The animals that look like bobcats include their closest lynx cousins, a handful of spotted small cats from three continents and a few domestic breeds designed to copy the wild look. A bobcat is easy to describe, with a short bobbed tail, tufted ears, a ruffed face and a spotted tan to reddish coat. It … Read more

The animals that look like foxes include wild canids from five continents, several domestic dog breeds and a few unrelated creatures that borrowed the name. A true fox is easy to recognize, with a pointed muzzle, large upright ears, a slender body and a long, bushy tail. Many other animals share these features, either through … Read more

The animals that look like raccoons include close relatives, distant cousins and a few unrelated look-alikes that share the famous bandit mask or ringed tail. A raccoon is easy to recognize, with a dark band across its eyes, a bushy tail with about 5 to 7 dark rings and agile, hand-like paws. Many other animals … Read more

The snakes that look like rattlesnakes are some of the most commonly killed harmless animals in North America. A real rattlesnake has a segmented rattle on its tail, a broad triangular head, vertical cat-like pupils and heat-sensing pits between its eyes and nostrils. Many harmless snakes have blotchy, diamond-like patterns that match a rattlesnake’s, and … Read more

The insects that look like wasps are some of the best impersonators in the animal world. Their bold yellow-and-black or orange-and-black stripes, narrow waists and buzzing flight warn predators that they could be dangerous. This trick is called Batesian mimicry, in which a harmless species copies the warning signals of one that can sting. Birds … Read more

The spiders that look like black widows are among the most commonly misidentified animals in homes, sheds and gardens around the world. A true female black widow is a glossy, jet-black spider with a round, bulbous abdomen and a red or orange hourglass shape on its underside. The genus has about 31 species worldwide, and … Read more

The types of bats include more than 1,400 species, which together make up about one in five of all mammals. Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight, and they live on every continent except Antarctica. They range from the bumblebee-sized Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, weighing about 2 grams, to giant flying foxes with wingspans … Read more

The types of stingrays make up one of the most varied groups of cartilaginous fish, with somewhere between 220 and 370 species, depending on how the group is defined. Stingrays are flattened relatives of sharks, with skeletons made of cartilage, wing-like pectoral fins and, in most species, a venomous barb on the tail. The group … Read more

The snakes that look like copperheads are among the most commonly mistaken animals in the eastern United States, and the confusion costs harmless snakes their lives every year. The copperhead is a stout, venomous pit viper that usually measures 24 to 36 inches long, with a coppery head and a wedge-shaped skull. Its most famous … Read more

The types of foxes include about two dozen species, along with color morphs, regional subspecies and a few extinct or vanishing forms, spread across every continent except Antarctica. Foxes are small to medium-sized members of the dog family, with slender muzzles, pointed ears and bushy tails. Only 12 species belong to the genus of true … Read more