Animals that start with P include a bear that eats almost nothing but bamboo, a mammal that lays eggs, and the most trafficked wild mammal on earth. Pandas, penguins, parrots, pythons and platypuses are all here, alongside prehistoric giants and a fish that can kill you if prepared wrongly.
This guide covers 40 animals beginning with P, with scientific names, animal group, where each lives and what makes it distinctive.
Animals Starting With P: Complete List
| Animal | Scientific Name | Group | Where It Lives | Notable For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pachycephalosaurus | Pachycephalosaurus | Extinct reptile | North America | Dome skull up to 25 cm thick |
| Pacific Coast Tick | Dermacentor occidentalis | Arachnid | Western North America | Disease vector — see health note |
| Pacific Sleeper Shark | Somniosus pacificus | Fish | North Pacific deep water | Extremely slow-moving deep-sea shark |
| Pacific Spaghetti Eel | Moringua spp. | Fish | Indo-Pacific | Long, thin, burrowing eel |
| Paddlefish | Polyodon spathula | Fish | Mississippi basin | Paddle snout detects electrical fields |
| Pademelon | Thylogale spp. | Mammal | Australia, New Guinea | Small forest-dwelling macropod |
| Painted Turtle | Chrysemys picta | Reptile | North America | Hatchlings survive freezing solid |
| Palaeoloxodon namadicus | Palaeoloxodon namadicus | Extinct mammal | Asia | Possibly the largest land mammal ever |
| Palaeophis | Palaeophis | Extinct reptile | Ancient seas | Giant prehistoric sea snake |
| Paleoparadoxia | Paleoparadoxia | Extinct mammal | North Pacific coasts | Hippo-like marine mammal |
| Panda | Ailuropoda melanoleuca | Mammal | Central China | Carnivore gut living on bamboo |
| Pangolin | Pholidota | Mammal | Africa & Asia | Only mammal covered in keratin scales |
| Panther | Panthera spp. | Mammal | Americas, Asia, Africa | Not a species — a black leopard or jaguar |
| Parakeet | Psittaculidae | Bird | Asia, Africa, Australia | Budgerigar is the familiar species |
| Parrot | Psittaciformes | Bird | Tropics worldwide | Zygodactyl feet; some mimic speech |
| Peacock | Pavo spp. | Bird | South Asia | Train is back feathers, not the tail |
| Peacock Spider | Maratus spp. | Arachnid | Australia | Males dance with a coloured abdominal flap |
| Pelican | Pelecanus spp. | Bird | Coasts worldwide | Throat pouch holds more than its stomach |
| Pelican Eel | Eurypharynx pelecanoides | Fish | Deep ocean | Jaw larger than the rest of its body |
| Penguin | Spheniscidae | Bird | Southern hemisphere | Solid bones, unlike flying birds |
| Pheasant | Phasianus colchicus | Bird | Asia, introduced widely | Explosive short-distance flight |
| Pig | Sus domesticus | Mammal | Domesticated worldwide | Cannot sweat; wallows to cool |
| Pigeon | Columba livia | Bird | Worldwide | Navigates by magnetic field and smell |
| Pike | Esox lucius | Fish | Northern fresh water | Ambush predator with backward-facing teeth |
| Piranha | Serrasalmidae | Fish | South America | Mostly scavengers; reputation overstated |
| Platypus | Ornithorhynchus anatinus | Mammal | Eastern Australia | Egg-laying; males have venomous spurs |
| Poison Dart Frog | Dendrobatidae | Amphibian | C. & S. America | Toxicity comes from diet — toxic |
| Polar Bear | Ursus maritimus | Mammal | Arctic | Black skin under translucent hollow fur |
| Polecat | Mustela putorius | Mammal | Europe | Wild ancestor of the domestic ferret |
| Pony | Equus caballus | Mammal | Domesticated | Under 14.2 hands; not a young horse |
| Porcupine | Hystricidae / Erethizontidae | Mammal | Worldwide | Quills are modified hairs; cannot be shot |
| Portuguese Man o’ War | Physalia physalis | Siphonophore | Warm oceans | Not a jellyfish — a colony; severe sting |
| Possum | Phalangeriformes | Mammal | Australasia | Distinct from the American opossum |
| Prairie Dog | Cynomys spp. | Mammal | North American plains | Calls encode predator type and size |
| Prawn | Dendrobranchiata | Crustacean | Fresh and salt water | Branching gills distinguish it from shrimp |
| Praying Mantis | Mantodea | Insect | Worldwide | Only insect that can turn its head fully |
| Pufferfish | Tetraodontidae | Fish | Tropical seas | Tetrodotoxin — lethal if eaten |
| Puffin | Fratercula spp. | Bird | North Atlantic | Bill turns bright only for breeding season |
| Puma | Puma concolor | Mammal | The Americas | Widest range of any wild land mammal in the Americas |
| Python | Pythonidae | Reptile | Africa, Asia, Australia | Constrictor; lays eggs unlike boas |
Mammals
Panda
Giant pandas have the digestive system of a carnivore — short gut, no rumen, carnivore gut bacteria — yet live almost entirely on bamboo, which they digest poorly. They compensate by eating for up to 14 hours a day and passing enormous quantities. The “thumb” used to grip stems is an enlarged wrist bone, not a real digit. Cubs are born pink, blind and around 1/900th of their mother’s weight, among the most extreme size disparities of any mammal.
