- List of animal names
-
This list gives names of animals used depending on the context. Many species of animals, particularly those domesticated, have been given specific names for the male, the female, and the young of the species. There are a few generic terms, "bull-cow-calf", for instance, that are found across species, but many species have been granted unique names for these gender/age characteristics. An empty table cell indicates incomplete data and should not be interpreted to mean that the animal does not have a specific name of that type. However, a table cell with a dash in it signifies that no term for the indicated combination exists.
It is thought that many of the bizarre words used for collective groupings of animals were first published in 1486 in The Book of Saint Albans, in an essay on hunting attributed to Dame Juliana Berners. Many of the words are thought to have been chosen simply for the humorous or poetic images they conjured up in her lively imagination.[1][2]
Most terms used here may be found in common dictionaries and general information web sites.[3][4][5]
See also: List of collective nounsContents
Generic terms
This table contains terms generally applicable across some common categories of animals.
Animal Young Female Male Group Adjective Sex unspecified generic term Bird chick hen cock flock avian bird Bovinae calf cow bull herd bovine cow, cattle Canine puppy, pup[6] bitch dog pack canine dog Equidae colt (male), filly (female), foal jenny (asses), mare (other equines) jack (asses), stallion (other equines) herd equine horse Feline kitten, cub queen tom clowder feline cat Fish fry, fingerling school, shoal piscine, ichthyic fish Terms by species or taxon
Animal Young Female Male Group Adjective Meat Aardvark cub sow boar — orycteropodian Alligator hatchling cow bull congregation[7] eusuchian American Bison (Buffalo) calf cow bull herd bovine, bubaline Ant larva, pupa queen, worker, gyne drone army,[8] bike,[8] colony,[8][9] swarm[8] formic, myrmecine Anteater pup sow boar — Antelope calf[10] doe buck herd,[8] cluster,[8] tribe[8] alcelaphine, bubaline, antilopine Ape infant — — shrewdness,[1][7][8] troop[7][8] simian Armadillo pup, baby sow boar — cingulatan Ass/Donkey foal jenny jack herd,[8] pace,[8][9] band, drove,[7][8] coffle[8] asinine Baboon infant — troop,[7] tribe, flange,[note 1][3] congress[citation needed] Badger cub, kit sow boar cete,[7] sett, colony, clan, company musteline Barracuda school[11] percesocine Bat pup — — colony, cloud,[12] flock[13] pteropine, noctillionine Bear cub[14] sow boar sleuth, sloth ursine Beaver kit, kitten, pup — — family,[7] colony[7] Bee larva, pupa queen, worker [note 2] drone grist,[7] hive,[7] swarm,[7] colony, nest[7] apic, apian, apiarian Bison calf cow bull herd, troop Boar shoat sounder[7] Buffalo calf cow bull herd,[7] troop,[7] gang,[7] obstinancy[7] Bush baby infant queen king, drake congress, plot, gathering galagine Butterfly caterpillar rabble, flight, flutter,[7] swarm pieridine, pierine,lepidopteran Camel calf cow bull flock,[7] herd, train[7] camelid, cameline Caribou calf herd Cat kitten, kit molly, queen, pussy tom [note 3] clowder,[7] cluster,[3] clutter, glaring,[3] pounce,[7] kindle (young) feline Caterpillar army,[7] constituency Cattle[note 4] calf[15] cow[16] bull herd,[7] drift,[3] drove,[7] mob, kine (female)[7] bovine,[note 5] vituline (young), vaccine (female), taurine (male) beef, veal Chamois calf doe bull herd rupicaprine Cheetah cub coalition[17] Chicken chick, peep hen, pullet rooster, cock(-erel)[note 6] flock, brood,[7] peep[7] galline poultry Chimpanzee infant empress blackback troop, group, harem panine Chinchilla tureturle, kit velvet, sow boar herd chinchilline Cobra quiver[18] elapid Cockroach nymph intrusion[18] blattid Cormorant chick gulp,[18] flight Coyote cub, pup, whelp bitch dog pack, train canine Crab — hen