Arctic Animals | List of Animals of Arctic With Description

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Arctic Animals: The animals found across the North Pole are known as the Arctic animals. These animals belong to the most extreme places on the planet Earth, and yet they manage to survive.

The Arctic plants and animals have their own set of survival techniques and rules which we are unaware off. They differ from all the other species all across the world. Getting to know about these animals is among the most exciting topics, so let us take a look at the list of animals of the Arctic.

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List of Animals in the Arctic

Name of animals that live in the Arctic

Description on the animals on the list

Arctic Fox

The Arctic fox, also called the white fox, the snow fox, or the polar fox, is a beautiful animal of the Arctic. They are unique and native to the Northern Hemisphere and are found throughout the tundra region.

These smaller foxes are extremely curious and monogamous in nature, which means they prefer mating for life when it comes to mating. Their hunting tactics include being opportunistic about their prey. Their diet mainly consists of squirrels.

These foxes are adaptive in nature and can withstand extremely cold climates. One of the interesting facts about these foxes is that their fur changes with the season.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Canidae
Genus Vulpes
Scientific name V. lagopus

Snowy Owl

Native to the Arctic regions, the snowy owl, also known as the Arctic owl, or the polar owl or also as the white owl, belongs from the true owl family.

These giant owls are extremely good hunters, and they are known for hunting other mammals, for example, hares, birds, squirrels; and also they do hunt fishes and other amphibians. The snowy owls are solitary birds; hence they do not like to be affectionate with humans or each other.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Order Strigiformes
Family Strigidae
Genus Bubo
Scientific name B. scandiacus

Arctic Wooly Bear Moth

The Arctic Wooly Bear Moth is Native to the high Arctic regions. These moths are also known as erebid moths. These tiny moths have the highest life span of any other moth species on the planet.

They can live up to a span of 7 years, and the highest record has been 13 years. They are named the Arctic Wooly Bear Moth Because of the furry coverage of its body.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Lepidoptera
Superfamily Noctuoidea
Family Erebidae
Genus Gynaephora
Scientific name G. groenlandica

Arctic Hare

The Arctic hare is native to the Arctic regions, and they have successfully adapted themselves to the extremely cold climates. Their body is fully covered with dense fur, and their ears and limbs are shortened. Their diet consists of berries, lichens, mosses, leaves, and bark.

These small Hares are actually quite brilliant and are capable of running up to 64 kilometers per hour. They are also extremely good swimmers, which they use to escape predators and can jump up to 2 meters.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Lagomorpha
Family Leporidae
Genus Lepus
Scientific name L. arcticus

Arctic Tern

The Arctic Tern belongs from the Term family and is distributed throughout the Arctic and the Sub Arctic areas. The Arctic terns hold the world record of the longest migration. This term’s migration route covers around sixty miles of the Earth’s surface. Their migration route covers up from the Antarctic regions to the Arctic region.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Order Charadriiformes
Family Laridae
Genus Sterna
Scientific name S. paradisaea

Beluga Whale

This cetacean found across the Arctic and the sub-Arctic regions is the second member of the family Monodontidae. The most distinctive features of the Beluga Whales are the soft rounded head, which is almost called “melon like.”

The Beluga Whales are also famously known as the “canaries of the sea” since they are capable of producing all different types of sounds, and they use them for communication.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Artiodactyla
Infraorder Cetacea
Family Monodontidae
Genus Delphinapterus
Scientific name D. leucas

Arctic Animals 2

Arctic Wolf

The Arctic wolf, alternatively known as the Polar wolf, or the White wolf, is actually a subspecies of the grey wolves. These magnificent looking creatures have an extremely strong jaw which helps them to tear off muscle and to crush bones.