Pangolin
The only mammal covered in keratin scales, which it uses like armour, rolling into a ball so tight that big cats generally give up. It has no teeth at all, swallowing stones that grind insects in a muscular stomach, and its tongue can be longer than its body, anchored near the pelvis. Pangolins are the most trafficked wild mammals in the world, and all eight species are threatened.
Platypus
One of only five surviving egg-laying mammals. It hunts with its eyes, ears and nostrils shut, navigating entirely by electroreception through its bill — detecting the faint electrical signals of muscle movement in prey. Males carry a venomous spur on each hind leg capable of causing severe, long-lasting pain in humans. Platypuses also fluoresce blue-green under ultraviolet light, a discovery made only recently.
Polar Bear
Polar bear skin is black and the fur is not white but transparent and hollow, scattering light to appear white and trapping insulating air. They are classified as marine mammals for their dependence on sea ice, swim for days at a time, and have a sense of smell able to detect a seal nearly a kilometre away or under a metre of compacted snow.
Porcupine
Quills are modified hairs coated in keratin, and porcupines cannot shoot them — the quills detach on contact because they are loosely rooted. Many species have microscopic backward-facing barbs that make removal difficult and painful. Old World and New World porcupines are only distantly related; the resemblance is convergent evolution.
Prairie Dog
Prairie dog alarm calls are among the most information-dense vocal systems known outside human language. Research indicates the calls encode not just that a predator is present but what kind, roughly how big, what colour it is, and how fast it is moving — and colonies appear to coin new calls for novel objects.
Puma
Also called cougar, mountain lion, panther and catamount — it holds the record for the most common names of any animal. It has the widest range of any wild land mammal in the Americas, from Canada to Patagonia. Despite its size it cannot roar; it purrs, and belongs with the small cats rather than the Panthera group.
Panther
“Panther” is not a species. A black panther is a melanistic leopard in Africa and Asia or a melanistic jaguar in the Americas — in strong light the rosette pattern is still visible beneath the black. In Florida the name also refers to the puma population, which is not black at all.
Birds
Penguin
Penguins have solid, dense bones rather than the hollow ones of flying birds, which reduces buoyancy and helps them dive — emperor penguins reach over 500 metres and stay down more than 20 minutes. All 18 species live in the southern hemisphere, though the Galapagos penguin just crosses the equator. Emperors breed through the Antarctic winter, with males incubating a single egg on their feet for around two months without eating.
Parrot
Parrots have zygodactyl feet — two toes forward, two back — which grip like a hand, and many are effectively left- or right-footed. Their vocal mimicry does not use a larynx but a syrinx, and some individuals demonstrably use words in context rather than merely copying. Large macaws and cockatoos can outlive their owners, reaching 60 to 80 years.
Peacock
The spectacular train is not the tail: it is greatly elongated upper tail covert feathers, fanned and supported by the much shorter real tail behind. The iridescent eyespots come from microscopic crystal structures that refract light rather than from pigment, which is why the colour shifts with viewing angle. Only males have it, and it is moulted and regrown each year.
Pelican
The throat pouch holds up to three times as much as the stomach and is used as a net, not for storage — the bird drains the water out before swallowing. Brown pelicans plunge-dive from height, and air sacs beneath the skin cushion the impact. Others fish cooperatively, herding shoals into shallow water.
Puffin
Puffin bills are drab grey-brown most of the year and develop bright orange, red and blue plates only for the breeding season, shedding them afterwards. Backward-pointing spines on the tongue and palate let a bird hold a dozen or more fish crosswise in its bill while still catching more. They spend most of the year far out at sea, coming ashore only to breed.