cock, jimmy consortium, cast cancrine Crane chick, colt[19] herd, sedge, siege alectorine Crocodile hatchling cow bull bask, nest, congregation, float,[7] bask[7] crocodilian Crow hover, murder,[7] parcel[3] corvine Deer calf,[10] fawn doe, hind, cow[10] buck, stag, bull,[10] hart (red deer) bunch,[20] herd,[20] mob,[20] rangale[20] cervine, elaphine venison, humble (organ meat) Dog whelp, pup,[6] puppy bitch, dam dog, stud, sire pack,[20] litter (young), kennel,[20] gang, legion canine Dogfish troop[3] capeshark (USA), rock salmon (UK), flake (UK, AUS), huss (UK), rigg (UK), kahada (CAN)[21] Dolphin calf, pup cow bull team, school, pod, herd, team,[3] alliance (male), party (female) delphine Donkey See Ass Dove chick hen cock cote, dole,[20] dule,[20] flight,[20] piteousness,[3][20] troop, arc,[7] pitying[7] columbine Dragonfly nymph queen king, drake cluster, flight anisopteran Duck duckling duck, hen drake brace, bunch (on water),[3][20] flock, raft (on water),[20] sord,[20] team[note 7] anatine, fuliguline poultry Dugong calf cow bull herd dugongine Eagle eaglet — — convocation, brood, aerie aquiline Echidna puggle sow boar — tachyglossine Eel leptocephalus (larva), elver (juvenile) — — swarm, cell, pipe, array Eland calf cow bull herd Elephant calf[15] cow[16] bull[22] herd, flock, parade Proboscine, Proboscidean Elephant seal calf cow bull herd, pack, arrangement miroungan Elk (wapiti) calf[10] cow[10] bull[10] gang, herd cervine venison Falcon eyass/eyas falcon tiercel acciptrine Ferret kit jill hob[note 8] busyness,[1] business, fesny(i)ng musteline Finch chick hen cock quiver fringilline Fly maggot swarm, cloud, business dipterous Fox cub,[14] kit, pup[6] vixen tod, dog leash, skulk vulpine Frog polliwog, tadpole, froglet - - colony,bundle,fester ranine Gaur calf cow bull herd bovine, gaurine garabeef Gazelle calf[10] cow[10] bull[10] herd gazelline Gerbil pup doe buck horde cricetine Giant Panda cub sow boar Giraffe calf, giraffeling cow bull herd, tower[23] giraffine Gnu calf Goat kid nanny, doe, doeling billy, buck,[note 9] buckling herd, mob, tribe caprine, hircine chevon, cabrito, mutton Goose gosling goose gander gaggle (skein when in flight)[note 7] anatine, anserine poultry Gorilla infant — blackback,
silverbacktroop, group (band) simian Guanaco chulengo camelid Guinea fowl chick hen cock flock[24] numidine poultry Guinea pig pup sow boar herd Gull chick, scorrie[25] hen cock flock larine Hamster pup doe buck horde, saladbowl[citation needed] cricetid Hare leveret doe, jill buck, jack band, down leverine, leporine Hawk eyas hen tiercel cast, kettle, boil[note 10] accipitrine, falconine Hedgehog hoglet sow boar array[3] erinaceine Heron siege[note 7] Hippopotamus calf cow bull bloat, crash, herd, thunder[18] hippopotamine Hornet larvae, pupae queen drone vaginafull vespine Horse[note 11] foal, colt (male), filly (female) mare stallion herd, band, mob equine Human child, girl, boy woman man band, crowd, clan, tribe human long pig[26] (See cannibalism) Hyena cub, pup, whelp bitch dog clan, cackle[7][9] hyenine Iguana iguanine Jackal pup pack Jaguar cub Jellyfish planula, polyp, ephyra[27] sow boar smack,[3] smuck,[3] smuth,[28] fluther,[4] bloom scyphozoan Kangaroo joey flyer, doe boomer, buck mob, troop, court macropodine Koala joey doe buck colony, population phascolarctine Komodo dragon hatchling, chick, calf cow, hen bull, cock bank varanine Kouprey calf cow bull herd sauveline, bovine Kudu calf cow bull herd Lark chick hen cock exaltation alaudine Lemur infant princess dictator plot, congress, conspiracy lemurine Leopard cub leopardess leopard leap, lepe pardine Lion cub[14] lioness lion pride leonine Llama cria hembra macho herd, flock camelid Lobster hen[4] cock[4] homarine Locust nymph — — cloud, plague, swarm caelifera Loris infant colony[29] lorisine[30] Louse nymph — — colony, infestation pediculine Lyrebird hen