Animals That Start With V: A Complete “V Animals” Guide (With Fun Facts)

When people search for “Animals That Start With V”, they’re usually looking for:

• A clear list of animals beginning with V

• Cool or unusual animals that start with V for school projects and quizzes

• Sea animals that start with V

• Pets that start with V

• Dangerous or interesting V animals to learn about

Compared with letters like S or T, there are fewer common V animals, but many of them are very memorable:
from vampire bats and vultures to the rare vaquita, fluffy vicuña, deep-sea viperfish, and the orange-and-black viceroy butterfly.

In this guide you’ll find:

• A quick V-animals list by group

• An overview table (class, habitat, diet, fun fact)

• Detailed profiles of representative Animals That Start With V

• FAQ: V pets, dangerous V animals, and their ecological roles

Perfect for an A–Z animal encyclopedia, homework help, or SEO-friendly content on a wildlife site.

1. Quick List of Animals That Start With V

Here’s a fast reference list of animals that begin with V, grouped by type.

Mammals

• Vampire bat – small bat that drinks blood from livestock and wild animals

• Vervet monkey – social Old World monkey from Africa

• Vicuña – wild, small camel relative from the high Andes

• Vaquita – critically endangered small porpoise from the Gulf of California

• Vole – small rodent that looks like a stocky mouse

• Virginia opossum – the only native marsupial in North America

Birds

• Vulture – scavenging raptors that feed on carrion

• Vegetarian finch – Galápagos finch that mostly eats plants

• Varied thrush – orange-and-black forest bird of the Pacific Northwest

• Veery – North American thrush with an amazingly musical song

• Victoria crowned pigeon – large, ornate ground pigeon from New Guinea

• Violet-green swallow – aerial insect-eating bird with iridescent colors

Reptiles & Amphibians

• Viper – venomous snake group including adders and pit vipers

• Veiled chameleon – tree-dwelling lizard popular in the reptile hobby

• Vietnamese mossy frog – frog with bumpy, moss-like skin

• Viviparous lizard (common lizard) – small reptile that gives birth to live young

Fish & Marine Animals

• Viperfish – deep-sea predator with huge teeth

• Vimba bream – freshwater fish from Europe

• Vermilion snapper – bright red saltwater fish

• Velvetfish – small, well-camouflaged reef fish

Invertebrates (Insects & Others)

• Velvet worm – soft-bodied predator that shoots sticky slime

• Velvet ant – actually a wingless wasp with a painful sting

• Viceroy butterfly – orange-and-black butterfly that mimics monarchs

• Vinegaroon – whip scorpion that sprays vinegar-like acid

• Velvet spider – small burrowing spiders with dense, velvety hairs

Next, a summary table of 15 representative “V animals.”

2. V-Animals Overview Table

3. Detailed Profiles of Key “V Animals”

Let’s look more closely at some of the most interesting and frequently searched Animals That Start With V.

3.1 Vampire Bat

• Class: Mammal (bat)

• Habitat: Warm regions of Central and South America, often near livestock pastures and forest edges

• Diet: Blood (hematophagy) – mostly from cattle, horses, birds and wild mammals

Key features:

• Vampire bats are small, with short noses and specialized teeth. Their razor-sharp upper incisors shave a tiny wound, and they lap up the blood that flows out.

• Their saliva contains anticoagulant chemicals (often called “draculin”) that keep the blood from clotting at the bite site.

• They can walk, hop and even run on the ground using their wings as front legs—very unusual for bats.

Fun fact:
Vampire bats often share blood meals with hungry relatives or roostmates that failed to feed. This “food sharing” helps the whole group survive and shows surprisingly complex social behavior.

3.2 Vervet Monkey

• Class: Mammal (Old World monkey)

• Habitat: Savannas, woodlands, riverbanks and farmland edges in sub-Saharan Africa

• Diet: Omnivore – fruit, leaves, flowers, seeds, insects, eggs and human food scraps

Key features:

• Vervet monkeys live in groups with complex social structures—dominance hierarchies, mother-offspring bonds and alliances.

• They have distinct alarm calls for different predators: one call for eagles, another for snakes, another for leopards. Group members react with predator-specific escape strategies.

• Males often disperse from their birth group when they mature and join new groups.

Fun fact:
Because vervets are so adaptable around humans and crops, they are often involved in human–wildlife conflict, but they’re also important for studies of primate communication and social behavior.