Pigeon
Homing pigeons navigate using a combination of the earth’s magnetic field, sun position, low-frequency infrasound and olfactory maps, returning across hundreds of kilometres of unfamiliar terrain. Pigeons are among the very few animals to pass the mirror self-recognition test, and both parents feed nestlings on a secretion called crop milk.
Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
Python
Pythons kill by constriction, tightening with each exhalation until circulation fails — the mechanism is cardiac arrest from cut-off blood flow rather than suffocation. Heat-sensing pits along the lips let them strike accurately in complete darkness. Unlike boas, pythons lay eggs, and females of some species shiver to generate heat and incubate the clutch.
Poison Dart Frog
Poison dart frogs are not born toxic. Their alkaloids come from a diet of specific mites, ants and beetles in the wild, so captive-bred individuals raised on fruit flies are entirely harmless. Only a few species were ever actually used to poison blowgun darts.
Warning: the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis) carries enough batrachotoxin on its skin to be dangerous to a person, and the toxin can be absorbed through broken skin or mucous membranes. Do not handle wild dart frogs, and wash immediately if you do.
Pufferfish
Pufferfish inflate by rapidly gulping water into a highly elastic stomach, becoming several times their normal size and too large to swallow. Most also carry tetrodotoxin, concentrated in the liver, ovaries and skin.
Warning: tetrodotoxin is roughly a thousand times more poisonous than cyanide by weight, has no antidote, and causes progressive paralysis while the victim stays conscious. Pufferfish served as fugu in Japan may legally be prepared only by specially licensed chefs, and fatalities still occur from amateur preparation. Never eat pufferfish that has not been prepared by a licensed specialist.
Piranha
Piranhas are largely scavengers and opportunistic feeders, and most species eat a substantial amount of plant material. The reputation for stripping a cow to bones comes chiefly from a staged demonstration arranged for Theodore Roosevelt in 1913, in which starved fish were released into a blocked-off river section. Attacks on people are rare and usually minor.
Pike
An ambush predator of northern fresh water, holding motionless among weed before accelerating in a single burst. Its teeth angle backwards so struggling prey works itself further in, and it will take fish nearly half its own length, along with ducklings and small mammals.
Invertebrates
Praying Mantis
The mantis is the only insect able to rotate its head a full 180 degrees, and it has stereoscopic vision genuinely comparable to a vertebrate’s — demonstrated by fitting mantises with tiny 3D glasses. Sexual cannibalism occurs but is far less universal than commonly claimed, and is much more frequent in captivity than in the wild.
Peacock Spider
Tiny Australian jumping spiders, most under 5 mm. Males raise a brilliantly coloured abdominal flap and wave their legs in an elaborate species-specific dance to court females, who will kill and eat an unconvincing suitor. Dozens of new species have been described in the last decade.
Portuguese Man o’ War
Not a jellyfish, and not even a single animal: it is a siphonophore, a colony of specialised individual organisms called zooids that cannot survive independently. The gas-filled float sits above the surface and the tentacles trail up to 30 metres below.
Warning: Portuguese man o’ war stings cause intense pain and welts, and stranded specimens on a beach remain capable of stinging for a long time after death — do not touch them. Rinse a sting with seawater, not fresh water, which triggers more stinging cells to fire, and seek medical help for severe reactions or stings over a large area.
Prehistoric and Specialist Species
Pachycephalosaurus
An extinct herbivorous dinosaur named Pachycephalosaurus lived about 76 million years ago. The dinosaur’s largest distinguishing characteristic, the enormous dome of thick bone on its head, is best described by its name, Pachycephalosaurus, which is Greek for “thick-headed lizard.” Pachycephalosaurus is likely to have been linked to ceratopsians and existed in the Late Cretaceous. Pachycephalosaurus was a bipedal herbivorous dinosaur, as opposed to those with four legs. The dinosaur coexisted with numerous other well-known dinosaurs, including Troodon, Tyrannosaurus rex, Ornithomimus, and others.The name Pachycephalosaurus comes from the Greek words pachys and kephale, which together mean “thick head,” and “saurus,” which means lizard. The longest member of the family that is currently known measured roughly 1. 8 feet in length. The dino’s weight ranged between 820 and 990 kilos. It had small front legs, a stout short neck, large hind legs, and a massive tail.Pachycephalosaurus was a bipedal dinosaur with a 10-inch-thick bone dome covering its skull. In addition to the dome, it also had small bony spikes that protruded from the muzzle and blunt bony knobs. According to researchers, the Pachycephalosaurus’s dome was built to fend off predators or rivals like musk oxen and bighorn sheep during the breeding season.