cock musket menurine Magpie chick hen cock tiding, tittering, gulp, murder, charm, flock garruline Mallard duckling hen drake brace, flush, lute, puddling, sord anatine poultry Manatee calf cow bull herd manatine, sirenian Meerkat pup — — clan, gang, mob Mink cub, kit sow boar musteline Mole pup sow boar labour, company, movement talpine Monkey infant — — troop, tribe simian Moose calf[10] cow[10] bull[10][22] herd cervine venison Mouse kitten, pinky/fuzzy/crawler/hopper (as pet food),[31] pup doe buck colony, harvest, horde, mischief, nest murine Mosquito nymph, wriggler, tumbler — — scourge, swarm, cloud aedine, anopheline Mule foal molly, mare mule john, horse mule barren, pack, span, rake Narwhal calf - - blessing[citation needed] - Newt eft[32] - - - - Nightingale chick hen cock watch, flock, route, match philomelian Okapi calf cow bull herd okapine Oryx calf Ostrich hatchling, chick flock, troop ratite, struthious Otter pup, whelp sow boar romp, bevy, lodge, family, raft musteline, lutrine Owl owlet parliament, stare, wisdom strigine Ox calf cow bull yoke, team, drove, herd bovine Oyster spat bed, hive, cast, culch ostracine meat Panther cub pantheress pantherine Partridge chick hen, chantelle cock covey perdicine Peafowl chick, peachick peahen peacock party, muster, ostentation, pride pavonine poultry Pelican chick, nestling scoop, pod[7] Penguin chick, nestling rookery, waddle, colony (on land), raft (in water) [33] spheniscine Pig[note 12] piglet, shoat/shote (a young, just weaned pig), gilt (female) sow boar herd, drove, mob, drift porcine, suilline pork, ham, bacon Pigeon squab hen cock flight, loft, flock, kit, team pullastrine squab Platypus platypus puddle Pony foal (either sex), colt (young, immature male), filly (young, immature female) mare stallion herd, marmalade, string equine Porcupine pup sow boar prickle hystricine Quelea chick hen cock flock, swarm queline Rabbit bunny, kit, kitten, nestling doe, jill buck, jack warren, nest, colony, bevy, bury, drove, trace leporine Raccoon cub, kit sow boar nursery, gaze procyonine Rail chick reeve ruff ralline Ram lamb ewe ram flock arietine, ovine lamb and mutton Rat kitten, nestling, pinkie, pup[6] doe buck colony, horde, mischief, pack, plague, swarm murine Raven unkindness,[1][34] congress, conspiracy, parliament, murder, crime[citation needed] corvine Red deer calf hind stag herd venison Red panda cub sow boar pack ailuirine Reindeer (caribou) calf cow bull herd rangiferine Rhinoceros calf cow bull crash, herd ceratorhine Salamander tadpole, salamanderling sow boar maelstrom, band caudatan Sea lion pup, calf cow bull pod, colony, crash, flock, harem, bob, herd, rookery, team, hurdle otarine Seahorse seafoal seamare seastallion shoal hippocampal Seal pup[6] cow bull pod, rookery, bob, herd, harem phocine Seastar chick hen cock group, school asteridan Shark cub[14] frenzy, shiver selachian flake (AUS) Sheep lamb ewe ram[note 9] drove, mob, flock, herd ovine lamb, mutton, hoggett, haggis (visceral meat) Shrew shrewlet, baby sow boar colony, race, drove soricine Skunk kit sow boar[4] surfeit Snail - n/a n/a hood gastropodian escargot Snake snakelet, hatchling (a newly-hatched snake) — — pit, nest or bed anguine, elapine, serpentine, viperine, ophidian Spider spiderling cluster, clutter arachnine, arachnoid Squid chick hen cock roundup, audience tethidine calamari Squirrel pup, kit, kitten doe buck squad, dray, scurry[18] sciurine Stinkbug nymph intrusion pentatomidae Swan cygnet, flapper pen cob flock cygnine Tapir calf cow bull measure, herd tapirine Tarsier infant doe buck herd, plot, harem, troop tarsiine Tiger cub[14] tigress tiger ambush,[7] streak[18] tigrine Toad tadpole, toadlet — — knot,[7][9] lump, coven ranine, batrachian Turkey poult hen tom, gobbler, stag, jake (immature) cream, rafter poultry Turtle hatchling — — bale, dule chelonian Vicuña calf cow, señorita bull, señor posse, herd cameline Walrus calf cow bull herd, flock odobenine Wasp larva queen, worker drone swarm, hive vespine Water buffalo calf cow bull pot carabeef Weasel pup bitch, doe, jill buck, dog, hub, jack sneak, gang[35] musteline Whale calf[15] cow[16] bull gam, pod, herd, school cetacean, cetaceous blubber Wolf cub, pup,[6] whelp bitch, she-wolf dog pack lupine Wombat joey wisdom Worm wormlet bed, bunch, clew, squirm, wiggle helminthic, vermian Yak calf cow bull herd, cabinet Zebra foal mare stallion herd,[7][36] cohort,[36] zeal[7][36] zebrine, hippotigrine See also
