Coroplay · Animals

Animals in this game, and what they are

There are plenty more animals out there. These are the 349 the game runs on — each with a line on what it actually is, for the ones nobody has heard of.

Tap any name to read more about it. Playing right now? This is the answer sheet — come back after.

Any animal at all — land, sea, sky or bugs. If it is alive and it is not a plant, it counts.

The game runs on 349 names across 26 letters, 143 of which are common enough that most groups will reach them without help. The other 206 are the ones somebody at the table will know and everyone else will argue about.

The generous letters are S, B, P and C — each has four or more answers almost anyone would get. The ones that catch people out are Q, V, X and Y, where the game has answers but none of them are obvious.

This is not a definitive list and was never meant to be. Nobody could write down all the animals there are. Anything real your group agrees on counts, whether it is here or not.

AAnimals that start with A

Ant: Tiny, marches in a line
Alligator: Long snout, lurks in swamps
Ape: A big one, and it has no tail
Antelope: Fast runner of the African plains
Armadillo: Armour-plated, rolls into a ball
Albatross: Huge sea bird that glides for days without flapping
Anteater: Long sticky tongue, no teeth, rips open ant nests
Alpaca: Like a small llama, kept for its soft wool
Aardvark: Long snout, big ears, digs up termites at night
Axolotl: Pink salamander that keeps its feathery gills and never grows up
Anaconda: Enormous snake that squeezes, lives in Amazon rivers
Aye-aye: Night lemur that taps wood with a long bony finger
Angelfish: Flat, striped, drifts round a reef
Anemone: Waves its arms on a rock. Nemo hid in one
Anchovy: Tiny salty fish, the one people argue about on pizza
Abalone: Sea snail with a flat shell that is rainbow inside
Arapaima: Giant Amazon river fish that comes up to breathe air
Amberjack: Big fast silver sea fish that anglers chase
Albacore: A tuna, the pale kind that comes in a tin

BAnimals that start with B

Bear: Big and furry, loves honey
Bee: Stripes, makes honey
Bird: Feathers, a beak, and usually flies
Bat: Flies at night and sleeps upside down
Butterfly: Was a caterpillar first
Bull: The male one, and you don't wave red at it
Beaver: Builds dams, flat tail
Buffalo: Heavy wild cattle with wide curved horns
Badger: Black and white stripes down its face, digs big burrows
Bison: Shaggy hump and beard, roams the plains in herds
Boar: Wild pig with tusks and bristly hair
Baboon: Dog-like face, lives in big noisy troops on the ground
Bonobo: Like a chimp but slimmer and gentler, only in one Congo forest
Barracuda: Long silver fish with a jaw full of needles
Blue whale: The biggest animal that has ever lived
Bass: Chunky fish people love to catch in lakes and rivers
Beluga: All white, smiles, lives in the Arctic
Blowfish: Puffs up into a spiky ball
Bullfrog: The big one, with a deep croak you hear across a pond
Barnacle: Little hard cone glued to rocks and the bottom of boats
Betta: Fighting fish with long flowing fins, often kept alone
Box jellyfish: Clear, square-topped, and one of the most dangerous in the sea

CAnimals that start with C

Cat: Purrs, naps all day
Cow: Chews all day and gives us milk
Chicken: Lays the eggs you had for breakfast
Crab: Walks sideways, two claws
Camel: Humps on its back, crosses deserts
Crocodile: Teeth, a long snout, floats like a log
Cheetah: Fastest land animal, spots
Chimpanzee: Our closest relative, clever, uses tools
Cobra: Spreads a hood when angry and rears up
Caterpillar: The hungry crawly stage before a butterfly
Coyote: Lean wild dog of North America, yips at night
Condor: Vulture with the widest wings of any land bird
Capybara: The biggest rodent there is, calm, always near water
Chinchilla: Small, round-eared, with the softest fur of any animal
Cuttlefish: Changes colour in a blink, has W-shaped eyes
Clam: Two shells that shut tight
Clownfish: Orange and white, lives in the anemone
Coral: Looks like a rock, is actually alive
Cod: The one in fish and chips
Catfish: Whiskers, lives on the river bottom
Carp: Big-scaled pond fish with whiskers at the mouth
Crayfish: Like a tiny lobster, lives in streams
Conch: Huge spiral shell you can blow like a horn
Chinook salmon: The biggest Pacific salmon, also called king