Pacific Coast Tick
A species of hard-bodied tick belonging to the Ixodidae family is the Pacific coast tick. Like other ticks, it frequently attaches itself to humans and mostly feeds on the blood of mammals. Except for Australia, all continents are home to the Pacific coast tick. The tick is a carrier of a number of illnesses, including horse piroplasmosis, Pacific coast tick fever, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Ticks from the Pacific coast are also capable of injecting a neurotoxic that paralyses cattle, deer, and horses.The tick known as the Pacific coast tick belongs to the genus Dermacentor. This arthropod is a hard-bodied species of tick, which means it is a member of the Ixodidae family. Unlike the soft-bodied, pitless forms, this huge genus of ticks (species Ixodida) is distinguished by its stiff shields or fangs (family Argasidae).With more than 700 species, the hard tick family is more diverse than the soft tick family, which only includes 193 species. About 1 species of the genus Dermacentor have been discovered as of 2019. The most well-known member of this family is the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis.
Pacific Sleeper Shark
Large deep-sea fish called Pacific Sleeper Sharks average.3 metres (1.1 feet) for females and.1 metre (1.1 feet) for males. Some of this species’ largest fish are estimated to grow to be up to 7 metres long! It has bluish-black fins and is dark grey to black in colour. The shark has a cylindrical body and a short, rounded snout. It has two identically sized dorsal fins, with the first one being situated farther from the pectoral fins than the other. Additionally, it has short front fins and an asymmetrical caudal (tail) with a well-developed ventral (lower) lobe.It is believed that Pacific Sleeper Sharks are both scavengers and predators. They can move their bodies very little through the water, and they produce very little hydrodynamic noise. They are therefore exceptionally effective poachers. They consume food by sucking and biting their prey. The huge mouths of Pacific sleeper sharks allow them to almost completely consume their meal while swimming. With their razor-sharp teeth, they slice off any parts of their meal that are too large for them to consume. They exhibit a distinctive head rotation when eating as well.
Pacific Spaghetti Eel
The long, slender Pacific spaghetti squid is a common species in the temperate Pacific Ocean waters close to Japan and New Zealand. They are a type of garden eel that spends its entire life partially submerged on sand flats close to reef systems. They can be spotted in big colonies waiting on passing zooplankton with their jaws wide while swaying with the ocean current. Despite the fact that this species is relatively new and unstudied, we can draw conclusions about the garden eel family from it. Everything you need to know about the Pacific Spaghetti Eel, including its habitat, diet, and behaviour, is provided here.
Paddlefish
These fish are members of the family Polyodontidae and the Acipenseroforma order, which also includes sturgeons. The only species of paddlefish (spoonfish) that are now known are found in the United States, and their scientific name is Polyodon spathula. Psephurus gladius was the scientific name of the Chinese paddlefish, which was classified as extinct in 2005.There are six different varieties of paddlefish that have been identified. Only the fossil record allows us to know about four of them; three of these species were found in North America and one in China. The American paddlefish is the sole remaining species after the Chinese paddlefish recently went extinct.The American paddlefish, P. spathula, is the only species that are still alive. The following sections include more details on this species.The Chinese oar, P. gladius, was the sole variety of oars that existed in the world until recently. The Yangtze basin’s Chinese paddlefish often referred to as Chinese swordfish and elephant fish was larger than its American counterpart.
Pademelon
The Australian island areas and woods are home to the tiny to medium-sized mammal known as the pademelon. It is an alone, nocturnal creature. Pademelons come in seven different species, but because so many of them are being a poached and losing habitat, animal populations are declining. Pademelons eat berries, herbs, grasses, and leaves when they are awake. An animal that spots a predator would strike the ground with its hind legs to alert other forest animals to the threat.Thylogale is the scientific name for the pademelon, and the creatures are members of the Macropodidae family. They are members of the Macropodidae subfamily in the order of Mammals. Macropods are defined as animals with huge feet. The pademelon is an example of a marsupial that exhibits this trait. The hind legs of macropods are frequently significantly larger than the front legs. To aid with balance, members of this family frequently have long rear legs and a strong tail.
