant number of snake bites and deaths due to their aggressive nature and overlapping habitat with farmers.
Scimitar oryx
The Scimitar Oryx is a desert antelope with incredibly long horns and a distinctive pale coat. Native to North Africa, it has been declared extinct in the wild due to habitat loss and hunting but has been successfully reintroduced.
Fun Fact: The Scimitar Oryx is well adapted to fend off predators and can stab backwards at an attacking lion.
Scorpion
Scorpions are ancient and iconic arachnids with stinging tails. They’re spread over various habitats worldwide, from deserts to forests and play vital roles in ecosystems as both predators and prey.
Fun Fact: The vast majority of scorpion species are relatively harmless to humans, with only a few possessing venom potent enough to cause severe symptoms and almost no cases of death.
Scorpionfish
Scorpionfish are a family of venomous fish that have incredible, elaborate camouflage. They inhabit coral reefs and rocky bottoms and can inject such toxic venom that they can kill a person.
Fun Fact: Scorpionfish are excellent at hiding, often resembling the rocks and corals among which they hide. They use this camouflage to ambush their prey.
Scottish Wildcat
The Scottish Wildcat, sometimes known as the Highland Tiger, is a small but fierce feline native to Scotland. It looks a lot like a domestic cat but is bigger and stockier.
Fun Fact: Scottish Wildcats may look small but they’re ferocious hunters, able to take on prey as large as a rabbit. They are notoriously untamable.
Screaming Hairy Armadillo
The Screaming Hairy Armadillo, found in South America, is named for making loud noises when threatened. It has coarse hair and powerful claws, digging burrows and feeding on insects, plants, and small vertebrates.
Fun Fact: These strange little animals actually make decent pets, though the nature of their defence mechanism does mean people like to torment the poor things to make them scream.
Sea Angel
Sea Angels are small, translucent sea slugs found in cold ocean waters worldwide. They float about with wing-like structures, called parapodia, which give them their name.
Fun Fact: Despite their delicate appearance, these nudibranchs are voracious predators, feeding primarily on other gelatinous organisms like sea butterflies.
Seal
Seals are pinnipeds with streamlined bodies, flipper-like limbs, and thick layers of blubber. They live all over the world, often congregating on rocky shores or ice floes.
Fun Fact: Seals are highly adapted to their aquatic lifestyle, with some species capable of diving to depths exceeding 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) and holding their breath well over 3 minutes.
Sea Lion
Sea lions are a branch of pinnipeds known as “eared seals”. They are found along coastlines worldwide, often gathering in large colonies on rocky shores or sandy beaches.
Fun Fact: Sea lions are known for their intelligence and agility. While they look cute, they’re powerful killers of smaller animals.
Sea Otter
Sea otters are marine mammals found along the coasts of the northern Pacific Ocean. They’re just like regular otters, but they live in the sea. And they’re big!
Fun Fact: Sea otters are one of the few non-primate animals known to use tools. They often use rocks or other objects to crack open shells of prey, such as clams and urchins, whose populations they control.
Sea urchin
Sea urchins are small, spiny marine animals found on ocean beds worldwide. They have a spherical body covered in movable spines that can break off in your foot.
Fun Fact: Sea urchins have a unique chewing mechanism called Aristotle’s lantern, which is a complex structure made up of five calcium carbonate teeth.
Seahorse
Seahorses are small, upright-swimming marine fish with a horse-like head and curled tail. They are found in shallow tropical and temperate waters worldwide, often among seagrasses and coral reefs.
Fun Fact: Seahorses are one of the few animal species where the males birth young. During courtship, the female transfers her eggs to a special pouch on the male’s abdomen, where they are fertilized and develop until birth.
Secretary bird
The secretary bird is a large bird of prey found in the open grasslands and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. It has long legs, a hooked beak, and a crest of feathers.
Fun Fact: The legs of this bird are no joke, and they bring with them a 70-year-old hunting strategy straight out of the cretaceous, stomping on prey with brutalizing talons.
Sei Whale
Sei whales are enormous, sleek, streamlined cetaceans found in oceans worldwide, primarily in temperate and tropical waters. They’re baleen whales and the third largest after the blue and fin whales.
Fun Fact: The sei whale is one of the fastest cetaceans, reaching speeds of up to 50 km/h (31 mph).
Serval
The serval is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa. It has a slender body with very long legs. They’re agile predators, able to leap high into the air to catch birds.