3.3 Vicuña

• Class: Mammal (camel family)

• Habitat: High Andean plateaus and grasslands, usually above 3,200 m (10,500 ft)

• Diet: Short alpine grasses and hardy high-altitude plants

Key features:

• Vicuñas are slender, elegant relatives of llamas and alpacas, with cinnamon-brown coats and white underparts.

• They are well adapted to thin, cold mountain air with efficient lungs and blood that carries oxygen well.

• Their wool is extremely soft and fine, providing insulation against freezing temperatures and fierce winds.

Fun fact:
Vicuña wool is one of the most valuable natural fibers in the world, traditionally reserved for royalty in Incan times. Strict regulations aim to protect animals from over-shearing and poaching.

3.4 Vaquita

• Class: Mammal (porpoise)

• Habitat: Shallow, murky coastal waters of the northern Gulf of California (Mexico)

• Diet: Small fish, squids and crustaceans

Key features:

• The vaquita is a very small, shy porpoise, with dark rings around its eyes and dark patches on its lips.

• It lives in a tiny geographic range, making it extremely vulnerable to local threats.

• Its biggest threat comes from illegal gillnets set for another species (the totoaba); vaquitas become entangled and drown.

Fun fact:
Vaquitas are often called the world’s rarest marine mammal. Protecting them has become a global conservation symbol for fighting bycatch and unsustainable fishing.

3.5 Vole

• Class: Mammal (rodent)

• Habitat: Meadows, wetlands, forests, alpine tundra and farmland across the Northern Hemisphere

• Diet: Mostly plant-based – grasses, roots, bulbs, seeds; some species also eat insects or fungi

Key features:

• Voles look like stocky, short-tailed mice with small ears and eyes.

• They dig shallow burrow systems and create runways through grass and leaf litter.

• Many vole species have dramatic population cycles: numbers can explode in peak years, then crash when food runs low or predators increase.

Fun fact:
These boom-and-bust cycles strongly affect predators such as owls, foxes, weasels and snakes, which may raise more young in “vole high years.”

3.6 Vulture

• Class: Bird (raptor)

• Habitat: Open landscapes such as savannas, grasslands, mountains and deserts worldwide

• Diet: Carrion – dead animals, sometimes including bones, skin and tough tissues

Key features:

• Many vultures have bald or sparsely feathered heads and necks—this helps them stay cleaner when feeding inside carcasses.

• They soar on rising air currents, using excellent eyesight to spot carcasses from far away.

• Their stomach acid is extremely strong, capable of destroying dangerous bacteria and many disease organisms.

Fun fact:
Because they clean up carcasses quickly, vultures act as nature’s sanitation workers, reducing the spread of diseases like anthrax and rabies in wild and rural areas.

3.7 Viper

• Class: Reptile (snake)

• Habitat: Forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts and mountains across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas (depending on species)

• Diet: Mice, rats, birds, frogs, lizards and other small animals

Key features:

• Vipers have long, hinged fangs that fold back against the roof of the mouth when not in use. They swing forward to inject venom in a quick strike.

• Many species are ambush predators: they rely on camouflage, wait motionless and strike when prey passes by.

• Pit vipers (like rattlesnakes) have heat-sensing pits on the face that detect warm-blooded prey even in darkness.

Fun fact:
Although vipers are often feared, they also control rodent populations, indirectly helping farmers by reducing crop damage and disease-carrying rodents.

3.8 Veiled Chameleon

• Class: Reptile (lizard)

• Habitat: Dry, scrubby forests and semi-desert habitats in Yemen and Saudi Arabia; also introduced elsewhere

• Diet: Mostly insects (crickets, grasshoppers, flies), plus some leaves and fruit

Key features:

• Named for the tall, helmet-like “veil” (casque) on top of its head, which helps with water collection and temperature control.

• Like other chameleons, it has independent eye movement, long projectile tongue, and the ability to change color.

• Color changes reflect mood, temperature, light and social signals more than simple background matching.

Fun fact:
Veiled chameleons are common in the pet trade, but they require precise humidity, UV light and temperature gradients—they’re not as easy as they look.

3.9 Viperfish

• Class: Fish (bony fish)

• Habitat: Deep sea, usually between several hundred and a few thousand meters deep, in tropical and temperate oceans

• Diet: Smaller fish, crustaceans and other deep-sea animals

Key features:

• Viperfish have huge heads, hinged jaws and needle-like teeth that can be longer than the bones of the jaw itself.

• Many species have bioluminescent organs along their bodies and a light-producing lure on the dorsal fin to attract prey.

• Their bodies are dark, metallic or translucent, helping them disappear in deep-sea darkness.

Fun fact:
Because deep-sea habitats are difficult to study, much of what we know about viperfish comes from rare specimens pulled up in fishing nets or deep-sea research missions.