DAnimals that start with D

Dog: Wags its tail, best friend
Duck: Webbed feet, says quack
Deer: Antlers and a white tail
Dolphin: Clicks and whistles, leaps from the sea
Donkey: Long ears, and it hee-haws
Dragonfly: Four glassy wings, hovers over ponds
Dingo: Wild golden dog of the Australian outback
Dove: White bird that stands for peace, coos softly
Dormouse: Tiny furry-tailed mouse that sleeps all winter
Dugong: Sea cow that grazes on seagrass, cousin of the manatee
Dik-dik: Antelope no bigger than a cat, with huge eyes
Dogfish: A small shark, about the length of your arm
Damselfish: Small, bold, bright reef fish that defends its patch
Devil ray: Like a manta, with little horns at the front of its head

EAnimals that start with E

Elephant: Biggest land animal, trunk and tusks
Eagle: Sharp eyes, hooked beak
Eel: Long and slippery, more snake than fish
Elk: Huge deer with branching antlers
Emu: Tall Australian bird that cannot fly
Earthworm: Pink, no legs, eats its way through soil
Echidna: Spiny, has a beak, and lays eggs even though it has fur
Egret: Slim white wading bird with a long neck and black legs
Ermine: A stoat in its white winter coat, black tip on the tail
Electric eel: It can shock you
Elephant seal: Enormous seal, and the male has a droopy nose
Emperor penguin: The tallest penguin, huddles through Antarctic winter
Eagle ray: Spotted ray that flaps its wings and seems to fly

FAnimals that start with F

Fish: Fins and gills
Fox: Orange, bushy tail, sly in stories
Frog: Green, hops, catches flies
Flamingo: Bright pink, stands on one leg
Ferret: Long, bendy and playful, kept as a pet
Falcon: Fastest bird alive when it dives
Firefly: Beetle that flashes a cold green light at dusk
Flea: Tiny jumper that lives in fur and bites
Fennec fox: Palest little desert fox with enormous ears
Finch: Small seed-eating bird with a short thick beak
Flounder: Flat, with both eyes on one side
Flying fish: Leaps out and glides above the waves
Fur seal: Seal with a thick furry coat and little ear flaps
Frogfish: Lumpy fish that walks on its fins and fishes with a lure

GAnimals that start with G

Giraffe: Tallest animal, very long neck
Goat: Horns and a beard
Goose: Honks, flies in a V
Gorilla: Largest ape, beats its chest
Gazelle: Slender antelope built for speed and sudden turns
Grasshopper: Jumps, chirps, and eats leaves in summer fields
Guinea pig: Round, tailless, squeaks when it wants food
Gecko: Small lizard that walks up glass on sticky toes
Gibbon: Ape with very long arms that swings and sings
Gopher: Digs tunnels under lawns and stuffs food in cheek pouches
Grouper: Big heavy reef fish that swallows prey whole
Goldfish: Orange, in a bowl
Guppy: Tiny, bright, in a tank
Great white shark: The one from Jaws
Giant squid: Enormous, deep down, rarely seen
Grey whale: Grey and barnacled, makes one of the longest journeys of any animal
Goby: Tiny fish that perches on the bottom, often shares a burrow

