One of the first words that pops into my head when I think of the letter Z is zoo. Word association takes me from zoo to zebra. But it shouldn’t stop there. The Z section of my Webster’s Unabridged dictionary is filled with animals whose names start with z.

What are we waiting for? Let’s zoom.

Zain–a dark-colored horse.

Zalambdodont—a group of mammals that have single-ridged molars, like a golden mole.

Zamouse—a West African ox or buffalo with ears fringed with three rows of long hairs.

Zander–the European pike perch.

Zebra Deserves Its Own List of Z words

The familiar striped animal related to horses is the zebra. And a Zebrula is the offspring of a female horse and a male zebra.

But other animals with “zebra” in their name include

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  • zebra caterpillar
  • zebra possum or zebra wolf
  • zebra parrakeet
  • zebra shark
  • zebra spider
  • zebra sparrowtail (a butterfly)

More Animals that Start with a Z

Zebu–a mammal found in India, China, and North Africa. Like a cow, it is a ruminant, but unlike a cow, it has a large hump over its shoulders and short, curving horns.

Zebub—an Abyssian fly, also known as the zimb.

Zeekoe—another word for hippopotamus

Zeurera–bombycid moths

Zingel—a fish with a very elongated body. It is closely related to perch.

Ziphiidae–dolphinlike cetaceans. or toothed whales, like the bottlenose whale.

Zokor–a burrowing rodent that looks like a mole rat. It is native to China.

Zonuridae—a family of South American lizards.

Zooblasts—all animals have these because a zooblast is an animal cell. According to the University of Florida, we have 100 million zooblasts.

Zoophytes—animals like sponges and corals that resemble plants.

Zorilla—carnivorous animals related to skunks and weasels. One member of the genus, Zorilla striata, lives in Africa.

Zygobranchiata—marine gastropods, including the keyhole limpets and sea-ears.

zygodactyls—birds with four toes—two pointing forward and two backward. Parrots and woodpeckers are zygodactyls.

Two Final Words that Start with Z

If you think you are turning into a beast, you might be suffering from zoanthropy. If you like expanding your vocabulary, you might be a Lover of Words.

You might be ready for a zythym, a malted beverage brewed by the ancient Egyptians, after reading this lengthy list of words that start with z.

We have other interesting words, like What is Abaction? on our Infographics page.

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