The Complete List of Animals That Start With D

This list includes 46 Animals that start with D that start with D, from “Dall’s Porpoise” to “Dwarf Mongoose”. It covers marine mammals, birds, reptiles, and small land mammals found worldwide.

Animals that start with D are species whose common names begin with the letter D. Notable examples range from fast swimmers like Dall’s porpoise to social species like the dwarf mongoose.

Below you’ll find the table with Common name, Scientific name, Habitat, Description, and Conservation status.

Common name: The everyday name helps you quickly recognize each species and match it to familiar references.

Scientific name: The accepted Latin name gives precise identification and helps you find authoritative species information.

Habitat: Concise biome and region notes show where each animal lives, helping you understand distribution and ecology.

Description: A short one- to two-sentence summary highlights key traits, typical behavior, and notable appearance for quick comparison.

Conservation status: Provide IUCN-style tags so you understand each species’ extinction risk and conservation priority at a glance.

Animals that start with D

Descriptions

Dalmatian Pelican

One of the world’s largest freshwater birds, known for its massive size, shaggy nape crest, and a huge orange gular pouch during the breeding season.

Dall’s Porpoise

Among the fastest small cetaceans, recognized by its striking black-and-white pattern. They love to bow-ride on fast-moving vessels, creating a distinctive “rooster tail” splash.

Damaraland Mole-rat

A social, burrowing rodent living in eusocial colonies with a single breeding queen, similar to insects. They are highly adapted to life underground in dry environments.

Damselfish

A small, common fish often seen in large schools. Juveniles are a brilliant iridescent blue, while adults are a more subdued dark brown or black.

Dark-eyed Junco

A common sparrow often called a “snowbird” as its arrival can signal winter. It exhibits remarkable regional variation in plumage across its wide range.

Darter

Also known as the snakebird, it swims with only its long, slender neck above water. It spears fish with its sharp bill and must air-dry its wings after diving as they are not waterproof.

Darwin’s Frog

Famous for its unique reproductive method where the male broods tadpoles inside his vocal sac. This tiny frog is critically threatened by habitat loss and disease.

Death’s-head Hawkmoth

A large moth famous for the skull-like pattern on its thorax. It can produce a loud squeak when alarmed and often raids beehives to steal honey.

Degu

A highly social rodent from Chile, known for its intelligence and complex vocalizations. Degus are diurnal and live in communal burrows, making them important ecosystem engineers.

Desert Cottontail

A common rabbit of the American West, adapted to arid conditions. Its large ears help dissipate heat and it is most active at dawn and dusk to avoid the midday sun.

Desert Horned Viper

A venomous snake recognized by the pair of “horns” above its eyes. It moves using sidewinding locomotion to traverse hot sand and ambushes prey from beneath the surface.

Desert Iguana

A heat-tolerant lizard often active during the hottest part of the day. It has a blunt head and a pale, sandy coloration that provides excellent camouflage from predators.

Desert Locust

A notorious grasshopper species that can form immense, destructive swarms. Under certain conditions, these solitary insects become gregarious and migrate, consuming entire crops.

Desert Tortoise

A long-lived reptile that spends up to 95% of its life in underground burrows to escape extreme temperatures. Its burrows are a keystone feature, providing shelter for many other animals.

Dhole

Also known as the Asiatic wild dog, this social canid hunts in large packs. Dholes communicate with a variety of whistles, clicks, and screams instead of typical barks.

Diamond Dove

One of the smallest pigeons in the world, native to inland Australia. It is named for the small white spots on its wings and has a distinctive red eye-ring.

Diamondback Terrapin

The only turtle species in North America that lives exclusively in brackish water. It is known for the beautiful concentric, diamond-shaped patterns on its carapace.

Diamondback Rattlesnake (Eastern)

The heaviest venomous snake in the Americas, identified by the distinct dark, diamond-shaped pattern on its back. It delivers a large volume of potent venom when it strikes.

Dik-dik

A tiny antelope, standing only about 40 cm tall. Dik-diks form monogamous pairs and mark their territories with tears from a special preorbital gland below their eyes.

Dingo

Australia’s wild dog, which descended from ancient domestic dogs. It is an apex predator that plays a crucial role in its ecosystem but is often persecuted as a pest.