Notes
- ^ The term "flange" was originally used to denote a group of baboons in a Not the Nine O'Clock News comedy sketch entitled "Gerald the Intelligent Gorilla" where it was used for comic effect. It has since been used in the scientific literature for a collection of baboons.
- ^ A worker bee is a sexually undeveloped female.
- ^ A castrated male cat is a gib or neuter.
- ^ Castrated male cattle are steers in the United States, or bullocks in the United Kingdom. A young cow that has not given birth is a heifer. See Cattle for more names. Cows is often used informally to refer to cattle in general.
- ^ Bovine refers to all species of genus Bos.
- ^ A castrated male chicken is a capon.
- ^ a b c A group of geese, herons, or ducks in flight is a skein.
- ^ A castrated male ferret is a gib.[citation needed]
- ^ a b A castrated male sheep or goat is a wether. See sheep for more names.
- ^ a "kettle" or "boil" is a group of hawks swirling and cris-crossing in a thermal air current, see "A Kettle of Hawks"
- ^ A castrated male horse is a gelding. A male foal is a colt, and a female foal is a filly.
- ^ A young female pig that has not given birth is a gilt. A castrated male pig is a barrow.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c d Berners, Dame Juliana (1881 reproduction) [First published 1486]. The Boke of Saint Albans. Introduction by William Blades. London: Elliot Stock. http://www.archive.org/details/bokeofsaintalban00bernuoft. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
- ^ "Precision of Lexicographers". World Wide Words. 2001-12-09. http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/collectives.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "What do you call a group of ...? : Oxford Dictionaries Online". oxforddictionaries.com. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/420. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Dictionary.com Animal Names". http://dictionary.reference.com/writing/styleguide/animal.html.
- ^ "Merriam Webster Dictionary". http://www.merriam-webster.com.
- ^ a b c d e f "Pup"
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am "Animal group names". SanDiegoZoo.org. Zoological Society of San Diego. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/got_questions_groups_list.html.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "AskOxford: A". archived copy of Collective Terms for Groups of Animals. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. http://replay.web.archive.org/20081020120740/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/collective/a/. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
- ^ a b c d "Animal Congregations, or What Do You Call a Group of.....?". U.S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/about/faqs/animals/names.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Deer of the world: their evolution, behaviour, and ecology By Valerius Geist, 1998, ISBN 0-8117-0496-3
- ^ Thomson, Donald A. (2000). "school+of+barracuda" Reef fishes of the Sea of Cortez : the rocky-shore fishes of the Gulf of California (Rev. ed., 1st University of Texas Press ed. ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 288. ISBN 9780292781559. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6MOaKl7yu3wC&pg=PA288&dq="school+of+barracuda".
