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This is a partial list of apex predators — those predators that are not preyed upon as healthy adults in the wild. Full scavengers (e.g. most vultures), although they may not be preyed on either, are not counted as apex predators unless they at least partially depend on capturing live prey.
Contents |
Extant predators
The largest surviving carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian Devil is both a scavenger and a fierce predator.
Humans have proven themselves to be very versatile predators. Man's use of tools (ranging from sharpened sticks to firearms) and capacity for complex problem solving has allowed him to take on prey many times his size and strength with high rates of success and little risk of injury. Humans are often considered the "ultimate" predator.
On land
- African Civet
- African Rock Python[1]
- African Wild Dog
- American Badger
- American Black Bear
- Arctic Fox
- Asian Black Bear
- African Golden Cat
- Argentine Black and White Tegu
- Asian Golden Cat
- Beast of Gévaudan
- Black Mamba
- Boa Constrictor
- Bobcat
- Bornean Clouded Leopard
- Brown Bear
- Brown Tree Snake*
- Burmese Python
- Camian
- Caracal
- Chacma Baboon
- Cheetah
- Chimpanzee
- Clouded Leopard
- Cougar
- Coyote
- Crab-eating Fox
- Crocodile Monitor
- Culpeo*
- Dhole
- Dingo
- Dog*
- Dumeril's Monitor
- Eastern Wolf
- Ethiopian Wolf
- European Badger
- Eurasian Lynx
- Fossa
- Gaboon viper
- Gray Wolf
- Grizzly Bear
- Green Anaconda
- Himalayan Wolf
- Human
- Indian Wolf
- Jackal
- Jaguar
- King Cobra
- Komodo Dragon
- Lace Monitor
- Large Indian Civet
- Leopard
- Lion
- Lynx
- Malabar Large-spotted Civet
- Mandrill
- Maned Wolf
- New Caledonian Giant Gecko[2]
- Nile Monitor
- Ocelot
- Perentie
- Polar Bear
- Ratel
- Red Wolf
- Reticulated Python
- Serval
- Short-eared Dog
- Snow Leopard
- Spectacled Bear
- Spotted Hyena
- Sun Bear
- Tasmanian Devil
- Tiger
- Tiger Quoll
- Water Monitor
- Varanus albigularis albigularis (White-throat monitor lizard)
- Wolverine
The South Polar Skua both bullies other seabirds for their catches and preys on the other seabirds.
In the air
- Antarctic Skua
- Bald Eagle
- Barred Eagle Owl
- Blakiston's Fish Owl
- Brown Fish Owl
- Cape Eagle Owl
- Crested Eagle
- Crowned Hawk-Eagle
- Eurasian Eagle Owl
- Falcon
- Forest Eagle Owl
- Giant Petrel
- Golden Eagle
- Great Horned Owl
- Great Skua
- Harpy Eagle
- Harrier Hawk
- Harris Hawk
- Lappet-faced Vulture
- New Guinea Harpy Eagle
- Osprey
- Pel's Fish Owl
- Philippine Eagle
- Powerful Owl
- Rock Eagle Owl
- Shelley's Eagle Owl
- South Polar Skua[3]
- Steller's Sea Eagle
- Tawny Fish Owl
- Verreaux's Eagle Owl
- Wedge-tailed Eagle
- White-tailed Eagle
The Orca or Killer Whale is the apex predator of most of the world's oceans.
The Saltwater Crocodile is the largest living reptile and is the dominant predator throughout its range.
