We live on a planet of giants. While prehistoric leviathans are long gone, Earth remains home to some of the largest creatures to have ever lived.
Biggest animals in the world
Nine of the ten biggest animals in the world are whales. The tenth biggest is the whale shark, the largest fish in the world at a whopping 20 tonnes. But whales are far from the only whoppers – on land, in rivers and in the air, there are plenty of other enormous animals.
Biggest bird in the world
The ostrich – one of around 60 flightless birds – is the world’s biggest bird. If we’re to look at the largest flying bird by wingspan, the wandering albatross comes out top, with a wingspan of up to 3.5m.
Found in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador, the magnificent Andean condor is the world’s largest bird of prey by overall size and weight. Its wingspan maxes out at around 3.2m, and it weighs up to 15kg.
Biggest land mammal in the world
The three species of elephant are the world’s heaviest land mammals, with the African bush elephant coming in first place, closely followed by the Asian elephant and then the African forest elephant. While they are all closely related, the Asian elephant and African bush (or savannah) elephant are Endangered, while the African forest elephant is Critically Endangered. This is mostly due to their loss of habitat and poaching for ivory. The largest elephant ever recorded was a whopping 3.96m tall and weighed 10,400kg.
Europe’s largest land mammal, meanwhile, is the European bison, also known as the wisent. It is the continent’s biggest herbivore, weighing as much as 1,000kg.
Biggest reptile in the world
The saltwater crocodile is the largest crocodile on Earth – and is also one of the deadliest animals. Also known as estuarine crocodiles, these creatures measure up to 5m in length (although females are much smaller, measuring just under 3m), weighing around 500kg and 100kg respectively. It’s possible that even larger crocodiles existed historically – possibly weighing between 1,500 and 2,000kg – but these no longer exist due to hunting.
Biggest whale in the world
The biggest animal in the ocean is the blue whale, which is also the biggest animal in the world, period. All whales have to be big, as the ocean is much colder than land, so they must protect their body heat. Blue whales can grow to 33m, weighing up to 180,000kg. Males are slightly smaller, around 150,000kg. Because of its vast size, the blue whale is protected from most predators, although a pod of orcas have been recorded killing an adult blue whale.
Because of its vast size, a blue whale’s tongue alone can weigh as much as an entire adult elephant, making it the undisputed king of our planet’s animal kingdom.
Biggest insect in the world
Given the sheer number – and variety – of insects across the globe, it’s difficult to confidently name the largest, but the world’s longest insect is believed to be the giant Chinese stick insect, discovered in China as recently as 2014.
The adult female first found in the wild measured 62.4cm in length, with its legs outstretched – but it then gave birth in captivity, and one of its young reached 64cm in length.
Biggest snake in the world
The record for the longest snake in the world goes to the reticulated python, which can be found in the rainforests, woodlands and grasslands of south and southeast Asia. The longest reticulated python recorded was found in 1912, measuring 10 metres.
The world’s heaviest (but not the longest) snake is the green anaconda.
Biggest spider in the world
Spiders vary enormously in size, and the biggest spider is the Goliath birdeater, a mammoth spider that weighs around 175g and has a 30cm leg span. Covered in reddish golden hair, the Goliath tarantula is the size of a large dinner plate.
Biggest marsupial in the world
The biggest marsupial still in existence is the red kangaroo, weighing up to 90kg and standing at over 1.8m tall. The red kangaroo is one of four species of kangaroo, along with the eastern grey, the western grey and the antilopine.
Biggest primate in the world
The largest living primate is the eastern gorilla, with adult males (silverbacks) weighing up to 250kg and reaching up to 2m tall. The smallest primate, comparably, is the 30g Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur.
Biggest jellyfish in the world
The lion’s mane jellyfish has long been thought to be the largest jellyfish in the world, but biologists now believe Nomura’s jellyfish to be the biggest, with a giant bell measuring 2m in diameter (and weighing up to 200kg). The Nomura’s jellyfish’s sting can be incredibly dangerous – occasionally even lethal.
Biggest freshwater fish in the world
The world’s largest freshwater fish is the giant freshwater stingray. In June 2022, a Cambodian fisherman caught a female giant freshwater stingray on the Mekong River, which measured 3.98m in length and 2.2m in width, weighing 300kg – roughly equivalent to a grizzly bear.
Top image: Saltwater crocodile (photo by ePhotocorp/Getty Images)