Fun Fact: Servals have the longest legs, relative to body size, of any cat species, which helps them navigate through tall grasses while hunting for prey.
Shark
Sharks are a diverse and ancient group of cartilaginous fish found in oceans around the world. They vary greatly in size, from the small dwarf lanternshark to the massive whale shark.
Fun Fact: Sharks have been around for more than 400 million years, making them almost twice as old as the dinosaurs.
Sharp-shinned hawk
This is a small but agile bird of prey found in North America. Known for its sharp, hooked beak and long, slender legs, it preys on small birds and mammals.
Fun Fact: This agile raptor is a very efficient hunter, capable of capturing prey larger than itself by surprise attacks and rapid pursuit through dense vegetation.
Sheep
Sheep are domesticated ruminant mammals thought to have been bred from the wild ancestor, the mouflon. They’re medium-sized bovids, commonly farmed for wool and meat.
Fun Fact: Sheep have excellent memories and can recognize individual human faces, as well as the faces of other sheep.
Shoebill
The shoebill stork is a large and prehistoric-looking bird with an enormous beak. They’re typically found near marshes and wetlands, where they hunt fish, frogs, and small reptiles.
Fun Fact: Shoebills are known for their patient and stealthy hunting behaviour. They often stand still for long periods before suddenly striking at their prey.
Short-Eared Dog
This powerful canine is an exceptionally elusive canid species native to the Amazon Rainforest. It’s a nocturnal carnivore and competent swimmer and hunts small mammals, fish, and birds.
Fun Fact: This animal is one of the most elusive canids, and despite being a relatively large mammal, still very little is known about it.
Shovelnose Guitarfish
The shovelnose guitarfish is a peculiar cartilaginous fish found in the coastal waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. These strange animals feed on crustaceans, molluscs, and small fish.
Fun Fact: Shovelnose guitarfish are sometimes called “guitarfish sharks” due to their intermediate features between sharks and rays.
Siamese Fighting Fish
The Siamese fighting fish, also known as Betta fish, is a vibrant freshwater species native to Southeast Asia. Male Siamese fighting fish are territorial and known for their aggressive behaviour towards other males.
Fun Fact: Siamese fighting fish have a labyrinth organ, allowing them to breathe air at the water’s surface.
Siberian Flying Squirrel
The Siberian flying squirrel is a small, nocturnal rodent native to the forests of Northern Eurasia. It has a patagium, a furry membrane stretching between its fore and hind limbs.
Fun Fact: These squirrels can’t fly, but are expert gliders, capable of covering distances of up to 50 meters (164 ft) between trees.
Siberian Tiger
This tiger is the largest of all tiger species, native to the forests of eastern Russia and parts of China and North Korea. It is the biggest cat and an apex predator in its habitat.
Fun Fact: Siberian tigers have the longest canines of any living tiger species, measuring up to 10 centimetres (4 inches) in length.
Sichuan Takin
The Sichuan takin is a large mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and western China. Takins are herbivores, inhabiting mountainous regions.
Fun Fact: Sichuan takins have specialized hooves that provide excellent grip on steep terrain, allowing them to navigate rocky slopes with ease.
Sika deer
Sika deer, also known as spotted deer or Japanese deer, are native to East Asia. Sika deer inhabit forests and grasslands, where they graze on a variety of plants, fruits, and tree bark.
Fun Fact: Sika have invaded mainland Europe, interbreeding with the native Red deer, and hybridizing with them.
Silky Anteater
The silky anteater is one of the smallest anteater species, measuring only about 16cm long. They have a golden or brown fur coat, a long snout, and a prehensile tail used for climbing and hanging from branches.
Fun Fact: Silky anteaters have remarkably long tongues, which can extend up to 25 centimetres in length.
Skunk
Skunks are small, omnivorous mammals known for their distinctive black and white fur patterns and their ability to spray a foul-smelling liquid from their butts.
Fun Fact: The spray produced by skunks can reach up to 3 meters in distance and is highly potent, causing irritation to the eyes and a strong odour that can linger for days.
Sloth
Sloths are slow-moving arboreal mammals found in Central and South America They have long limbs with curved claws, which help them hang upside down from tree branches.
Fun Fact: Sloths have an incredibly slow metabolism, taking up to a month to digest a single, plant-based meal.