Dipper (American)

North America’s only truly aquatic songbird. It can walk underwater along stream beds in search of insect larvae, using its wings to propel itself through the current.

Diving Beetle (Great)

A large, predatory aquatic beetle. It carries an air bubble under its wing cases to breathe underwater and is a voracious hunter of tadpoles and small fish.

Dodo

A large, flightless pigeon that went extinct in the late 17th century. Its inability to fly and lack of fear of humans made it easy prey, and it has become an icon for extinction.

Dogfish (Spiny)

A small shark species known for the sharp, mildly venomous spines in front of its dorsal fins. They are slow-growing and have one of the longest gestation periods of any vertebrate.

Dolphin (Bottlenose)

A highly intelligent marine mammal known for its playful acrobatics and complex social structures. They use echolocation to navigate and hunt for fish, communicating with clicks and whistles.

Dolphin (Spinner)

Famous for its acrobatic displays, where it leaps from the water and spins along its longitudinal axis up to seven times. This behavior is thought to be for communication or parasite removal.

Dolphin Fish

Also known as Mahi-mahi or Dorado, this fast-growing fish is famous for its dazzling, iridescent colors that fade rapidly after death. It is a popular and sought-after game fish.

Donkey

A domesticated member of the horse family, descended from the African wild ass. Known for its hardiness, sure-footedness, and distinctive “hee-haw” braying call.

Dormouse (Hazel)

A tiny, nocturnal rodent known for its long hibernation period, spending up to half the year asleep. It has a furry tail and is an agile climber, feeding on nuts, berries, and insects.

Dotterel (Eurasian)

A small plover with a unique breeding system where the more brightly-colored male incubates the eggs and cares for the young, a reversal of typical avian roles.

Douc (Red-shanked)

One of the world’s most colorful primates, often called the “queen of primates.” It has maroon-red “stockings” and a bright white tail, but is critically endangered due to habitat loss and hunting.

Dove (Mourning)

A slender, graceful dove with a long, pointed tail. Its soft, cooing call is a familiar sound throughout North America and it is one of the continent’s most abundant birds.

Dove (Rock)

Also known as the common pigeon, this bird was originally a cliff-dweller but has adapted incredibly well to cities. Feral populations are found in urban centers worldwide.

Dragonfly (Emperor)

One of the largest and fastest dragonflies in Europe. The male is known for its bright blue abdomen and highly territorial behavior, constantly patrolling its patch of water.

Drill

A large primate closely related to the mandrill, but lacking its bright facial colors. The male has a black face with a vibrant red lower lip and is one of Africa’s most endangered mammals.

Drongo (Black)

A glossy black bird with a distinctive forked tail. It is known for its aggressive behavior, often mobbing much larger birds of prey that enter its territory.

Dromedary Camel

The one-humped camel, perfectly adapted to desert life. Its hump stores fat, not water, which can be metabolized for energy, and it has many traits to conserve water.

Duck (Mallard)

The ancestor of most domestic duck breeds. The male is easily identified by his iridescent green head and white neck-ring, while the female is a mottled brown for camouflage.

Dugong

A large marine mammal, also known as a “sea cow,” related to manatees. It feeds almost exclusively on seagrass and is threatened by habitat loss and boat strikes.

Duiker (Common)

A small antelope named from the Afrikaans word for “diver,” due to its habit of diving into vegetation when frightened. It is highly adaptable and widespread.

Dunlin

A small, migratory shorebird with a slightly drooping bill. In breeding plumage, it has a distinctive black belly patch. Dunlins form huge, synchronized flocks during winter.

Dunnock

A small, unassuming brown bird often mistaken for a sparrow. Dunnocks have complex social lives with variable mating systems, including monogamy, polygyny, and polyandry.

Dusky Dolphin

Renowned for its incredible aerial acrobatics, including high leaps, somersaults, and flips. They are highly social and often hunt cooperatively in large groups.

Dwarf Caiman

The world’s smallest living crocodilian species, typically growing to only 1.5 meters. It is heavily armored, which may offer protection from larger predators in its habitat.

Dwarf Hamster (Campbell’s)

A small, social hamster species often kept as a pet. In the wild, they live in colonies and dig complex burrows to escape predators and extreme temperatures.

Dwarf Mongoose

Africa’s smallest carnivore, living in highly structured social groups led by a dominant alpha female. The group cooperates in raising young and defending against predators.