Painted Turtle
These turtles have black or olive skin and are freshwater turtles. These turtles typically have orange, yellow, or red stripes on their legs, neck, and tail in addition to their primary colour. A painted turtle’s average weight ranges from 11 to 18 ounces. Males of this species often only reach a maximum length of 8 inches, whilst females can reach a maximum length of 12 inches.One of this turtle’s traits is that its shell is typically wider than it is long, giving it an instantly recognised round form. While some painted turtles have light-coloured edges, others have black shells. Western turtles have dark green plastron-coloured shells with lighter colours at the base.These turtles inhabit shallow ponds and streams in packs in the wild. They either spend their time relaxing at the pond’s bottom, swimming in the water, or soaking up the sun. The calm and alluring painted turtles are frequently unafraid to come out of the water and engage with people.
Palaeoloxodon namadicus
The Pleistocene saw the spread of the extinct prehistoric elephant known as Palaeoloxodon namadicus throughout Asia. Despite being a distinct species, many scientists think it might be a subspecies of the Palaeoloxodon antiquus, the European straight-tusked elephant. Due to its stiffer skull and less strong bones, P. namadicus differs from its near relative P. namadicus antiquus.It was hard to estimate the size of this elephant. However, after studying the bone fragments, researchers think it might have been the biggest terrestrial mammal to ever exist. The average height of this elephant was believed to be between 13 and 17 feet. They were the largest mammoth species and averaged about,000 pounds, making them larger than Paraceratherium.
Palaeophis
A kind of extinct sea snake known as Paleophis lived during the Eocene Period, roughly 56 to 33.9 million years ago. It is renowned for the fossils that have been discovered in places like North America, Europe, and Africa. It was a sizable water snake that inhabited coastal areas with shallow waters. Paleophis species varied in height from 0 feet. The length of a school bus is one of the best examples! They most likely consumed fish and other sea creatures, potentially even extinct whales.Paleophis existed between approximately 56 and 33.9 million years ago, during the Eocene epoch. The climate on Earth was significantly warmer then than it is now.
Paleoparadoxia
Paleoparadoxy most likely consumed algae and related plants as food. This marine mammal’s jaw and teeth resemble a Digger’s spade. Paleoparadoxia was wholly vegetarian and typically consumed all marine plants.It was extremely adept at swimming and feeding underwater thanks to its huge body, angled teeth, and jaws.No known animal was chewed or consumed like Paleoparadox. He gritted his teeth and used his powerful neck to root the plants. Then, using the muscles in his throat and the contour of his palate, he absorbed the plants.
Health note on the Pacific Coast tick: this species transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia and Pacific Coast tick fever. Remove an attached tick promptly with fine-tipped tweezers, gripping close to the skin and pulling steadily — do not burn it or smother it. Seek medical advice if a rash or fever follows a bite.
Frequently Asked Questions
What animals start with the letter P?
Forty are covered here, including panda, penguin, parrot, python, platypus, polar bear, pangolin, porcupine, puma, panther, peacock, pelican, puffin, pigeon, pheasant, pig, pony, possum, prairie dog, polecat, parakeet, piranha, pufferfish, pike, prawn, praying mantis, peacock spider, poison dart frog and Portuguese man o’ war, plus prehistoric species and specialist entries.
What is the most dangerous animal starting with P?
The pufferfish, if eaten — tetrodotoxin has no antidote and deaths still occur from improper preparation. The Portuguese man o’ war causes the most stings, and the golden poison frog carries one of the most potent natural toxins known.
Is a panther a real animal?
Not as a species. A black panther is a melanistic leopard or jaguar — the rosettes are still visible in strong light. In Florida, “panther” refers to the local puma population, which is tawny rather than black.
Why do pandas eat only bamboo?
They are not well suited to it. Pandas retain a carnivore’s digestive system and extract little energy from bamboo, which is why they eat for up to 14 hours a day. A genetic mutation left them unable to taste umami, which may have pushed the lineage away from meat.
Is a platypus really venomous?
Males are. Each hind leg carries a spur delivering venom that causes severe pain resistant to conventional painkillers and lasting weeks. It is not fatal to humans but is genuinely serious, and it is one of very few venomous mammals.
Are piranhas dangerous to people?
Rarely. Most species are scavengers or omnivores, and serious attacks are uncommon. The feeding-frenzy reputation traces largely to a staged 1913 demonstration using deliberately starved fish in a blocked river section.
Sources
Classifications and distributions follow current taxonomic references. Tetrodotoxin and fugu regulation, batrachotoxin, and platypus venom: clinical toxicology literature. Prairie dog vocal communication: animal-behaviour research. Portuguese man o’ war sting first aid and tick removal: public health guidance.
This article is for general information. Do not handle wild animals, never eat pufferfish prepared by anyone other than a licensed specialist, and seek medical advice after any venomous sting or bite.