Sloth bear
Sloth bears, native to the Indian subcontinent, are named for their slow, shambling gait and shaggy appearance. They have long, curved claws used for digging termite mounds, their primary food source.
Fun Fact: Sloth bears often forage for food in trees and are capable of swimming long distances across rivers and lakes.
Slowworm
Slowworms are legless lizards found across Europe and parts of Asia. These harmless creatures have smooth, shiny scales and can grow up to 50 cm in length.
Fun Fact: Unlike snakes, these guys have eyelids and can blink. Slowworms give birth to live young rather than laying eggs.
Slow Loris
Slow lorises are small, nocturnal primates native to Southeast Asia. They are loved for their huge, round eyes and deliberate movements.
Fun Fact: Despite their cute appearance, they possess a toxic bite, secreting venom from glands located on their elbows, which can also be spread over their fur for protection.
Snake
Snakes are prehistoric, legless reptiles, found on every continent except Antarctica. They vary greatly in size, from tiny threadsnakes to massive anacondas.
Fun Fact: The largest snake today reaches up to 7.5m and weighs close to 500kg, but the largest ever could have been 15 meters long and weighed a tonne.
Snap-jaw Ant
The snap-jaw ants are a genus of ants found primarily in tropical regions of Southeast Asia. They are known for their unique mandibles, which they use to capture prey and defend their colonies.
Fun Fact: Snap-jaw ants differ from “trap-jaw” ants in that while the latter slams their mandibles shut from an open position, snap-jaw mandibles snap in the same way you click your fingers.
Snapping Turtle
This is a fearsome freshwater reptile from North America known for its powerful jaws. These turtles are mossy, rugged swamp creatures with a pointed head.
Fun Fact: The bite of a snapping turtle is terrifying, but it’s far from the most powerful in the animal kingdom. At around 200N, it’s still enough to take a small finger off.
Snow goose
The snow goose is a migratory bird with striking white plumage. They breed in the Arctic tundra and winter in warmer regions of North America.
Fun Fact: Snow geese undertake one of the longest migrations of any bird species, travelling thousands of miles between their breeding ground in the Arctic to wintering grounds in Mexico
Snow Leopard
This iconic leopard is native to mountainous regions of Central and South Asia, and is coveted for its thick fur, which provides insulation against the cold and camouflage in its snowy habitat.
Fun Fact: Snow leopards are true athletes and can chase down prey over craggy cliffs and tumbling rocks.
Snowy Owl
The snowy owl is a stunning raptor living in Arctic regions around the world. These are lemming specialists, with bright white feathers and large, yellow eyes.
Fun Fact: Snowy owls are lemming specialists, controlling populations throughout their range.
Solenodon
The solenodon is a rare and primitive mammal found in Central America. It possesses a distinctive long, hairless snout, which it uses to hunt for insects and small vertebrates in the dark of night.
Fun Fact: Solenodons are one of the few venomous mammals, possessing grooves in their lower incisors through which venom flows.
Southern Cassowary
The Southern Cassowary is a true dinosaur; a terrestrial bird native to the rainforests of New Guinea and northeastern Australia.
Fun Fact: Southern Cassowaries are considered one of the most dangerous birds in the world, easily capable of kicking a person to death.
Southern Tamandua
Also known as the lesser anteater, is a species found in Central and South America, sporting a distinctive pale yellowish coat with black markings.
Fun Fact: While they have perfectly useful digging claws, these cheeky anteaters prefer to steal burrows from armadillos to sleep in.
South China Tiger
The South China Tiger is a critically endangered subspecies native to southern China. It once would have roamed forests and grasslands but is now reduced to perhaps 20 or 30 in the wild.
Fun Fact: This tiger is even more orange than usual! Unfortunately, this has historically made it a prized target for hunters.
Spanish Dancer
The Spanish Dancer is a species of colourful sea slug found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. It comes in vibrant red, orange, and pink.
Fun Fact: This elegant slug moves with the grace of a flamenco dancer, but is a highly-specialised and toxic predator of sponges!
Speartooth Shark
This is a rare and elusive species of river shark found in the coastal waters of northern Australia and New Guinea, growing up to 3 meters. It has an elongated snout and slender body
Fun Fact: The Speartooth Shark is one of the least known shark species in the world due to its shy nature and murky habitat.
Spectacled Bear
The Spectacled Bear is the only bear species native to South America. It’s named for the distinctive white or yellowish markings around its eyes.
