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Commonly confused animals

Animals people often mix up, one pair to a page: what the difference is, then their quick answers next to each other, with the ones that differ marked.

The pairs are the look-alikes listed on the animals' own pages, not every possible combination.

95 pairs, A to Z.

• Aardvark vs anteaterThe aardvark is sometimes called an anteater, but it isn’t related to the South American anteaters.
• Alligator vs crocodileA crocodile’s snout is narrower and V-shaped, and its lower teeth still show when its mouth is shut.
• Alpaca vs llamaA llama is bigger than an alpaca, with a longer head and curved ears.
• Alpaca vs vicunaThe vicuña is the alpaca’s wild ancestor: smaller and fine-haired.
• Ant vs termiteTermites live in colonies too, but they’re related to cockroaches, not ants.
• Anteater vs pangolinPangolins are sometimes called scaly anteaters, but they’re covered in scales and not closely related.
• Antelope vs gazelleGazelles are one group of antelopes.
• Ape vs monkeyApes have no tail.
• Arctic fox vs red foxThe Arctic fox is smaller than the red fox, with a rounder body and white winter coat.
• Bee vs waspBees have branched, feathery hairs for carrying pollen and feed on nectar and pollen.
• Beluga vs narwhalNarwhals and belugas are close relatives, similarly built and known to interbreed; only the narwhal has a tusk.
• Bison vs buffaloThe American bison is often called a buffalo, but it isn’t one of the true buffalo.
• Black bear vs brown bearGo by shape, not colour: a brown bear has a muscular shoulder hump; a black bear has none.
• Black bear vs grizzly bearThe black bear is smaller than the grizzly, and one of the most tree-loving bears.
• Black panther vs jaguarA black panther in the Americas is a jaguar with black fur.
• Black panther vs leopardA black panther in Africa or Asia is a leopard with black fur.
• Blue whale vs humpback whaleBoth are baleen rorquals; the blue whale is far longer and slimmer, without the humpback’s long flippers.
• Bonobo vs chimpanzeeBonobos live south of the Congo River and chimpanzees north of it; chimps hunt far more, eating monkeys and small antelope.
• Brown bear vs grizzly bearSame species: “grizzly” is the name for inland North American brown bears.
• Bull vs cowA bull is the uncastrated adult male; the cow is the female, and a castrated male is a steer or ox.
• Butterfly vs mothButterflies fly by day, have clubbed antennae and rest with wings held upright.
• Buzzard vs hawkIn the US, buzzards of this group are called hawks.
• Camel vs dromedaryThe dromedary has one hump.
• Camel vs llamaA llama is a South American relative of the camel but not a true camel, and it has no hump.
• Caracal vs servalThe serval has no ear tufts, a spotted coat, longer legs and a longer tail.
• Cheetah vs leopardA leopard is heavier and more muscular, with rosettes rather than solid spots, and has no black tear lines down its face.
• Chimpanzee vs gorillaA chimpanzee is far smaller and lighter, at 26–70 kg, and much less robustly built.
• Chipmunk vs squirrelChipmunks are small, striped, ground-living squirrels.
• Cockatiel vs cockatooThe cockatiel is the smallest cockatoo, 30–33 cm long, and unlike most cockatoos its tail makes up about half its length.
• Condor vs vultureCondors are New World vultures, the largest ones.
• Cougar vs jaguarJaguars are heavily spotted and stockier; an adult cougar has no spots.
• Cougar vs lionLions are much bigger, live in Africa and India, and have a tufted tail; males have a mane.
• Cow vs yakYaks are close relatives of cattle and bison, adapted to high altitude.
• Coyote vs jackalThe golden jackal fills much the same niche in Eurasia as the coyote does in North America; the coyote is generally larger.
• Coyote vs wolfA coyote is smaller than a grey wolf, its close relative.
• Crab vs hermit crabUnlike most crabs, a hermit crab has a soft abdomen that it protects in a borrowed shell.
• Crab vs horseshoe crabDespite its name it is not a crab or even a crustacean: it is a chelicerate, more closely related to spiders, ticks and scorpions.
• Crane vs heronA heron flies with its neck pulled back into an S; a crane flies with its neck stretched out.
• Crayfish vs lobsterFreshwater crayfish are among the lobster’s closest living relatives.
• Crow vs ravenRavens are the larger species of the crow genus.
• Cuttlefish vs squidCuttlefish, squid and octopuses are cephalopods; the cuttlefish has an internal cuttlebone.
• Deer vs reindeerIn most deer only the males grow antlers; in reindeer, females can grow them too.
• Dingo vs dogDingoes come from an early branch of the dog family tree, split off before today’s domestic breeds.
• Dog vs wolfA wolf has longer legs, bigger feet, a broader head and a straight tail carried low.
• Dolphin vs orcaAn orca is far bigger than other dolphins, with males at 6–8 m, and has bold black-and-white markings with white eye patches.
• Dolphin vs porpoiseA porpoise has flat, spade-shaped teeth and usually no pronounced beak.
