List of largest mammals

This is a list of some of the biggest mammals on Earth, grouped by their families. Mammals are animals that have fur or hair and have babies instead of laying eggs. Some mammals are very large, like the ones you will see here! These big mammals can be found in many places around the world, from oceans to forests.

You can also learn more about the largest and heaviest animals by visiting the page on Largest and heaviest animals.

Tenrecs and allies (Afrosoricida)

The largest insect-eating mammal in this group is the giant otter shrew, found in Central Africa. It can weigh up to 1 kilogram and measure about 0.64 meters long.

There were also larger extinct relatives called bibymalagasy that lived in Madagascar. Scientists think they weighed between 10 and 18 kilograms.

Even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla)

The largest mammal in this group is the hippopotamus. It lives in rivers in Africa and can weigh up to 4,500 kg. It can be about 5 meters long and nearly 1.7 meters tall.

The tallest land animal today is the giraffe. It can reach up to 5.8 meters tall when it stands on its legs. Even though it looks thin, it can weigh as much as 2,000 kg.

The heaviest living bovid is the gaur from Asia. Male gaurs can weigh up to 1,500 kg, be about 4.5 meters long, and stand 2.2 meters tall. Another strong member is the wild yak, which can weigh up to 1,200 kg and stand about 2 meters tall.

The American bison from North America is usually between 2 and 3.5 meters long. Adults stand between 152 centimeters and over 2 meters tall. They typically weigh between 318 kg and 1,270 kg. Male bisons have short, curved horns used to compete and defend themselves. The European bison can be just as tall, with the tallest ever measured reaching 210 centimeters at the withers, though they tend to weigh less.

Wild water buffaloes from Asia are larger than their domestic cousins. They can weigh between 700 kg and 1,200 kg, be up to 3 meters long, and stand between 150 centimeters and nearly 2 meters tall. Both male and female water buffaloes have large horns.

The largest living member of the pig family is the giant forest hog from African rainforests. These pigs can weigh up to 275 kg, be about 2.6 meters long, and stand 1.1 meters tall. The biggest deer ever known was C. latifrons. The largest living deer is the moose, especially the Alaskan type. The biggest members of the camel family today are the bactrian camel and the dromedary camel.

Whales (Cetacea)

The largest mammal—and the largest animal ever known—is the blue whale. One of the biggest ever measured was almost 34 meters long and weighed as much as 190 tonnes. Other very big whales include the fin whale, which can reach about 27 meters and 109 tonnes.

Among whales that toothed, the biggest is the sperm whale. The largest males are usually about 18 meters long and can weigh around 50 tonnes.

The largest member of the oceanic dolphin family is the orca.

The biggest porpoise is the Dall's porpoise.

The larger beaked whale is the Baird's beaked whale. The bigger of the two similar species, the beluga whale, usually grows between 3.5 meters and 5.5 meters long.

Carnivorans (Carnivora)

The largest carnivoran is the southern elephant seal, which can weigh up to 5,000 kg and be almost 7 metres long. On land, the polar bear is the biggest, growing taller than 1.6 metres and up to 3.1 metres long. Another big bear is the Kodiak bear, a type of brown bear, almost as large.

The biggest member of the Felidae family is the tiger, with males in the wild weighing up to almost 390 kg. In captivity, ligers, which are hybrids of lions and tigers, can weigh over 410 kg.

The largest member of the Canidae family in the wild is the gray wolf. The biggest of these are the Mackenzie Valley wolf and the Eurasian wolf, weighing up to 86 kg. Domestic dogs can sometimes grow even heavier, up to almost 156 kg.

The biggest member of the mustelids family by weight is the sea otter, weighing up to 54 kg. By length, it is the giant otter of the Amazon, measuring up to 2.4 metres long.

The largest mongoose is the African white-tailed mongoose, weighing up to 6 kg. In the viverrid family, the biggest is the Asian binturong, weighing up to 27 kg.

The largest modern hyena is the spotted hyena, weighing up to 90 kg.

The biggest living procyonid is the raccoon of North America, weighing between 3.5 and 9 kg.

The largest skunk is the striped skunk, weighing up to 6.35 kg.

