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15 of the Largest Animals of Their Kind

15 of the Largest Animals of Their Kind
Giant Squid | The Prompt Magazine

The largest living animal in the world is the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), a beast measuring 70 feet (21 meters) long. But enough about the whale. What is the largest bird, butterfly or marsupial? Live Science found 15 of the largest animals of their kind. Read on to find out who they are.  

  1. Largest Bird

With a wingspan measuring up to 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) long, the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) is the largest living bird on Earth. 

Diomedea exulans | Univ of Barkeley
Diomedea exulans | Univ of Barkeley

 

The largest albatross species on record (Pelagornis sandersi) is now extinct. Its wingspan measured between 20 and 24 feet (6.1 and 7.3 m), twice as long as the modern wandering albatross's wingspan, said Daniel Ksepka, a paleontologist and curator of science at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut. 

Ostrich | Boredomtherapy
Ostrich | Boredomtherapy

 

The heaviest living bird is the ostrich, which weighs an average of 244 lbs. (111 kilograms). The heaviest extinct bird is either the elephant bird (Aepyornis maximus) or the moa (Dinornis robustus). While the science community is split, "if you put a gun to my head, I would say Aepyornis maximus and go with 500 kg [1,100 lbs.] as the likely mass," Ksepka said. "They were, of course, flightless."

2. Biggest Butterfly

The Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) wins first place for largest living butterfly. Its wingspan is almost 1 foot (0.3 m) across.

Ornithoptera alexandrae | World News
Ornithoptera alexandrae | World News

 

Females of the species are brown and have a wingspan of 11 to 12 inches (28 to 31 centimeters), while the yellow, green, black and blue males are slightly smaller, with wingspans of 6.7 to 7.4 inches (17 to 19 cm) long, 

3.  Largest rodent

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the king of rodents. It stands about 2 feet (60 cm) tall at its shoulders, making it the largest living rodent on Earth.

Capybara Family | facts about animals
Capybara Family | facts about animals

 

The capybara is larger than its living relatives, cavies and guinea pigs. It can be found on land or wallowing in the water, where it can swim with its slightly webbed feet. The enormous rodents are native to South America.

4. Largest mollusk

Reaching lengths of up to 4 feet (1.2 m) and weighing more than 500 lbs. (227 kg), the largest living mollusk, and bivalve for that matter, is the giant clam (Tridacna gigas).

Giant molusca in Solomon Islands | reddit.com
Giant molusca in Solomon Islands | reddit.com

 

The giant shipworm (Kuphus polythalamia) is just a tad longer, though it weighs much less. This weird marine mollusk, whose shells look like an elephant tusk, measures between 3 and 5 feet (1 and 1.5 m) long. The animal inside is black and slimy, and measures about the length of a baseball bat.

5.  Largest fish

The largest fish is the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), which can reach up to 40 feet (12 m) long. The colossal fish weighs about 20.6 tons (18.7 metric tons), about the weight of two school buses.

Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) | Earth Times
Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) | Earth Times

 

These filter feeders live in tropical waters in the Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Pacific. However, the gentle giants are often caught by fisheries, tangled in nets as bycatch or struck by marine vessels. The IUCN lists the fish as endangered.

6.  Largest marsupial

The red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) is the largest living marsupial in the world. It measures up to 5.3 feet (1.6 m) from its head to rump, and its tail can be up to 3.6 feet (1.1 m) long, according to National Geographic. The marsupial weighs about 200 lbs. (90 kg).

The Red Kangaroo | Michael Seebek
The Red Kangaroo | Michael Seebek

 

However, M. rufus isn't the largest kangaroo on record. That honor goes to the giant short-faced kangaroo (Procoptodon goliah), which was more than twice as heavy, at 529 lbs. (240 kg), Live Science previously reported. That animal went extinct about 15,000 years ago, according to the Australian Museum.

The largest marsupial on record is the four-legged Diprotodon optatum, which looked somewhat like a bear. It was 5.5 feet (1.7 m) tall at its shoulders and just under 13 feet (4 m) long, and it weighed up to 6,100 lbs. (2,800 kg). This animal went extinct about 25,000 years ago, according to the Australian Museum. 

7. Longest snake

Out of 41 species, the reticulated python is the longest python (and snake) on record.

The longest known reticulated python measured 26.2 feet (8 m) long, longer than five grand pianos lined up. It was found at a construction site in Malaysia in April 2016, and died shortly after its capture, Live Science previously reported.

Longest Snake | Newsweek
Longest Snake | Newsweek

 

That Malaysian snake was longer than Medusa, the longest captive snake in the world, which measured 25.1 feet (7.7 m), according to Guinness World Records. 

8. Largest lizard

The fierce, fork-tongued komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest living lizard.

Male Komodo dragons measure up to 10 feet (3 m) long and weigh about 200 lbs. (90 kg). Females are a bit smaller, growing up to 6 feet (1.8 m) in length, Live Science previously reported.

