Natures present us with beautiful, strange, odd and fascinating creatures. The animal kingdom itself have millions of amazing and special species that many of us have not known or seen. Below is a list of 10 fascinating animals whose names begin with the letter C.
1. Capybara
A capybara is a semi-aquatic mammal that is native to South America. It is usually found living in forested areas near rivers, lakes, swamps, ponds and marshes. Capybara has short head and broad body with reddish-brown fur upper body that turns yellowish-brown underneath. On average, an adult capybara can reach 130 centimeters in length and to about 65 kg in weight.
Adult capybaras are tailless, have 20 teeth, and with slightly webbed feet. An herbivore, it feeds mainly on grass, fruits, tree bark sand aquatic plants. An adult capybara can consume up 3.5 kg of grass per day! Also, capybaras are excellent swimmers and can survive completely underwater for up to five minutes. If the need arises, it can sleep underwater, keeping its nose just at the waterline.
2. Cat
Our list would not be completed without the cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or housecat. A small predatory and carnivorous mammal, cats normally weigh between 2.5 and 7 kilograms and average about 23–25 centimeters in height. Cats” night vision is superior to humans and its sense of smell is about fourteen times as strong as a human”s. Cats have dozens of movable vibrissae (whiskers) over their body, especially on theface that helps them in navigating.
3. Cuban Solenodon
The Cuban Solenodon, also known as Almiqui (Solenodon cubanus),is found in dense, humid forests, brush country, and around agricultural lands. A nocturnal mammal with dark brown fur, the Cuban solenodon has a flexible snout and tiny eyes. Adult ones average 41–56 cm long from nose to tail and weigh about one kg. A Cuban Solenodon communicates with others via squeaks, squeals and twitters. Its diet includes: snakes, frogs, and crabs.
4. Coconut Crab
The coconut crab (Birgus latro) also known as the robber crab or palm thief, is the largest land-living arthropod in the world. An excellent coconut palm climber, it can easily break open coconuts using powerful pair of pincers. Its body is divided into four regions; the cephalic lobe, forepart, trunk, and opisthosoma. Adults average up to 40 cm and weigh up to nine kg. Since coconut crabs live on the land, they have differently structured organs on their body that resembles those seen on insects. Coconut crabs main diet are coconuts, but they also search for fruits, leaves, tortoise eggs and even shells of other animals.
5. Coati
The coati is widespread and native to South, Central, and south-western North America. It lives in habitats ranging from hot and arid areas to humid Amazonian rainforests. A main feature of Coati is the white markings around the eyes, the ears and snout. Its snout is extremely flexible and can be rotated up to 60 degrees in any direction. Coatis average 33 to 69 cm from head to the base of the tail, about 30 cm tall at the shoulder, and weigh between three to eight kg. The coati is an omnivore; its diet consists mainly of ground litter invertebrates and fruits. They also eat small vertebrate prey, such as lizards, rodents, small birds, and bird”s eggs.
6. Cheetah
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is the fastest land animal on earth, reaching speeds of up to 110 km/h (68 mph). Cheetahs are sprinters that can accelerate from 0 to 110 km/h (68 mph) in three seconds, faster than most super cars. A cheetah weighs between 88-143 pounds (39-65 kg). Its head and body together measure 44 to 53 inches (112-135 cm). The tail is 26 to 33 inches (66-84 cm).
7. Comb Jelly
The phylum Ctenophora, also known as Comb Jellies has about 90 extant species that live in marine waters worldwide. Their bodies consist of a mass of jelly with one layer of cells on the outside and another lining the internal cavity. Adults of various species range from a few millimeters to 1.5 meters (59 in) in size. Comb jellies use their eight rows of comb-like plates to move in a rippling motion. Most species use their two long tentacles to capture prey.
8. Crocodile
Crocodiles are large aquatic reptiles found throughout Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Their habitat includes rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes in brackish water. Crocodiles have a streamlined body that enables them to swim swiftly. Webbed feet, which allow it to make fast turns and sudden moves in the water or initiate swimming. Crocodiles have the ability to close off their nasal passages in the water, allowing them to seize food without drowning. Since crocodiles feed by grabbing and holding on to their prey, they have evolved sharp teeth for tearing and holding on to flesh, and powerful muscles that close the jaws and holding them shut.
9. Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval stage of butterflies and moths. A voracious feeder, it eats leaves or other parts of plants. Most caterpillars have tubular, segmented bodies that includes: three pairs of true legs on the three thoracic segments, about four pairs of prolegs on the middle segments of the abdomen, and often a single pair of prolegs on the last abdominal segment. Caterpillars breathe through a series of small openings along the sides of their thorax and abdomen called spiracles. Caterpillars have 4,000 muscles and move through contraction of the muscles in the rear segments pushing the blood forward into the front segments elongating the torso. Many caterpillars are cryptically colored and resembled the plants on which they feed. Their size varies from as little as one mm to about three inches.