HAnimals that start with H

Horse: Gallops, says neigh
Hippopotamus: Huge, lives in rivers
Hamster: Stuffs food in its cheeks
Hen: The female chicken
Hedgehog: Covered in spines, curls up
Hyena: Sloping back, bone-crushing jaws, laughs in the dark
Hawk: Sharp-eyed day hunter with hooked beak and talons
Hare: Like a rabbit but longer-legged, born above ground
Heron: Stands dead still in shallow water, then stabs
Hummingbird: Hovers, beats its wings too fast to see, drinks nectar
Hornet: The big angry wasp with a serious sting
Hermit crab: Borrows an empty shell and moves house
Humpback whale: Sings, and leaps right out of the water
Hammerhead shark: Its head is a wide flat bar
Halibut: Huge flat fish lying on the seabed, both eyes on top
Herring: Small silver fish that moves in enormous shoals
Horseshoe crab: Helmet-shaped, with a spike tail, older than dinosaurs
Hippo: Barrel-shaped, stays in rivers, surprisingly dangerous

IAnimals that start with I

Iguana: Big green lizard with a spiny back
Impala: Leaping African antelope
Ibex: Mountain goat with huge curved horns
Ibis: Wading bird with a long curved beak for probing mud
Insect: Six legs
Inchworm: Caterpillar that loops along as if measuring
Indri: The largest lemur, and it sings a wailing song
Isopod: Flat segmented crawler, like a woodlouse, some live deep in the sea
Icefish: Antarctic fish with see-through blood and no red in it
Irukandji jellyfish: No bigger than your fingernail and horribly venomous

JAnimals that start with J

Jellyfish: No brain, no bones, and it stings
Jaguar: Spotted big cat of the Amazon
Jackal: Wild dog of Africa
Jackrabbit: Hare with enormous ears
Jay: Noisy bright bird that buries acorns and forgets some
Jerboa: Desert hopper with long back legs, like a tiny kangaroo
Junglefowl: The wild bird every farmyard chicken came from
Jack: Fast silver sea fish that hunts in a pack
John Dory: Flat oval fish with a dark thumbprint on its side
Jawfish: Digs a burrow and carries its eggs in its mouth

KAnimals that start with K

Kangaroo: Hops, baby in a pouch
Koala: Grey and sleepy, eats eucalyptus
Kitten: A very small cat
Kingfisher: Blue bird that dives for fish
Kiwi: Round, flightless, nostrils at the end of its beak, from New Zealand
Koi: Big orange and white fish in a garden pond
Krill: Tiny shrimp whales eat
Kakapo: Fat parrot that cannot fly, comes out at night, very rare
Kudu: Tall antelope with long corkscrew horns
Killer whale: Black and white, hunts in a pod
King crab: Huge, spiny, from cold northern seas
Kingfish: Big powerful sea fish that fights hard on a line

LAnimals that start with L

Lion: Mane, roars
Lizard: Scaly, drops its tail
Lamb: A young sheep
Ladybug: Little, red, with black spots
Leopard: Spotted cat that climbs trees
Llama: Woolly, spits, from the Andes
Lobster: Two big claws, turns red when cooked
Lynx: Wild cat with tufted ears and enormous snowshoe paws
Lemur: Big-eyed and ring-tailed, found only on Madagascar
Lemming: Small arctic rodent that tunnels under the snow
Loris: Moves very slowly through trees at night, huge round eyes
Lionfish: Striped, with venomous spines like a fan
Leech: Soft worm that clamps on and drinks blood
Leatherback turtle: Biggest turtle, with a rubbery ridged back instead of a hard shell
Leopard seal: Spotted Antarctic seal with a wide reptile grin, hunts penguins
Limpet: Little cone clamped so hard to a rock you cannot prise it off

MAnimals that start with M

Monkey: Climbs and swings
Mouse: Tiny, long tail, squeaks
Moose: Biggest deer, flat antlers
Meerkat: Stands upright on lookout
Mole: Velvet fur, spade hands, lives in the dark pushing up molehills
Mosquito: Whines in your ear and leaves an itchy bump
Mule: Half horse, half donkey, carries loads up mountains
Manatee: Big, slow and gentle. They call it a sea cow
Mongoose: Quick and fearless, famous for taking on snakes
Marmot: Chubby mountain ground squirrel that whistles a warning
Mandrill: Biggest monkey, with a blue and red striped face
Manta ray: Glides like a huge underwater kite
Mussel: Black shell, clings to rocks in clusters
Minnow: A very small river fish
Moray eel: Hides in a hole in the reef with its mouth gaping
Marlin: Huge ocean fish with a spear on its nose
Mackerel: Silver fish with wavy dark stripes down its back