Male komodo dragon | Nature and Science
Male komodo dragon | Nature and Science

 

The speedy predators have good vision and excellent senses of smell, which help them hunt large prey such as water buffalo, deer, pigs and even humans — so keep your distance!

9. Largest frog

The goliath frog (Conraua goliath) is an amphibian to be reckoned with. It can grow to be longer than a foot (32 cm) and can weigh more than 7 lbs. (3.3 kg), making it the largest frog on record and as large as some house cats, according to the San Diego Zoo.

Goliath frogs (Conraua goliath) are the largest living frog on Earth. | San Diego zoo
Goliath frogs (Conraua goliath) are the largest living frog on Earth. | San Diego zoo

 

Goliath frogs are champion jumpers, able to leap almost 10 feet (3 m) forward, the zoo reported. But don't wait for them to croak about it; these giant frogs are mute. 

10.  Largest arthropod

Arthropods (spiders, insects and other invertebrates with hard exteriors) make up the largest animal group on Earth, but only one arthropod species can claim the title of largest by size: the Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi).

The Japanese giant spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) in Osaka | Shutterstock
The Japanese giant spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) in Osaka | Shutterstock

 

The largest Japanese spider crab on record had a leg span of 12.5 feet (3.8 m), said James Lamsdell, an assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geography at West Virginia University. "But all the length is in the legs," Lamsdell said. "If you think that's cheating, then the largest modern arthropod is probably the American lobster. Old ones can get to be a little over a meter [3.2 feet] in body length, although [fisheries] don't generally let them get that old anymore."

The largest extinct arthropod is Jaekelopterus rhenaniae, a giant sea scorpion that grew to be up to 8.2 feet (2.5 m) long, "and the claws, when extended, could have added about a meter to the total length," Lamsdell said.

11. Largest dog

The largest dog on record was Zeus, a donkey-size Great Dane from Otsego, Michigan, according to Guinness World Records. 

Zeus | Daily mail UK
Zeus | Daily mail UK

 

At shoulder height, Zeus reached 3.6 feet. When he stood on his back legs, he towered at an impressive 7 feet, 4 inches (2.2 m), taller than most basketball players, Guinness World Records reported.

Sadly, the 155-lb. (70 kg) dog had a short life. He died at age 5 in 2014.

12. Biggest jellyfish

The lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) can be quite small, just 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) in diameter. It can also be astoundingly large, reaching a diameter of 6.6 feet (2 m), according to National Geographic.
Its tentacles are even longer, some topping 49 feet (15 m) long, making this the largest jellyfish on the planet.

arctic lion mane jellyfish | Information about sea life
arctic lion mane jellyfish | Information about sea life

 

These jellyfish can also sting people. One lion's mane jellyfish reportedly stung from 50 to 100 people swimming off the coast of New Hampshire in 2010,. 

13.  Largest bat

The largest bat is a sight to behold. Known to some as the golden-capped fruit bat, and to others as the golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), it has a wingspan of up to 5.5 feet (1.7 m), according to the Encyclopedia of Life. But these giants are light, weighing just about 2.6 lbs. (1.2 kg), according to the IUCN.

Acerodon jubatus is endemic to the forests of the Philippines |  Animals, People & Plants Living Ethically
Acerodon jubatus is endemic to the forests of the Philippines | Animals, People & Plants Living Ethically

 

The fruit bat is native to the Philippines, where it is endangered largely because of habitat loss and hunting, the IUCN reported. 

14. Largest cephalopod

It may come as no surprise that the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) is the largest cephalopod, a group that includes squid, octopuses, cuttlefish and nautiluses.

Researchers determine squid length by measuring the creatures' mantle (body length). The mantle of A. dux is more than 6.6 feet (2 m) long, but the animal's tentacles make the squid a whopping 59 feet (18 m) long in total, said Michael Vecchione, a curator of cephalopods at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Architeuthis dux | 1000 museums
Architeuthis dux | 1000 museums

 

The largest extinct cephalopod by shell length was the Cameroceras, which was roughly 20 feet (6 m) long. However, if you're looking at largest shell by diameter, that honor goes to the extinct Parapuzosia seppenradensis, an ammonite with a coiled shell that was 8.2 feet (2.5 m) in diameter, Vecchione said. 

15. Largest primate

The eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) takes the prize as largest primate, with a height of up to 6.2 feet (1.9 m) and a weight of roughly 450 lbs. (205 kg), according to Gorillas-World.

Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) 'silverback' alpha male, leading family group | Minden Pictures
Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) 'silverback' alpha male, leading family group | Minden Pictures

 

These gorillas live in the mountainous forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, according to the IUCN. There are fewer than 5,000 eastern gorillas left in the wild, making them critically endangered. 

This article was first published on LiveScience.com on May 6th

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Akhyari Hananto

I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to More understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia. I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine. I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan" I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy Less
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