10. Clownfish
There are about twenty eight extant species of clownfish that are found in coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Depending on species, clownfish are overall yellow, orange, reddish, or blackish, and many show white bars or patches. The largest reach a length of 18 cm, while the smallest barely reach 10 cm. They have a symbiotic relationship with sea anenomes. Clownfish secrete a special slime—thought to counteract the stinging cells of certain species of anemones—which enables them to seek refuge among anemone tentacles.
Check out the entire Animal Alphabet list here:
Amazing Animal Alphabet Series 1
Amazing Animal Alphabet Series 2
Very interesting topic and educational too. Thanks for sharing this infos
🙂
Interesting info Kuya! I only know few animals whose names start with C. I think Cat and Crocodile are the top ones that come to mind.
Ria C
The caterpillar is pretty handsome hehehe. I am not familiar with some of the Cs animals.
My favourite are cat and clownfish. Those are cutie and hard to resist as your pet.
when i read the title, i thought of cat and cheetah right away 🙂 haha, aside from those two, the crocodile, clownfish and caterpillas, i just learned 5 other fascinating c's 🙂 thanks for sharing Donald
Most common to me are cats and cheetahs. The other animals are very refreshing. Thanks for sharing po this very interesting article.
There are several animals in the list which I don't have previous knowledge of. It's a good thing that there posts like this.
Capybara and Cuban Solenodon. wow! they're new to me. There really a lot of animals that are new to my knowledge. Thanks paps for this!
I saw that kind of caterpillar in my garden last year. A lot of them was in my tomato plants which freaked me out.
I can't believe a caterpillar can look that pretty. It looks creepy.
First time I've seen some of the animals here. The capybara caught my attention. It looks like a cross between a beaver, an otter and giant mouse (without a tail). We also have a unique creature here – The "crocopol" – half crocodile, half politician. Hahaha.
I only know 6 animals in the list. I'm not familiar with 1, 3, 5 and 7, but because of your post, I now know that these animals exist. Thanks!
Fascinating, indeed! Is it weird paps that I only know five animals from this list and I've actually seen 2 of them? hehehehe.
I love cats! Too bad I can't bring over a cat here where I currently live. It's not spacious enough for a pet.
Ohh… what a discovery. There's so many other animal I've yet to come across.
I laughed out loud at your Caterpillar! It looked like it's saying hi to me! Hahaha… Clownfish is beautiful too!
Coati, Cuban Solenodon, and Capybara are new to me. What an amazing fact!
It's amazing how small Cuban Solenodon is and yet it's diet includes snakes!
Thanks for the information, I have a pet start with C too! Which is my MeowMi Cat 😀
omg, that catepillar picture is scary! cannot stand looking at creepy crawlies at all. but i love the cheetah ALOT! love watching the big cat's diary, especially when they're featuring on the cheetahs. i find that it's exhilarating to watch cheetah running at full speed, as long as it's not towards you. haha! the capybara looks adorable too!
This is very informative. This is the first time I've heard about the capybara – it's great that we learn something new everyday. Your post reminded of this game that my classmates used to play back in grade school > P.A.N.T.S. > Places – Animals – Names – Things – I forgot what S stands for.
Cat, cheetah, crocodile and caterpillar are the only ones I knew of. The rest are alien to me until reading this post. Great pictures of these indeed fascinating animals. 🙂
What a lovely post! Clownfish are awesome… Nemo!! I am sure I have seen Capybara at one of the Zoo's in the UK… lovely animals! Sim x
Can't believe some of these animals are new to me. Need to start watching discovery channels more often. So you mean the Cuban Solenodon use twitter.com? What's their handler or hashtag please? Those crabs will make good coconut harvesters, I.e, if they won't eat it up. And what do you think about having a cheetah racing competition? For me, it would be mind-blowing.
These animals are so stunning! The Comb Jelly is so fascinating.. never heard of it before, but it sure looks very intriguing..
I learned a lot of things new here especially if about half of this list is new to me. It's always great learning something new about out animal friends.
Nice selection and photos of the ones you chose. I love that cat shot.
The cheetah and the clownfish are my favorite. All these animals are absolutely unique, nature is indeed amazing in its diversity of shapes and forms!
Must be scary to see a Capybara in the wild! Such a big rodent, it looks like a huge rat.
I had no idea crabs could climb so high up! What's also amazing is how the strong pinces could break apart a coconut easily!
Interesting!~ Are you going to come up with another post of fascinating animals, beginning with another alphabet?
This is the first time I read about Coati and Capybara. I will definitely share this knowledge to my 5 year old daughter
EXTREMELY HELPFUL WOW…
I GOT HELP FROM THE VERY SITE AS MY BROTHER ASKED ME A QUESTION THAT TELL ME AN ANIMAL (HERBIVORE) WHOSE NAME STARTS WITH LETTER “C”.IT WAS UNKNOWN TO ME THEN I FIND THE NAME OF CAPYBARA .IT WAS LIKE AN ENLARGED RAT WITHOUT ITS TAIL ……….
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