Animals That Start with Q - List, Images and Facts (2024)

Welcome to animals that start with Q.

It took a bit of searching, but we’ve made a list of 20 animals that start with the letter Q. You can check them out.

Jump to any Animal or read the entire list below.

Overview of animals that start with Q

1. Qinling Panda

Scientific Name	Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis
Where It Lives	Qinling Mountains, China
What It Eats	Bamboo
Conservation Status	Endangered

Fun Fact: Qinling pandas are rare, as there are less than 200 individuals in the wild.

Qinling pandas, also known as brown pandas, are a subspecies of the giant panda. They have a brown coat and a back of brown below their eyes rather than around it like other panda species. Bamboo is their primary source of nutrition; however, bamboo is not very nutrient-rich, so they spend around 14 hours a day eating bamboo.

2. Quacking Frog

Scientific Name	Crinia georgiana
Where It Lives	Southwest Western Australia
What It Eats	Insects, snails, spiders
Conservation Status	Least concern

Fun Fact: The quacking frog’s mating seems affected by moon phases, as there is a high mating level during the full moon.

Quacking frogs are endemic to Australia. As their name suggests, their mating call sounds like a duck’s quack. They vary in color, being orange, gray, or brown with marbling or stripes on their skin. Females typically have white abdomens.

3. Quagga

Scientific Name	Equus quagga quagga
Where It Lived	South Africa
What It Ate	Grasses, shrubs
Conservation Status	Extinct

Fun Fact: A Quagga herd always kept one individual as a guard while they slept.

Quaggas were a subspecies of zebra that appeared to be half-zebra and half-donkey. They were characterized by their brown skin and white stripes that appeared only on their upper torso and head. The last quagga died in captivity in 1883. They were unfortunately hunted to extinction.

4. Quagga Catshark

Scientific Name	Halaelurus quagga
Where It Lives	Arabian Sea
What It Eats	Deep-living shrimps
Conservation Status	Data deficient

Fun Fact: The Quagga Catshark gets its name from its stripes that resemble a quagga.

Quagga catsharks are a species of bottom-dwellers that have been found off the coasts of southwestern India and eastern Somalia. Only nine specimens have ever been caught. They have pointed snouts and dorsally-placed eyes and gill slots.

5. Quahog

Scientific Name	Mercenaria mercenaria
Where It Lives	North & Central America
What It Eats	Particulate matter
Conservation Status	Least concern

Fun fact: Quahogs mate by releasing their gametes into the surrounding water.

Quahog, otherwise known as hard clams, are a species of hard-shelled clams that inhabit the eastern shores of North and Central America. They are commonly served as food in restaurants around areas where they can commonly be caught. They are filter feeders and may be toxic to humans if they ingest toxins like red tide.

6. Quail

Scientific Name	12 genera
Where It Lives	Worldwide, except Antarctica
What It Eats	Seeds, greens, insects
Conservation Status	Some species threatened/endangered

Fun Fact: Quail hens can lay an average of 200 eggs annually.

Quails are game birds and are widely distributed around the world. They were domesticated primarily for their meat and eggs. They don’t look like it, but they can fly nearly 40 miles per hour over short distances.

7. Quebrada Valverde Salamander

Scientific Name	Bolitoglossa diminuta
Where It Lives	Costa Rica
What It Eats	Insects, spiders, worms
Conservation Status	Least concern

Fun Fact: The Quebrada Valverde Salamander doesn’t have lungs but breathes through its moist skin.

Quebrada Valverde Salamanders are endemic to Costa Rica. They live close to bodies of water or in moist tropical to subtropical forests. “Quebrada”: means “ravine” and “Valverde” means “meadow.”

8. Quechuan Hocicudo

Scientific Name	Oxymycterus hucucha
Where It Lives	Andes
What It Eats	Invertebrates, arthropods
Conservation Status	Endangered

Fun Fact: Due to its small distribution and destroying habitat, the Quechuan Hocicudo is classified as endangered.

Quechuan Hocicudos are fairly small rodents. These animals live in the cloud forests, which are very wet and mossy forests, at an elevation of 8,500-9,800 ft (2,600-3,000 m) above sea level in a small region in the Andes Mountains.

9. Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing

Scientific Name	Ornithoptera alexandrae
Where It Lives	Papua New Guinea
What It Eats	Flower nectar
Conservation Status	Endangered`

Fun Fact: These butterflies fly so high during the day that early collectors hunted them with small shotguns.

Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterflies are the largest species of butterfly in the world. Their wingspans can reach 9.8-11 inches (25-28 cm), with some exceeding that. They are endemic to the forests of the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea.

10. Queen Angelfish

Scientific Name	Holacanthus ciliaris
Where It Lives	Coasts of the Americas
What It Eats	Sponges, plankton, jellyfish, algae
Conservation Status	Least concern

Fun Fact: Female queen angelfishes can discharge up to seventy-five thousand eggs in an evening of mating.

Queen angelfishes are a beautiful fish species that live in the western Atlantic Ocean coral reefs. They are colored bright and beautiful blue and yellow shades and are in high demand for aquariums.

11. Queen Snake

Scientific Name	Regina septemvittata
Where It Lives	North America
What It Eats	Crayfish, small fish
Conservation Status	Least concern

Fun Fact: The Queen Snake hunts its prey by tracking its scent with its sensitive tongue.

