Apex predators

Humans (Homo sapiens, meaning "thinking man" or "wise man") are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the only extant species of the genus Homo. They are great apes characterized by hairlessness, obligate bipedality, manual dexterity with opposable thumbs, precision grip, and high intelligence. Humans have large brains compared to body size (a high encephalization quotient), enabling more advanced cognitive skills that facilitate successful adaptation to varied environments, development of sophisticated tools, and formation of complex social structures and civilizations. Human

The lion (Panthera leo) is a large cat of the genus Panthera, currently ranging only in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane that which extends from the head to the shoulders and chest.

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a large cat and a member of the genus Panthera native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is traditionally classified into nine recent subspecies, though some recognise only two subspecies, mainland Asian tigers and the island tigers of the Sunda Islands.

The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant cat species in the genus Panthera. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular, reaching a length of with a long tail and a shoulder height of . Males typically weigh , and females .

Eagle is the common name for certain large birds of prey within the family of the Accipitridae. While on a genetic level, only the subfamily Aquilinae comprises "true eagles", many other species are commonly referred to as eagles, such as the bald eagle, and the term generally carries no taxonomic weight. Most of the 68 species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just 14 species can be found—two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia.

large felid native to the mountains of Central and South Asia

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera that is native to the Americas. Its distinctively marked coat features pale yellow to tan colored fur covered by spots that transition to rosettes on the sides, although a melanistic black coat appears in some individuals. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world. The jaguar's powerful bite allows it to pierce the carapaces of turtles and tortoises, and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directl

The cougar (Puma concolor) (, KOO-gər), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount, and panther, is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild, terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most widespread in the world. Its range spans Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, the Rocky Mountains and areas in the western United States. Further south, its range extends through Mexico to the Amazon rainforest and the southern Andes Mountains in Patagonia. It is an adaptable generalist spec

species of mammal

species of bird of prey

species of bird

species of bird of prey

species of large lamniform shark

species of reptile

largest species of toothed whale

species of bird

species of bird of prey found in North America

species of canid native to Sub-Saharan Africa

thumb|Dingo on the beach at Fraser Island|K'gari, Queensland

The secretarybird or secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a large bird of prey that is endemic to Africa. It is mostly terrestrial, spending most of its time on the ground, and is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller described the species in 1779. A member of the order Accipitriformes, which also includes many other diurnal birds of prey such as eagles, hawks, kites, vultures, and harriers, it is placed in its own family, the Sagittariidae.

Cassowaries (; Biak: man suar ; ; Papuan: kasu weri ) are flightless birds of the genus Casuarius, in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites, flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones. Cassowaries are native to the tropical forests of New Guinea (Western New Guinea and Papua New Guinea), the Moluccas (Seram and Aru Islands), and northeastern Australia.

species of reptile

species of reptile

species of reptile

specie of felid native to the Iberian Peninsula

species of marine mammal

The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are long, and males . Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name "gharial". The gharial is well adapted to catching fish because of its long, narrow snout and 110 sharp, interlocking teeth.

subspecies of mammal

species of mammal

”Sturgeon” is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish, which date back to the Early Jurassic period, some 174 to 201 million years ago. They are one of two living families of the Acipenseriformes alongside paddlefish (Polyodontidae). The family is grouped into five genera: Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus, Sinosturio, and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. Two species (H. naccarii and S. dabryanus) may be extinct in the wild, and one (P. fedtschenkoi)

species of mammal

species of hyena

Otodus megalodon ( ; meaning "big tooth"), commonly known as megalodon, is an extinct species of giant mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Early Pliocene epochs. This prehistoric fish was once thought to be a member of the family Lamnidae and a close relative of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), but has been reclassified into the extinct family Otodontidae, which diverged from the great white shark during the Early Cretaceous.

species of eagle

cat-like, carnivorous mammal native to Madagascar

species of bird

Smilodon is a genus of extinct felids. It is one of the best-known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats, belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae, with an estimated date of divergence from the ancestor of living cats around 20 million years ago. Smilodon was one of the last surviving machairodonts alongside Homotherium. Smilodon lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene to early Holocene epoch (2.5 mya – at latest 8,200 years ago). The genus was named in 18

species of reptile

species of fish

The baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) is a possibly extinct species of river dolphin native to the Yangtze river system in China. It is thought to possibly be the first dolphin species driven to extinction due to the impact of humans. This dolphin is listed as "critically endangered: possibly extinct" by the IUCN, has not been definitively seen in over 20 years, and several surveys of the Yangtze have failed to find it. The species is also called the Chinese river dolphin, Yangtze river dolphin, Yangtze dolphin, and whitefin dolphin. The genus name Lipotes means "left behind" and the species epithet

species of freshwater or river dolphin

species of reptile

species of alligator

species of reptile

species of fish

species of mammal

species of bird

species of mammal

Dimetrodon ( or ; ) is an extinct genus of sphenacodontid synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian) epoch of the Permian period, around 295–272 million years ago. With most species measuring long and weighing , the most prominent feature of Dimetrodon is the large neural spine sail on its back formed by elongated spines extending from the vertebrae. It was an obligate quadruped (it could walk only on four legs) and had a tall, curved skull with large teeth of different sizes set along the jaws. Most fossils have been found in the Southwestern United States, the majority of

species of shark

species of bird

species of snake

extinct species of canids (Canidae)

species of reptile

species of reptile

species of reptile

species of bird

species of fish

species of bird

species of mammal