- ^ Campbell, Charles A.R. (2002). "cloud+of+bats" Bats, mosquitoes and dollars. Honolulu, Hawaii: University Press of the Pacific. pp. 128. ISBN 9780898759327. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JfzpEWauHSgC&pg=PA128&dq="cloud+of+bats".
- ^ Brown, Michael J. (1997). "flock+of+bats" Durio, a bibliographic review. New Delhi, India: International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Office for South Asia. pp. 62. ISBN 9789290433187. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3AcGwT0CdSwC&pg=PA62&dq="flock+of+bats".
- ^ a b c d e "Cub"
- ^ a b c "Calf"
- ^ a b c "Cow"
- ^ Caro, T.M. (1994). Cheetahs of the Serengeti Plains : group living in an asocial species. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 237. ISBN 9780226094342. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hcZCubO01bEC&pg=PA237&dq=coalition+cheetah.
- ^ a b c d e f Universe in Your Pocket by Joel Levy, published by Barnes & Noble, Inc.
- ^ Gray, p. 594
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "AskOxford: D". archived copy of Collective Terms for Groups of Animals. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. http://replay.web.archive.org/20081020120740/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/collective/d/. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
- ^ "Animal group names". fao.org. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/X3690E/x3690e0o.htm.
- ^ a b "Bull"
- ^ Handley, Julia (2010). "tower+of+giraffes" Little things.. [S.l.]: Authorhouse. pp. 52. ISBN 9781452061702. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yTd2KH-tegYC&pg=PA52&dq="tower+of+giraffes".
- ^ Mobley, Jason A. (2009). "guinea+fowl"+flock Birds of the world. New York: Marshall Cavendish. pp. 291. ISBN 9780761477754. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gccfdvSUTg4C&pg=PA291&dq="guinea+fowl"+flock.
- ^ Caithness CWS - Caithness Field Club - Annual Bulletins - 2002 - Early Flying In The North Of Scotland
- ^ King, Alanna, ed (1987). Robert Louis Stevenson in the South Seas. London: Luzac Paragon House. http://books.google.com/?id=HWFbAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PR1&dq=%22Robert%20Louis%20Stevenson%20in%20the%20South%20Seas%22&pg=PA56#v=onepage&q=long%20pig.
- ^ International Wildlife Encyclopedia By Robert Burton, 2002, vol. 8, ISBN 0-7614-7266-5, p. 1322
- ^ Ivan G. Sparkes, Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms (White Lion, 1975).
- ^ Bradley Trevor Greive, Mitsuaki Iwago (2003). Priceless : the vanishing beauty of a fragile planet. Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Pub.. pp. 131. ISBN 9780740726958. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=eWaAtqdtfbIC&pg=PA131&dq=loris+colony.
- ^ McArdle,, John E. (1981). Functional morphology of the hip and thigh of the lorisiformes.. Basel, München [usw.]: Karger. pp. 89. ISBN 9783805517676.
- ^ See Mouse#As food
- ^ Brockes, J. & A. Kumar. 2005. Newts. Current Biology. 15(2):R4244) pmid=15668151 url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982204010322
- ^ New Zealand Penguins - Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ Baltimore Bird Club - Group Names for Birds: A Partial List
- ^ Beat about the Bush: Mammals, by Trevor Carnaby, published by Jacana Media, January 1, 2008, page 362. ISBN 978-1-77009-240-2.
- ^ a b c "AskOxford: Z". http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/collective/z/?view=uk. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
Further reading
- Peter Gray, "The encyclopedia of the biological sciences", 1970
- Lipton, James (1993) [1968]. An Exaltation of Larks (Ultimate ed.). Penguin. ISBN 9780140170962.
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