These wolves always travel in packs on 5 to 7, and they never wander off alone. Sometimes, their number can go up to 20 wolves in a group too.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Canidae
Genus Canis
Species C. lupus
Scientific name C. l. arctos

Arctic Skua

The Arctic Skuas, originally called the Parasitic Jeagar, is a seabird belonging to the Skua family. They can fly up to 50 kilometers per hour. These birds get their distinctive names from their nature of being natural hunters, and they also like to keep their privacy.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Order Charadriiformes
Family Stercorariidae
Genus Stercorarius
Scientific name S. parasiticus

Greenland Shark

The Greenland sharks are closely related to the sleeper sharks of the Pacific. These sharks are also called the Gurry shark or the Grey shark. The Greenland sharks have an extreme amount of urea in their body which makes their meat highly poisonous. They have highly pointed upper teeth, which they use to tear off flesh.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Chondrichthyes
Order Squaliformes
Family Somniosidae
Genus Somniosus
Scientific name S. microcephalus

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is quite a famous bird because of its bold color. Its body is covered with brownish-black feathers, while its head has a clean white surface, and it also has an extensive and robust yellow beak.

The Bald Eagle can weigh up to 17 pounds and are capable of living up to 20 to 30 years. These birds hold the record of making the heaviest nests and are highly fearful hunters.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Order Accipitriformes
Family Accipitridae
Genus Haliaeetus
Scientific name H. leucocephalus

Narwhal

The Narwhal is a close relative of the Beluga Whales. They belong to the family of toothed whales, and they have their distinctive long and sharp tusk. The tusk of the Narwhal can grow up to 10ft, and they can live up to 50 years. One of the most exciting facts to know about these whales is that they can change color with their age.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Artiodactyla
Infraorder Cetacea
Family Monodontidae
Genus Monodon
Scientific name M. monoceros

Orca

The Killer whale, alternatively referred to as the Orca, is a whale belonging to the family of oceanic dolphins. It is easily recognized by their distinctive black and white patterned body.

The killer whales are very smart, and they always work together in groups when they are hunting, which is why, when they are hunting in groups, they are capable of even taking down sharks and blue whales. The orcas are extremely aggressive, even though there is no record of them attacking human beings yet.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Artiodactyla
Infraorder Cetacea
Family Delphinidae
Genus Orcinus
Scientific name O. orca

Arctic Animals 1

Polar Bear

The Polar bears are hyper carnivorous animals. They stay in the Arctic and are among the most fearful hunters in the world. They are also the largest of the extant bear species. Even though they usually stay in the land, they are the always classified as a part of the marine animals.

They are very remarkable swimmers and can swim for days without rest. Even though they are very aggressive and feared by all the other animals, yet only about two percent of their hunts remain successful because they are considerably slower.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Ursidae
Genus Ursus
Scientific name U. maritimus

Bearded Seal

The bearded seals are the largest of all the Arctic seals ever. Their long whiskers get wrinkled up when they are dry, hence giving them their name, the bearded seals. These seals can grow up to 8 feet long and around 950 pounds.

They are also called the square flipper seals. These seals are benthic feeders, which means that they wander at the bottom of the oceans and feed on Crabs, Shrimps, Octopuses, and Cods.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Clade Pinnipedia
Family Phocidae
Genus Erignathus
Scientific name E. barbatus

Harp Seal

The Harp Seal is among the most cutest looking animals out there. These seals are also known as the Greenland seals or saddleback seals. They belong to the family of the earless seals.

They are easily recognized by their clean white body and their big puppy eyes. These seals spend their time diving, and swimming and their main diet consist of small fish and crustaceans.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Clade Pinnipedia
Family Phocidae
Genus Pagophilus
Scientific name P. groenlandicus

Ribbon Seal

These medium-sized seals found around the Arctic and the Sub Arctic regions belong to the family of the proper seals. These seals are easily recognizable since they have yellow to beige circular stripes on its body, which gives them their respective names. The main diet of these seals consists of fish and crustaceans.

These seals dive around 200m deep for their food.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Clade Pinnipedia
Family Phocidae
Genus Histriophoca
Scientific name H. fasciata

Walrus

Walrus is the large flippered marine animal and the only living species of the family Odobenidae.

They cover sub the Arctic and the Arctic regions. Walrus can weigh up to a ton and can live up to 40 years. Both the male and the female Walrus have long and robust tusks. The mothers are highly protective of their offspring.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Clade Pinnipedia
Family Odobenidae
Genus Odobenus
Scientific name O. rosmarus

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