NAnimals that start with N

Newt: Small salamander in ponds
Narwhal: The whale with a spiral tusk
Nightingale: Brown bird that sings at night
Numbat: Striped Australian anteater
Nuthatch: Little bird that walks down a tree trunk head first
Nene: Hawaiian goose with a stripey neck, found nowhere else
Nurse shark: Slow brown shark that lies on the bottom all day
Nautilus: Tentacles poking out of a beautiful coiled shell
Needlefish: Long and thin as a pencil, with a beak full of teeth

OAnimals that start with O

Octopus: Eight arms, squirts ink
Owl: Big eyes, hoots at night
Ostrich: Biggest bird, cannot fly
Otter: Swims on its back
Orca: Black and white, the sea's top hunter
Orangutan: Orange shaggy ape that lives up in the trees of Borneo
Oyster: A pearl might be inside
Ocelot: Small spotted wild cat of the American jungle
Okapi: Forest cousin of the giraffe, with striped legs
Oriole: Bright orange and black bird that weaves a hanging nest
Oarfish: Ribbon-like deep sea giant mistaken for a sea serpent

PAnimals that start with P

Pig: Pink, curly tail, loves mud
Penguin: Black and white, swims
Panda: Eats bamboo, from China
Parrot: Colourful, copies your words
Peacock: Fans blue-green feathers
Pony: A small horse
Porcupine: Covered in long sharp quills it rattles when cross
Platypus: Duck bill, beaver tail, and it lays eggs
Puma: Big plain-coloured American cat, also called cougar
Pelican: Scoops up fish in the huge stretchy pouch under its beak
Puffin: Small sea bird with a striped triangular beak
Pangolin: Covered in scales, rolls into a ball, eats ants
Possum: Plays dead when frightened, hangs about at night
Ptarmigan: Mountain bird that turns white for the winter
Pufferfish: Swells up with spikes when frightened
Piranha: Small, toothy, in the Amazon
Prawn: Like a shrimp, a bit bigger
Parrotfish: Bright as a parrot, nibbles the reef
Porpoise: Like a small blunt-nosed dolphin, shy near shore
Pike: Long green ambush fish of lakes, all teeth
Plankton: Drifting specks too small to see, and the sea runs on them

QAnimals that start with Q

Quail: Round ground bird with a plume
Quokka: Small smiling Australian marsupial
Quetzal: Green bird with a very long tail
Quoll: Spotted Australian hunter that carries young in a pouch
Queen angelfish: Brilliant blue and yellow reef fish with a crown-like spot
Quahog: Hard round clam from the Atlantic sand

RAnimals that start with R

Rabbit: Long ears, loves carrots
Rat: Bigger than a mouse, long bare tail
Rhinoceros: Thick grey skin, horn on its nose
Rooster: Crows at sunrise
Ram: The male sheep, with curled horns
Raccoon: Masked face, ringed tail
Reindeer: Antlers on males and females, pulls sleighs in stories
Raven: Big glossy black bird, croaks, and is remarkably clever
Robin: Small brown bird with a red breast, bold in gardens
Rattlesnake: Shakes a buzzing tail to warn you off
Roadrunner: Desert bird that would rather sprint than fly
Ray: Flat and diamond-shaped, with a whip tail
Rainbow trout: Freshwater fish with a pink stripe along its side
Reef shark: Sleek shark that patrols the edge of the coral
Rockfish: Spiny fish that lurks among rocks and can live for decades
Remora: Hitches a ride by sticking to a shark with a pad on its head

