Random Animal Generator
This random animal generator draws from 222 well-known animals, each looked up by its scientific name in ITIS, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, and grouped by its ITIS classification. Press Pick animals, or tick groups such as mammals, birds or insects to narrow the draw. It gives names, not pictures, with the scientific name under each.
Result
- 01 Red-eyed tree frog Agalychnis callidryas
- 02 Betta Betta splendens
- 03 Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
- 04 Deer Cervidae
How do I pick a random animal?
- Tick the groups you want, or none for the whole list.
- Choose a number: one animal for a drawing prompt, a handful for charades or Pictionary.
- Press Pick animals; the scientific name under each one is the name it was checked under.
The sample above picks 4 animals with seed A9NM-7XK4-QP2D: Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas), Betta (Betta splendens), Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Deer (Cervidae). If the animals you need are not here, for example the ones at your local zoo or on a class worksheet, paste your own list into the list randomizer and draw from that.
How many animals are in each group
The list was compiled for this site: 222 animals that most people can name and picture. It is not a census of nature, which is why mammals, at 76, outnumber insects, at 25. With no group ticked each animal has the same 1 in 222 chance, so a group comes up in proportion to its size in the table.
| Group | Animals | Share of a draw |
|---|---|---|
| Mammals | 76 | 34.2% |
| Birds | 37 | 16.7% |
| Reptiles | 18 | 8.1% |
| Amphibians | 11 | 5.0% |
| Fish | 28 | 12.6% |
| Insects | 25 | 11.3% |
| Other invertebrates | 27 | 12.2% |
How were the animals checked in ITIS?
Each animal was looked up by its scientific name in ITIS, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, which assembles scientific names and how they relate for animals, plants, fungi and microbes. Only names ITIS marks as valid, its term for an accepted animal name, are used, and the group follows the ITIS class: Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, Amphibia or Insecta. The serial number ITIS gives each name (TSN) is kept in the data, so any entry can be checked again: the lion is TSN 183803, the bald eagle 175420.
Two groups are not a single class. ITIS has no class called fish, so Fish here means every animal in the phylum Chordata outside the four classes above: Teleostei (20), Chondrichthyes (5), Coelacanthi (1), Cephalaspidomorphi (1), Chondrostei (1). Other invertebrates are the animals outside the phylum Chordata that are not insects: Malacostraca (5), Arachnida (4), Cephalopoda (3), Bivalvia (2), Anthozoa (2), Clitellata (2), Chilopoda (1), Scyphozoa (1), Diplopoda (1), Holothuroidea (1), Asteroidea (1), Echinoidea (1), Gastropoda (1), phylum Porifera (1), phylum Tardigrada (1).
113 entries carry the name of one species, such as the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). For a few everyday names that cover many species, one well-known species stands in for the group: Duck is checked as Anas platyrhynchos, the mallard, and Butterfly as Danaus plexippus, the monarch. The other 109 names are checked at the level of their group: Owl is the order Strigiformes, Penguin the family Spheniscidae, Kangaroo the genus Macropus.
The full list of animals
Mammals (76)
- Aardvark Orycteropus afer
- Alpaca Vicugna pacos
- Anteater Myrmecophagidae
- Armadillo Dasypodidae
- Badger Taxidea taxus
- Bat Chiroptera
- Beaver Castor
- Bison Bos bison
- Blue whale Balaenoptera musculus
- Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
- Brown bear Ursus arctos
- Camel Camelus
- Capybara Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
- Cat Felis catus
- Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus
- Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes
- Chipmunk Tamias
- Cow Bos taurus
- Coyote Canis latrans
- Deer Cervidae
- Dog Canis familiaris
- Donkey Equus asinus
- Elephant Elephantidae
- Ferret Mustela putorius
- Fox Vulpes
- Giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca
- Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis
- Goat Capra hircus
- Gorilla Gorilla
- Guinea pig Cavia porcellus
- Hamster Mesocricetus auratus
- Hedgehog Erinaceidae
- Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius
- Horse Equus caballus
- Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae
- Hyena Hyaenidae
- Jaguar Panthera onca
- Kangaroo Macropus
- Koala Phascolarctos cinereus
- Lemur Lemuridae
- Leopard Panthera pardus
- Lion Panthera leo
- Llama Lama glama
- Lynx Lynx
- Manatee Trichechus
- Meerkat Suricata suricatta
- Mole Talpidae
- Mongoose Herpestidae
- Moose Alces alces
- Mouse Mus musculus
- Narwhal Monodon monoceros
- Opossum Didelphis virginiana
- Orangutan Pongo
- Orca Orcinus orca
- Otter Lutrinae
- Pig Sus scrofa
- Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus
- Polar bear Ursus maritimus
- Porcupine Erethizon dorsatus
- Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
- Raccoon Procyon lotor
- Rat Rattus
- Red panda Ailurus fulgens
- Reindeer Rangifer tarandus
- Rhinoceros Rhinocerotidae
- Sea lion Zalophus californianus
- Seal Phocidae
- Sheep Ovis aries
- Skunk Mephitidae
- Sloth Bradypus
- Squirrel Sciuridae