Fun Fact: Spectacled Bears are excellent climbers and spend much of their time in trees, where they forage for fruits, leaves, and insects.
Sperm Whale
The Sperm Whale is the largest toothed whale and toothed predator. Its distinctive block-shaped head contains the largest brain of any animal.
Fun Fact: Sperm whales dive to remarkable depths, engaging in epic hunts involving some of the largest cephalopods in the ocean: the giant squid.
Spider
Spiders are arachnids characterized by eight legs, two body segments and usually eight eyes. They are found worldwide and play a crucial role in ecosystems as predators and prey.
Fun Fact: Spiders originated roughly 400 million years ago: millions of years before trees were invented! They are astonishingly diverse; many even show signs of advanced intelligence.
Spider Monkey
Spider monkeys are New World primates known for their long, slender limbs and prehensile tails. They come from the cloud forests in Central and South America.
Fun Fact: Unlike many primates, spider monkeys don’t have opposable thumbs. All fingers on their hands point the same way!
Spix’s Macaw
Spix’s Macaw, native to Brazil, is a striking blue parrot species with a long tail and a large hooked beak.
Fun Fact: When parenting, mother Spix’s macaws will lie down and lure predators away from their young, using themselves as a decoy.
Springbok
This medium-sized antelope is found in southern Africa it has a dark stripe running from the eyes to the mouth.
Fun Fact: Springboks are named after their ability to jump, or “pronk” up to 4m in the air!
Spotted hyena
The spotted hyena is a carnivorous mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has a robust build, a distinctive sloping back, and powerful jaws. Their fur is spotted with black or dark brown spots.
Fun Fact: Spotted hyenas are highly social animals with a variety of vocalisations, giving them the nickname, “Laughing hyenas”.
Squid
Squids are intelligent molluscs with elongated bodies, large eyes, eight arms and two longer tentacles. Squids inhabit oceans worldwide, ranging from shallow coastal waters to deep-sea trenches.
Fun Fact: We are still unravelling the complexity of squid intelligence and communication. Many use colour changes as a hidden language to talk to one another.
Squirrel Monkey
Squirrel monkeys are small but stocky New World monkeys with light fur and dark eye patches.
Fun Fact: Squirrel monkeys struggle to stay cool in the intense humidity of the forest canopy, so pee on their hands and feet to increase evaporation.
Sri Lankan Elephant
The Sri Lankan elephant is a subspecies of the Asian elephant relatively smaller and darker than its mainland cousins.
Fun Fact: These elephants play a significant cultural and ecological role in Sri Lanka, often found in national parks and forest reserves, but are present throughout written history in iconography and symbolism.
Stalk-Eyed Fly
This tiny fly is named for its elongated eyestalks, which extend from the sides of its head. These flies are found in tropical regions worldwide and are often seen in habitats near water.
Fun Fact: The length of the eyestalks is thought to be a visual indicator of genetic quality, with females being unrelenting “size queens” – preferring males with longer stalks.
Starfish
Starfish are radially symmetrical marine invertebrates in oceans worldwide, from shallow reefs to deep ocean beds. They typically have five arms, although some species may have many more.
Fun Fact: Starfish have a mouth in the centre of their arms, through which they can eject their stomach to wrap around food before pulling it back in.
Star-Nosed Mole
The star-nosed mole is a small burrowing mammal native to North America, named for its distinctive star-shaped pink fleshy appendages surrounding its nose.
Fun Fact: This mole can detect and consume prey in less than a quarter of a second. Its nose contains more than 25,000 sensory receptors.
Steller’s Sea Eagle
Steller’s sea eagle is one of the largest birds of prey in the world, native to coastal northeastern Asia. It features striking black and white plumage with a distinctive yellow beak.
Fun Fact: Steller’s sea eagle possesses one of the largest beaks of any eagle species, which it uses to tear through tough fish and other prey.
Steppe Eagle
The Steppe Eagle is a large raptor found in the open expanses of the Eurasian steppes and adjacent areas. It has a wingspan reaching up to 7 feet.
Fun Fact: Steppe Eagles are known for their long journeys, migrating thousands of miles each year between their breeding grounds in Central Asia and wintering areas in Africa
Stick Insect
Stick insects, sometimes called walking sticks, are remarkable insects known for their mimicry of twigs or branches. They have long, slender bodies and legs and feed on leaves.
Fun Fact: Some species of stick insects are parthenogenetic, meaning they can reproduce without mating.