SAnimals that start with S

Snake: No legs, hisses
Shark: Rows of teeth, fin above water
Sheep: Woolly, and we make jumpers from it
Spider: Eight legs and a web
Squirrel: Bushy tail, buries nuts
Snail: Slow, with its house on its back
Seal: Flippers, whiskers, barks on the rocks
Sloth: Very slow, hangs upside down
Scorpion: Pincers in front, sting curled over its back
Swan: White, long neck, glides on the lake
Starfish: Five arms on the sea floor
Stingray: Flat, with a stinging tail
Skunk: Black and white stripe, and a smell you cannot wash off
Salamander: Damp-skinned and lizard-shaped, but related to frogs
Sailfish: Raises a huge fin like a sail, fastest fish in the sea
Seahorse: Tiny, upright, and the father carries the babies
Squid: Ten arms and a jet of ink
Sea urchin: A spiny ball on the sea bed
Sea turtle: A shell, and flippers instead of feet
Swordfish: Its nose is a long flat blade
Shrimp: Small, pink, curled up
Sea lion: Barks, claps, and walks on its flippers
Salmon: Swims upriver to lay its eggs
Sardine: Little silver fish, the one packed in tins
Sponge: It really is an animal, even though it never moves
Sturgeon: Armoured ancient river fish whose eggs are caviar
Sea otter: Floats on its back, cracks shells on a stone on its chest

TAnimals that start with T

Tiger: Orange with black stripes
Turtle: Carries its shell
Turkey: Capital: Ankara
Toad: Like a frog, but bumpy and drier
Toucan: Huge colourful beak
Termite: Pale ant-like insect that eats wood and builds tall mounds
Tortoise: Dome-shelled, lives on land, and can outlive a person
Trout: Speckled, in cold rivers and lakes
Tapir: Pig-shaped with a short trunk
Tarsier: Tiny night primate with eyes bigger than its brain
Tuna: Big, fast, and it comes in a tin
Tadpole: All tail, and it will grow legs
Tiger shark: Striped when young, eats almost anything
Triggerfish: Locks a spine upright so nothing can pull it from its hole

UAnimals that start with U

Urchin: Spiny ball on the sea floor
Uakari: Amazon monkey with a red bald face
Umbrellabird: Black bird with an umbrella crest
Unicornfish: Reef fish with a horn sticking out of its forehead

VAnimals that start with V

Vulture: Bald head, circles overhead
Viper: Venomous snake with long fangs
Vole: Small round field animal
Vicuna: Wild cousin of the llama with the finest wool in the world
Vervet: Small grey African monkey with a black face
Vampire squid: Deep sea, cloaked in webbing, glows instead of inking
Viperfish: Deep sea hunter with fangs too long for its own mouth

WAnimals that start with W

Wolf: Hunts in a pack, howls
Whale: Biggest animal ever
Worm: No legs, lives in the soil
Walrus: Two long tusks, Arctic ice
Wombat: Stocky Australian burrower
Weasel: Long, low and quick, hunts mice down their own tunnels
Woodpecker: Hammers its beak into tree trunks, drumming
Wasp: Yellow and black, narrow waist, and it can sting again and again
Wildebeest: Shaggy-maned antelope that crosses Africa in vast herds
Wallaby: Like a kangaroo but smaller, with a pouch
Whale shark: The biggest fish, spotted, and harmless
Water snake: Harmless swimmer that hunts frogs and fish
Wrasse: Bright reef fish, and some clean the teeth of bigger ones

XAnimals that start with X

Xerus: African ground squirrel
X-ray tetra: Little fish you can see through
X-ray fish: See-through body, so its backbone shows

YAnimals that start with Y

Yak: Shaggy ox of the Himalayas
Yabby: Australian freshwater crayfish
Yellowjacket: Bright yellow wasp that turns up at picnics
Yellow perch: Golden lake fish with dark bars down its sides
Yellowfin tuna: Fast ocean tuna with long bright yellow fins
Yellowtail: Sleek sea fish with a yellow tail, often eaten raw

ZAnimals that start with Z

Zebra: Black and white stripes
Zebu: Humped cow from India
Zorilla: African striped polecat that smells even worse than a skunk
Zebra shark: Spotted bottom shark, striped only when young
Zooplankton: The drifting specks that are animals rather than plants
Zebra mussel: Small striped shellfish that clogs up pipes where it does not belong

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