- Tiger Panthera tigris
- Walrus Odobenus rosmarus
- Wolf Canis lupus
- Wombat Vombatidae
- Zebra Equus quagga
Birds (37)
- Albatross Diomedeidae
- Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Blue jay Cyanocitta cristata
- Canary Serinus canaria
- Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
- Chicken Gallus gallus
- Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
- Duck Anas platyrhynchos
- Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae
- Falcon Falco peregrinus
- Flamingo Phoenicopteridae
- Goose Branta canadensis
- Gull Laridae
- Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
- Heron Ardeidae
- Hummingbird Trochilidae
- Kingfisher Alcedinidae
- Kiwi Apteryx
- Macaw Ara
- Magpie Pica
- Ostrich Struthio camelus
- Owl Strigiformes
- Parrot Psittaciformes
- Peacock Pavo cristatus
- Pelican Pelecanus
- Penguin Spheniscidae
- Pigeon Columba livia
- Puffin Fratercula arctica
- Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
- Robin Turdus migratorius
- Sparrow Passer domesticus
- Stork Ciconiidae
- Swan Cygnus
- Toucan Ramphastidae
- Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
- Vulture Cathartidae
- Woodpecker Picidae
Reptiles (18)
- Alligator Alligator mississippiensis
- Anaconda Eunectes murinus
- Bearded dragon Pogona vitticeps
- Box turtle Terrapene carolina
- Chameleon Chamaeleonidae
- Crocodile Crocodylidae
- Garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis
- Gecko Gekkonidae
- Gila monster Heloderma suspectum
- Iguana Iguana iguana
- King cobra Ophiophagus hannah
- Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis
- Python Pythonidae
- Rattlesnake Crotalus
- Sea turtle Chelonia mydas
- Snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina
- Tortoise Testudinidae
- Tuatara Sphenodon punctatus
Amphibians (11)
- Axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum
- Bullfrog Aquarana catesbeiana
- Caecilian Gymnophiona
- Cane toad Rhinella marina
- Fire salamander Salamandra salamandra
- Hellbender Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
- Newt Notophthalmus viridescens
- Poison dart frog Dendrobatidae
- Red-eyed tree frog Agalychnis callidryas
- Spring peeper Pseudacris crucifer
- Tiger salamander Ambystoma tigrinum
Fish (28)
- Anglerfish Lophiiformes
- Barracuda Sphyraena
- Betta Betta splendens
- Carp Cyprinus carpio
- Catfish Siluriformes
- Clownfish Amphiprion
- Cod Gadus morhua
- Coelacanth Latimeria
- Eel Anguilliformes
- Flying fish Exocoetidae
- Goldfish Carassius auratus
- Great white shark Carcharodon carcharias
- Hammerhead shark Sphyrnidae
- Lamprey Petromyzontidae
- Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides
- Lionfish Pterois
- Manta ray Mobulidae
- Piranha Pygocentrus nattereri
- Pufferfish Tetraodontidae
- Salmon Salmo salar
- Seahorse Hippocampus
- Stingray Dasyatidae
- Sturgeon Acipenseridae
- Swordfish Xiphias gladius
- Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
- Tuna Thunnus thynnus
- Whale shark Rhincodon typus
- Zebrafish Danio rerio
Insects (25)
- Ant Formicidae
- Aphid Aphididae
- Bumblebee Bombus
- Butterfly Danaus plexippus
- Cicada Cicadidae
- Cockroach Blattodea
- Cricket Gryllidae
- Dragonfly Anisoptera
- Dung beetle Scarabaeinae
- Earwig Dermaptera
- Firefly Lampyridae
- Flea Siphonaptera
- Grasshopper Caelifera
- Honey bee Apis mellifera
- House fly Musca domestica
- Ladybug Coccinellidae
- Luna moth Actias luna
- Mosquito Culicidae
- Praying mantis Mantodea
- Silverfish Lepisma saccharina
- Stag beetle Lucanidae
- Stick insect Phasmida
- Termite Termitidae
- Water strider Gerridae
- Yellowjacket Vespula
Other invertebrates (27)
- Black widow Latrodectus mactans
- Centipede Chilopoda
- Clam Mercenaria mercenaria
- Coral Scleractinia
- Crab Brachyura
- Earthworm Lumbricus terrestris
- Hermit crab Paguroidea
- Jellyfish Scyphozoa
- Krill Euphausiacea
- Leech Hirudo medicinalis
- Lobster Homarus americanus
- Millipede Diplopoda
- Nautilus Nautilidae
- Octopus Octopoda
- Oyster Ostreidae
- Scorpion Scorpiones
- Sea anemone Actiniaria
- Sea cucumber Holothuroidea
- Sea star Asteroidea
- Sea urchin Echinoidea
- Shrimp Caridea
- Snail Helix aspersa
- Sponge Porifera
- Squid Loligo
- Tarantula Theraphosidae
- Tardigrade Tardigrada
- Tick Ixodida
List checked against ITIS on .
Questions about random animals
How many animals are in the random animal generator?
The random animal generator holds 222 animals: 76 mammals, 37 birds, 18 reptiles, 11 amphibians, 28 fish, 25 insects and 27 other invertebrates. Tick groups to draw from part of the list only.
Can I draw only mammals or only birds?
Yes. The animal generator draws from the groups you tick before you press Pick animals. With Mammals alone ticked, each of the 76 mammals has a 1 in 76 chance.
Why is a whale listed as a mammal and not a fish?
In the animal generator, groups follow the ITIS class. Whales and dolphins belong to the class Mammalia, so the blue whale, the orca and the bottlenose dolphin are mammals here, while sharks and rays are fish.
How can I use a random animal in a game?
A random animal makes a prompt for acting, drawing or describing games: pick one and have players act it out, draw it or describe it without saying its name. For one animal per player, set How many to the number of players with repeats off, so nobody gets the same one.