In aquatic environments
- Alligator Snapping Turtle
- Alligator Gar
- American Alligator
- Crayfish
- American Crocodile
- Arapaima
- Baikal Seal
- Beluga Sturgeon
- Black Caiman
- Black Marlin
- Blue Marlin
- Boto
- Box Jellyfish
- Bull Shark
- Common Snapping Turtle
- Electric Catfish
- Electric Eel[4]
- Electric Ray
- False Gharial
- Gharial
- Giant Otter
- Giant Salamander
- Giant Snakehead
- Giant Trevally[5]
- Great Barracuda
- Great White Shark
- Greenland Shark
- Lake Trout[6]
- Large Mouth Bass
- Leopard Seal[7]
- Lionfish
- Mediterranean Monk Seal[8]
- Moray Eel
- Murray Cod
- Muskellunge
- Nile Crocodile
- North Pacific Giant Octopus
- Northern Pike
- Orca
- Salmon shark
- Saltwater Crocodile
- Sawfish
- Smallmouth Bass[6]
- Sperm Whale
- Tiger Shark
- Walleye
- Whale Shark
Notes: Animals with an "*" are only apex predators as introduced species
Extinct predators that were likely apex predators
- Abelisaurus
- Acrocanthosaurus
- Allosaurus
- Albertosaurus
- Andrewsarchus
- Anomalocaris
- Arctodus simus (Giant Short-faced Bear)[9]
- Argentavis
- Baiji (Chinese river dolphin, possibly extinct in 2007)
- Baryonyx
- Basilosaurus
- Brygmophyseter
- Cameroceras
- Canis dirus (Dire Wolf)
- Carcharodontosaurus
- Cryolophosaurus
- Dakosaurus
- Daspletosaurus
- Deinosuchus
- Deltadromeus
- Dilophosaurus
- Dimetrodon
- Dinofelis
- Dryptosaurus
- Dunkleosteus
- Eotitanosuchus
- Falkland Island Fox[10]
- Gastornis
- Giganotosaurus
- Gorgonops
- Gorgosaurus
- Guanlong
- Haast's Eagle
- Homotherium
- Hyaenodon
- Koolasuchus
- Kronosaurus
- Kryostega
- Majungasaurus
- Megalania
- Megalosaurus
- Megalodon[11]
- Megistotherium
- Miracinonyx (American Cheetah)
- Neanderthal
- Neovenator
- Ornithosuchus
- Panthera leo atrox (American Lion)
- Panthera leo spelaea (European Cave Lion)
- Phorusrhacos
- Poposaurus
- Postosuchus
- Predator X
- Pterygotus
- Rauisuchus
- Rhamphosuchus
- Sarcosuchus
- Saurosuchus
- Simosuchus
- Smilodon (Saber-toothed Cat)
- Spinosaurus
- Suchomimus
- Tarbosaurus
- Tarascosaurus
- Thylacine
- Titanis
- Titanoboa
- Torvosaurus
- Tylosaurus
- Tyrannosaurus
- Ursus spelaeus (Cave Bear)
- Utahraptor
References
- ^ http://www.kidsgowild.com/kidsgowild/animalfacts/87891/87905
- ^ Dinerstein, Eric (2005). Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations. Island Press. p. 113. ISBN 1-559-63578-9.
- ^ Bargagli, Roberto (2004). Antarctic Ecosystems. Springer. pp. 282–287. ISBN 3-540-22091-7.
- ^ ELECTROPHORUS ELECTRICUS, http://helium.vancouver.wsu.edu/~ingalls/eels/index.html
- ^ DeMartini, Edward E., Friedlander, Alan M., and Holzwarth, Stephani R. (2005). "Size at sex change in protogynous labroids, prey body size distributions, and apex predator densities at NW Hawaiian atolls". Marine ecology progress series 297: 259 -271. ISSN: 0171-8630. Retrieved on 2006-12-21.
- ^ a b Lepak, Jesse M., Kraft, Clifford E., and Weidel, Brian C. (2006). "Rapid Food Web Recovery in Response to Removal of an Introduced Apex Predator". Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 63(3): 569-575. ISSN: 0706-652X. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
- ^ Kuhn, Carey E., McDonald, Birgitte I., Shaffer, Scott A., Barnes, Julie, Crocker, Daniel E., Burns, Jennifer, and Costa, Daniel P. (2006). "Diving physiology and winter foraging behavior of a juvenile leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx)". Polar Biology 29(4): 303-307. ISSN: 0722-4060. Retrieved on 2006-12-21.
- ^ Levner, Eugene; Linkov, Igor; Proth, Jean-Marie (2005). Strategic Management of Marine Ecosystems. Springer. p. 41. ISBN 1-402-03158-0.
- ^ Conrad, Norman (2000). Reading the Entrails: An Alberta Ecohistory. University of Calgary Press. p. 9. ISBN 1-552-38012-2.
- ^ "Rare & Extinct Creatures: Warrah or Falkland Islands Wolf". The Messybeast. http://www.messybeast.com/extinct/warrah.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ Prehistoric Predators - Monster Shark. [TV-Series]. National Geographic. 2007.
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