Animals That Start With M

Different animals have different names, which may start with any one of the letters in the English alphabet. In the case of domesticated animals, these already-named animals have different names. For example, dogs and cats are usually kept as named pets. The Book of Saint Albans, which was written in 1486 by Juliana Berners, has a collection of some of the best-known animal names in the English language. Some of the animal names contained in the book and others of its kind begin with the letter “M.” These names include the macaw, mallard duck, mink, mammoth, mountain goat, mountain lion, mouse, mongoose, monkey, and many others.

Animal Names Starting with “M”

Magpie

Magpies are birds belonging to the family of crows. Some species of the bird, such as the Eurasian magpie, are some of the most intelligent animals in the world. In addition, it is among the few animals in the world that have been able to recognize itself in the mirror. These birds are normally found in continents including Europe, the western side of North America, and Asia. The birds known as magpies in Australia are unrelated to other species of the magpie in the world.

Mink

Minks are small semiaquatic mammals belonging to a family that includes the likes of ferrets, weasels, and otters. Currently, there are only two species alive of the carnivorous mammal namely the American mink and the European mink. An example of an extinct mink species was the sea mink, which had relations to the American one although it had a larger build. On average, males weigh about 2.2 pounds and have a length of about 24 inches. Females are smaller (1.32 pounds) and shorter (20 inches).

Monkey

Most of the monkeys in the world live on trees although some species live on the ground. Belonging to the order Primates, the animal emerged about 35 million years ago. Physically, the animals have different sizes ranging from the small pygmy marmoset all the way to the huge male mandrill. The former has a length of about 4.6 inches and an average weight of 3.5 ounces while the latter can average lengths of 3.3 feet and weigh up to 79 pounds. Despite the differences, they have similar characteristics such as a prehensile tail.

Mosquito

Belonging to the family Culicidae, mosquitoes are small flies that primarily feed on blood. The flies feed on blood from several creatures including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and others. However, they do not consume much blood so the loss is barely noticed by the host except for some diseases that may be transmitted. Some of the diseases that may be transmitted include malaria, the Zika Virus, the West Nile Virus, yellow fever, and others. For this reason, the family is considered the most dangerous in the world as some of those diseases have been known to kill.

Extinct Animals

Mammoths, which are all animals belonging to the genus Mammuthus, are extinct. Physically, the animals almost resembled elephants although they had more fur and were physically larger. The animals lived from the Pliocene era until their extinction in the Holocene era. Mammoths lived in Asia, North America, Europe, and Africa.