Bats (Chiroptera)

Bats are amazing mammals that can fly, and some are bigger than others. The large flying fox is often called the largest bat, with a wingspan almost 2 meters. Another bat, the Indian flying fox, is the heaviest, weighing up to about 1.6 kilograms. There are also other large bats, like the spectral bat, which lives in places called the Neotropics and is the largest in its family. The great evening bat is the largest in its own group, the vesper bat.

Armadillos (Cingulata)

The largest armadillo is the giant armadillo (P. maximus). It can weigh up to 54 kg (119 lb) and stand about 0.55 m (1.8 ft) high. Even bigger armadillos lived long ago, especially Doedicurus from South America. These prehistoric armadillos were much heavier and longer.

Colugos (Dermoptera)

There are two types of colugos. They are special gliding mammals that live in southeast Asia. The largest and most common one is called the Sunda flying lemur. It can weigh up to 2 kilograms, which is about 4.4 pounds. It can be about 73 centimeters long, or roughly 29 inches.

Hedgehogs and gymnures (Erinaceomorpha)

The greatest moonrat is the largest member of this group of spiky, small mammals. It lives in the rainforests of the Malaysian Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. This animal can weigh more than 2 kg (4.4 lb) and grow longer than 60 cm (24 in). It is related to hedgehogs, which are usually much smaller. Long ago, a giant gymnure lived in Europe and scientists think it was bigger than a house cat today.

Hyraxes (Hyracoidea)

The largest hyrax is the rock hyrax, which can weigh up to 5.4 kg (12 lb) and be 73 cm (29 in) long. Long ago, hyraxes were important herbivores in Africa. Some were as big as modern horses. Genera like Titanohyrax could grow to be very heavy, as much as 600 kg (1,300 lb). Megalohyrax from the upper Eocene to lower Oligocene was about the size of a tapir.

Rabbits, hares, and pikas (Lagomorpha)

The largest wild rabbit is the European hare, which can weigh up to 7 kg (15 lb) and measure 0.85 m (2.8 ft) long. A close competitor is the Alaskan hare, which can weigh slightly more, up to 7.2 kg (16 lb). Among pikas, the Chinese red pika is the biggest, with a body length of about 29 centimetres (11 inches). The biggest domestic rabbit breed is the Flemish Giant, which can weigh as much as 12.7 kg (28 lb). The largest lagomorph that ever lived was Nuralagus rex, from Menorca.

Elephant shrews (Macroscelidea)

Elephant shrews have long, trunk-like snouts and long legs. They look like small shrews. They are not closely related to other animals like treeshrews. The largest elephant shrew is the grey-faced sengi. It lives in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania and Kenya. This elephant shrew can weigh up to 0.75 kg and measure up to 0.6 m long.

Marsupials (Marsupialia)

The largest marsupial today is the red kangaroo from Australia. These kangaroos can stand as tall as 2.18 meters and weigh up to 91 kilograms.

Other large marsupials include the Virginia opossum from North America, which can be up to 94 centimeters long including its tail, and the common brushtail possum from Australia, weighing up to 4.5 kilograms. The northern hairy-nosed wombat is the largest wombat today, reaching up to 102 centimeters in length and weighing as much as 40 kilograms.

Monotremes (Monotremata)

The largest living monotreme is the western long-beaked echidna. It can weigh up to 16.5 kg and be about 1 m long. There was also an extinct echidna called Murrayglossus hacketti, found only in Western Australia, that was about the same size.

Odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla)

The largest living species in this group is the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). It can grow up to 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) in weight. It is a bit larger than the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), which can weigh up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb).

The biggest wild equids today are the Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi), weighing up to 450 kg (990 lb). The largest tapir alive is the Malayan tapir (Acrocodia indica).

One of the biggest land mammals ever was Paraceratherium.

Pangolins (Pholidota)

The largest pangolin is the giant pangolin (Manis gigantea). It can grow up to 1.7 meters, which is about 5.6 feet, and weigh at least 40 kilograms, or 88 pounds.

Anteaters and sloths (Pilosa)

The largest species in this group is the giant anteater. A big adult can weigh up to 65 kg and be more than half a meter tall at the shoulder.