• Domestic cat vs wildcatA European wildcat is bigger and more heavily built, with a bushy, blunt tail ringed with two or three black bands and a black tip.
• Donkey vs horseA donkey has much larger ears, which help it pick up distant sounds and cool its blood.
• Donkey vs muleA mule has a donkey father and a horse mother; a hinny has a horse father and a donkey mother.
• Duck vs gooseDucks, geese and swans are one family.
• Dugong vs manateeDugongs and manatees are the four living sirenians; the dugong lives in the Indo-West Pacific.
• Eagle vs hawkEagles and hawks belong to the same family.
• Eagle vs vultureMany vultures have a bare, unfeathered head that stays clean while they feed on carcasses.
• Echidna vs hedgehogBoth are spiny, but the echidna lays eggs and is not closely related to hedgehogs.
• Echidna vs platypusThe only other egg-laying mammals are the four species of echidna, which are covered in spines and live on land.
• Elk vs mooseIn North America “elk” means a different species of deer.
• Emu vs ostrichThe African ostrich is taller and heavier.
• Falcon vs hawkFalcons kill with a tooth-like notch on the beak and have long, pointed wings.
• Falcon vs kestrelKestrels are small falcons.
• Fennec fox vs red foxThe fennec is far smaller than a red fox, with much bigger ears.
• Fly vs mosquitoMosquitoes are small flies with a long piercing mouthpart.
• Flying squirrel vs sugar gliderThe sugar glider looks and glides much like a flying squirrel, but it is a marsupial, not a squirrel.
• Frog vs toadToads are frogs with drier, rougher, wartier skin that live more on land.
• Gibbon vs monkeyA gibbon is a small ape, not a monkey.
• Giraffe vs okapiThe okapi is the giraffe’s only living relative.
• Goat vs sheepA goat usually has a beard and holds its short tail up.
• Goose vs swanSwans, geese and ducks are one family; swans are the largest waterfowl, and ducks the smallest and shortest-necked.
• Guanaco vs llamaThe llama is the domesticated descendant of the guanaco; the guanaco’s colour varies very little.
• Hare vs rabbitHares are bigger, with longer ears and long hind legs.
• Horse vs ponyA pony is a horse that stands no taller than 14.2 hands (147 cm) at the withers.
• Jaguar vs leopardA jaguar is stockier with a bigger head, and its rosettes are larger, often with a spot inside.
• Kakapo vs keaBoth are New Zealand parrots, but the kākāpō is a heavy, flightless bird of the ground at night, while the kea flies and lives in South Island forests and mountains.
• Kangaroo vs wallabyWallabies are the smaller members of the same family.
• Koala vs wombatIts closest living relative, the wombat, lives on the ground in burrows it digs with powerful claws, not up in trees.
• Liger vs tigonA liger has a lion father and a tiger mother and grows bigger than both; a tigon has a tiger father and a lion mother and is no bigger than its parents.
• Manta ray vs stingrayMantas belong to the same order as stingrays; they filter-feed on plankton.
• Marmoset vs tamarinTamarins are close relatives in the same family, and many have moustache-like facial hair.
• Meerkat vs mongooseThe meerkat is a small mongoose from southern Africa.
• Mouse vs ratMice and rats are told apart mainly by size: “rat” is used for the bigger kinds, “mouse” for the smaller.
• Mouse vs shrewA shrew has sharp, spiky teeth and a longer nose; a mouse is a rodent with gnawing front teeth.
• Octopus vs squidA squid has eight arms plus two long tentacles and a small internal “pen” for support.
• Okapi vs zebraDespite the striped legs, the okapi isn’t related to zebras.
• Otter vs sea otterA sea otter lives entirely at sea and has a short tail.
• Panda vs red pandaA red panda is a small reddish-brown animal with a ringed tail.
• Parrotfish vs wrasseParrotfish are now classed inside the wrasse family; their teeth are fused into a parrot-like beak for scraping algae.
• Pig vs wild boarA wild boar has a coat of long, coarse bristles over brown under-fur, and its piglets have pale stripes.
• Raccoon vs raccoon dogA raccoon dog is a fox-like wild dog from East Asia, named for its raccoon-like face markings.
• Salmon vs troutTrout and salmon are close relatives in the same family, with similar migrations; most trout stay in fresh water.
• Sea lion vs sealA sea lion has visible ear flaps and can walk on all four flippers.
• Seal vs walrusA walrus is bigger than any seal except the elephant seals, and has long tusks and almost hairless skin.
• Slug vs snailA snail has a coiled shell big enough to pull into.
• Stoat vs weaselStoats and weasels are close relatives in the same genus; the least weasel is the smaller of the two.
• Tortoise vs turtleAll tortoises are turtles, but tortoises are the land specialists, with column-like legs and elephant-like feet instead of flippers.
• Warthog vs wild boarBoth are wild pigs; the warthog is African, with two pairs of upward-curving tusks.
• Zebra vs zonkeyA zonkey is shaped and coloured like a donkey, with zebra stripes mainly on its legs and belly rather than all over.

How each answer is decided: How we answer. Every animal, in one list: All animals. Lists by region, habitat and answer: Explore.