Queen snakes inhabit the temperate regions of North America, including New York, Wisconsin, Alabama, and northern Florida. They are non-venomous, semi-aquatic, and resemble garter snakes in appearance. These snakes stay close to clean running water or watersheds.

12. Queen Snapper

Scientific Name	Etelis oculatus
Where It Lives	Western Atlantic Ocean
What It Eats	Fish, squid
Conservation Status	Data deficient

Fun Fact: The maximum recorded length of a queen snapper is thirty-nine inches.

Queen snappers are easily identifiable by their bright red and pinkish skin. They live in the western Atlantic Ocean and are the only species in the genus (Etelis) to not live in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It is possible that the population numbers are in decline due to overfishing; however, there is not yet enough data on their numbers.

13. Queen Triggerfish

Scientific Name	Balistes vetula
Where It Lives	Atlantic Ocean
What It Eats	Sea urchins, invertebrates
Conservation Status	Near threatened

Fun Fact: Queen triggerfishes can change colors when under stress.

Queen Triggerfishes, also known as old wives, inhabit the western Atlantic Ocean, commonly in coral and rocky reefs. They feature remarkably right colors, and they are often caught for aquariums.

14. Queensland Grouper

Scientific Name	Epinephelus lanceolatus
Where It Lives	Indo-Pacific Ocean
What It Eats	Fish, small sharks, crustaceans
Conservation Status	Data deficient

Fun Fact: Queensland groupers swallow all their prey, which include small sharks and sea turtles, whole.

Queensland groupers, also known as giant groupers, are one of the largest species of bony fish, weighing up to 880lbs (400 kg). They have a wide distribution in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and typically stay in shallow waters.

15. Queensland Tube-Nosed Bat

Scientific Name	Nyctimene robinsoni
Where It Lives	Northeastern Australia
What It Eats	Fruit, nectar
Conservation Status	Least concern

Fun Fact: Queensland Tube-Nosed Bats have never been observed drinking water.

Queensland tube-nosed bats are endemic to Northeastern Australia. They are brown with yellow spotting and have two tubular nostrils that project from their snouts. They are fructivores and only consume fruit and nectar.

16. Queensland Lungfish

Scientific Name	Neoceratodus forsteri
Where It Lives	Northeastern Australia
What It Eats	x
Conservation Status	Endangered

Fun Fact: Queensland lungfishes are “living fossils” and one of the oldest living vertebrates on the planet, having been around since about 380 million years ago.

Queensland lungfishes. also known as Australian lungfishes, are endemic to southeastern Queensland in Australia. They are called lungfishes because they have lungs they use to breathe oxygen in addition to their gills. This helps them survive the Australian dry season.

17. Quelea

Scientific Name	Quelea spp.
Where It Lives	Sub-Saharan Africa
What It Eats	Seeds
Conservation Status	Least concern

Fun Fact: Queleas are the most populous undomesticated birds globally, with a population of 1.5 billion.

Queleas, pronounced “kwee-lee-uhs,” are a genus of small birds found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. In places where they are common, they have been nicknamed the feathered locusts because they are major pests to grain, corn, and rice fields.

18. Quetzal

Scientific Name	2 genera, 6 spp.
Where It Lives	Neotropical America
What It Eats	Fruits, berries, insects
Conservation Status	Near threatened

Fun Fact: Male quetzal tail feathers can get as long as one meter.

Quetzals, pronounced “ket-sils,” live in the rainforests of North, Central, and South America. The resplendent quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala. Quetzals are brightly colored, with golden green crests and deep red breast feathers.

19. Quokka

Scientific Name	Setonix brachyurus
Where It Lives	Southwestern Australia
What It Eats	Grasses, sedges, leaves
Conservation Status	Vulnerable

Fun Fact: Quokkas can go months without water.

Quokkas are small marsupials endemic to a small region in Australia and on a few islands just off the Australian coast. These animals are one of the smallest species of wallabies in the world, and are known for their happy dispositions. They hop through tunnels in long grasses to evade snakes, their primary predators.

20. Quoll

Scientific Name	Didelphis maculata
Where It Lives	Australia, New Guinea
What It Eats	Smaller mammals, birds, insects
Conservation Status	Near threatened

Fun Fact: Quolls are aggressive and ferocious despite their size and appearance.

Quolls are carnivorous but cute marsupials indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. They are nocturnal and a good at climbing trees. With their soft spotted fur coats, these animals look like dainty eaters but eat anything they find alive or dead.

Summary of animals that Start with Q

That’s it for animals that start with the letter Q.

Get the full Animal Alphabet here:

• Animals That Start With A
• Animals That Start With B
• Animals That Start With C
• Animals That Start With D
• Animals That Start With E
• Animals That Start With F
• Animals That Start With G
• Animals That Start With H
• Animals That Start With I
• Animals That Start With J
• Animals That Start With K
• Animals That Start With L
• Animals That Start With M
• Animals That Start With N
• Animals That Start With O
• Animals That Start With P
• Animals That Start With R
• Animals That Start With S
• Animals That Start With T
• Animals That Start With U
• Animals That Start With V
• Animals That Start With W
• Animals That Start With X
• Animals That Start With Y
• Animals That Start With Z

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