The biggest sloths alive today are the Linnaeus's two-toed sloth and Hoffmann's two-toed sloths, which can weigh up to 10 kg. Long ago, sloths were even bigger. One ancient sloth, called Megatherium, was as heavy as 4.5 tonnes and as tall as 5.1 meters.

Primates (Primates)

The gorillas are the largest primates alive today. The biggest type is the eastern lowland gorilla. Males weigh between 140–200 kg and stand about 1 meter tall when on all fours.

In the past, huge apes called Gigantopithecus lived in Asia. They may have been as tall as 3 meters, but we are not sure.

Other large primates include the mandrill, one of the biggest Old World monkeys, and the southern muriqui, the largest New World monkey. The biggest lemur today is the indri. An ancient lemur named Archaeoindris was as big as a gorilla. Humans can vary in size, but they are among the tallest primates.

Elephants and allies (Proboscidea)

The African bush elephant is the largest living member of the group called Proboscidea. Some can weigh up to 10.4 tonnes. Even bigger than today's elephants were ancient giants like the steppe mammoth from Asia, the columbian mammoth from North America, and Paleoloxodon recki from Africa. The largest known land mammal ever might have been Palaeoloxodon namadicus. Another big ancient mammal, Deinotherium "thraceiensis", was also one of the largest in its family.

Rodents (Rodentia)

The capybara is the largest living rodent. It lives in South America near water. It can grow up to 1.5 meters long and weigh as much as 105 kilograms. Another large rodent is the North American beaver, which can weigh up to 50 kilograms.

Other large rodents include the hoary marmot, which can weigh up to 13.5 kilograms, and the Cape porcupine, weighing between 10 and 30 kilograms. There were also much larger extinct rodents, like Josephoartigasia monesi. Scientists think it was about 3 meters long and weighed a lot.

Treeshrews (Scandentia)

The largest type of treeshrew is the common treeshrew. It can weigh up to 187 grams, which is about 6.6 ounces. It can grow to be 40 centimeters long, or roughly 16 inches.

Dugongs and manatees (Sirenia)

The largest living animals in the order Sirenia are the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), found in Florida. The biggest West Indian manatee weighed 1,655 kg and was 4.6 m long.

There was an extinct animal called the Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), which was even bigger. It was part of the dugong family and could grow up to 7.9 m long and weigh up to 11 tonnes.

Shrews and moles (Soricomorpha)

The largest animal in this group is the Hispaniolan solenodon. It can weigh up to 1 kg and measure about 32 cm long. Another big member is the Asian house shrew. It is usually one of the smallest mammals but can reach up to 16 cm in length and weigh about 100 g. The largest mole is the Russian desman. It lives in water and can grow up to 43 cm long and weigh around 520 g.

Aardvark (Tubulidentata)

The only species in this group is the aardvark (Orycteropus afer), found in sub-Saharan Africa. Aardvarks can be up to about 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) long and weigh up to 65 kilograms (143 pounds).

Other mammals

• An ancient relative of ungulates, Andrewsarchus, might have been the largest meat-eating land mammal ever. We know about it from a skull found in Mongolia, about twice the size of a modern brown bear skull. Scientists think it might have been as tall as 2 meters (6.6 feet) and as long as 4.5 meters (15 feet).
• The largest member of the extinct group Cimolesta was probably Coryphodon. It was about 1 meter (3.3 feet) tall and 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long.
• The largest member of the extinct group Dinocerata (also called Uintatheres) was Eobasileus. It was about 4 meters (13 feet) long and stood 2.1 meters (6.9 feet) tall.
• The largest "creodont" was either Megistotherium or Sarkastodon. They were among the largest meat-eating mammals ever.
• The largest member of the extinct Notoungulata and the group Meridiungulata was Toxodon. It was about 2.7 meters (8 feet 10 inches) long.
• Taeniolabis taoensis is the largest mammal that was not a therian known.
• Patagomaia chainko is the largest Mesozoic mammal known. Scientists estimate it weighed between 2.6 and 26 kilograms (5.7 and 57.3 pounds).