Stingray
Stingrays are flat-bodied, venomous cartilaginous fish with long, whip-like, barbed tails. They inhabit coastal waters around the world, often resting on the ocean floor.
Fun Fact: Stingrays have specialized electrosensory organs called ampullae of Lorenzini, which detect electrical signals produced by potential prey and hidden predators.
Stonefish
Stonefish are venomous fish found in the coastal regions of the Indo-Pacific. They have a mottled, camouflaged body, resembling a rock or coral, hiding them in their surroundings.
Fun Fact: Stonefish are considered one of the most venomous fish in the world. Their 13 dorsal spines are capable of injecting enough venom to potentially kill a person.
Striped hyena
This nocturnal carnivore is found in North and East Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia. It has a distinctive striped coat, with long, shaggy hair and a sloping back.
Fun Fact: These smaller cousins of the spotted hyena are predominantly scavengers, cleaning up bones from larger predators.
Striped Polecat
The striped polecat, or zorilla, is a small carnivorous mammal from Africa. It has a distinctive black-and-white striped coat like a skunk and a very similar defence mechanism.
Fun Fact: Striped polecats aren’t closely related to skunks but the smell they make is said to be even worse!
Sugar glider
The sugar glider is a small, arboreal marsupial native to Australia and New Guinea. It has a membrane of skin extending from its wrists to its ankles, allowing it to glide through the air from tree to tree.
Fun Fact: Sugar gliders can’t fly, but they’re able to glide up to 45 meters through the air.
Sumatran Elephant
This is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant and is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It’s smaller than its Indian counterpart and has relatively larger ears.
Fun Fact: Asian elephants are usually tallest at the hump on their back. In Sumatran elephants, their humped head is the highest point.
Sumatran Orang-utan
The Sumatran orangutan is one of three orangutan species. It has a shaggy reddish coat and distinctive cheek pads in adult males.
Fun Fact: Sumatran orangutans are the most arboreal of all species and the most arboreal ape. It’s thought this is an adaptation to living alongside the Sumatran tiger.
Sumatran Rhinoceros
The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest, and one of the most endangered rhino species, with less than 50 individuals left in the wild.
Fun Fact: Sumatran rhinos have a unique vocalization, described as songlike, and compared to humpback whale calls.
Sumatran Tiger
The Sumatran tiger is the smallest surviving tiger subspecies and is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Their black stripes that are closer together than those of other tiger species.
Fun Fact: Sumatran tigers are excellent wet forest specialists, able to hunt in rivers and streams.
Sun Bear
The smallest bear species at around d 1.3m long is found in Southeast Asia, particularly in tropical forests. It has a distinctive crescent-shaped mark on its chest, giving it the nickname Sun Bear.
Fun Fact: Sun bears have the longest tongues among all bear species, at 25cm, which they use to extract honey and insects from crevices in trees.
Suriname Toad
The Suriname toad is a unique amphibian found in South America, particularly in the Amazon basin. These are particularly flat frogs with a disgusting habit.
Fun Fact: Toad eggs grow embedded in the skin of the female’s back until they hatch into fully formed toads. This unique and awful adaptation is known as “dermal incubation.”
Swordfish
The swordfish is a large, predatory fish found in tropical and temperate oceans worldwide. It is iconic for its long, flat rostrum, which it uses to slash and stun its prey.
Fun Fact: Swordfish are some of the fastest fish in the ocean their streamlined bodies and powerful tails enable them to cruise through the water with incredible agility but nobody is sure quite how fast they can go.
Sydney Funnel-Web Spider
These large, robust Australian spiders have shiny black bodies and distinctive finger-like spinnerets. They’re often found hiding in burrows or under debris.
Fun Fact: The venom of the Sydney Funnel-Web Spider is considered one of the most toxic among spiders, capable of causing severe neurological symptoms and even death in humans if left untreated.
Syrian hamster
The Syrian hamster, also known as the golden hamster, is a popular small rodent kept as a pet worldwide. They have a stocky body with short legs and a short, furry tail.
Fun Fact: Syrian hamsters can carry their babies to safety in their cheek pouches.
What Other Animals Begin With ‘S’?
That completes our list of animals that begin with the letter S.
Hopefully you’ve learned a few new ones, but are there any that we’re missing in our list that you would like to see covered?
If so, get in touch. Please see our Animal A-Z list for animals that start with different letters.