3.10 Velvet Worm

• Class: Onychophoran (a small phylum of soft-bodied animals)

• Habitat: Moist leaf litter, rotting logs and soil in tropical and temperate forests

• Diet: Small insects, spiders and other invertebrates

Key features:

• Velvet worms have soft, elongated bodies covered in tiny bumps and hairs, giving them a velvety texture.

• They move on many pairs of stubby, unjointed legs and hide in dark, damp microhabitats.

• They hunt by firing two streams of sticky slime from nozzles on their heads, gluing prey to the ground.

Fun fact:
Velvet worms are evolutionarily important because they share features with both worms and arthropods; they’re sometimes called “living fossils” of an ancient animal design.

3.11 Viceroy Butterfly

• Class: Insect (butterfly)

• Habitat: Wet meadows, marsh edges and river corridors in North America

• Diet:

• Caterpillars: willow and poplar leaves

• Adults: nectar from flowers, sometimes rotting fruit

Key features:

• The viceroy closely resembles the monarch butterfly: orange wings with black veins and a black border.

• One key difference: viceroys have a thin black line across the hindwings, which monarchs lack.

• Both species taste bad to many predators, but viceroy appearance also benefits from the monarch’s strong reputation as “don’t eat me” food.

Fun fact:
For a long time, the viceroy was considered a classic example of Batesian mimicry (harmless species mimics a harmful one). Newer evidence suggests both species are distasteful, making it closer to Müllerian mimicry, where two bad-tasting species share similar warning colors.

3.12 Vinegaroon (Whip Scorpion)

• Class: Arachnid (not a true scorpion)

• Habitat: Warm, dry or subtropical regions with loose soil or leaf litter for burrows

• Diet: Insects, spiders and other small invertebrates

Key features:

• Vinegaroons have a broad, flattened body, large pincers (pedipalps) and a long, thin whip-like tail.

• They do not have a stinger like true scorpions and are generally harmless to humans.

• When threatened, they can spray a mist of liquid containing acetic acid, which smells like vinegar.

Fun fact:
Because they control cockroaches, crickets and other insects, vinegaroons are actually beneficial predators in many ecosystems—and they look far scarier than they really are.

4. FAQ: Animals That Start With V

4.1 How many animals start with V?

There is no exact official number, because:

• Common names change over time, and new species or local names are still being described.

• Some names (like viper or vulture) refer to whole groups with many species.

But there are dozens of well-known V animals, including:

• Mammals: vampire bat, vervet monkey, vicuña, vaquita, vole, Virginia opossum

• Birds: vulture, Victoria crowned pigeon, veery, varied thrush, violet-green swallow, vegetarian finch

• Reptiles & amphibians: viper, veiled chameleon, Vietnamese mossy frog, viviparous lizard

• Fish & aquarium/52-marine-animals.html">marine animals: viperfish, vermilion snapper, velvetfish, vimba bream

• Invertebrates: velvet worm, velvet ant, viceroy butterfly, vinegaroon, velvet spider

For SEO or educational projects, this is more than enough to build a rich “Animals That Start With V” section.

4.2 Are there pets that start with V?

Yes—here are some pets and aquarium animals that start with V (though many are for experienced keepers):

• Veiled chameleon – popular pet chameleon; needs careful temperature, UV lighting and humidity.

• Viper gecko – small gecko species kept by reptile hobbyists.

• Vermilion snapper & other V fish – sometimes seen in large marine aquariums (more often as food fish).

• Vampire crab – small, colorful freshwater crab found in the aquarium trade.

• Viper pleco (name used for some pleco catfish morphs) – freshwater aquarium fish.

Before getting any “V animal” pet, you should:

• Check local laws and regulations, especially for reptiles and exotic species.

• Understand their space, diet, temperature and humidity needs.

• Consider their lifespan—many reptiles and fish live much longer than people expect.

4.3 What dangerous animals start with V?

A few Animals That Start With V can be dangerous if threatened, surprised or handled carelessly:

• Vipers – venomous snakes with bites that can be serious or fatal without treatment.

• Some vultures – not venomous, but can deliver a strong bite and carry bacteria (though they mostly avoid people).

• Velvet ants – actually wasps; some species have extremely painful stings.

• Vinegaroons – not truly dangerous but can spray acetic acid; it can irritate eyes or open wounds.

• Viperfish – frightening appearance and sharp teeth, but they live in the deep sea far away from humans.

Most V animals are not aggressive toward humans and become a problem mainly when:

• People step on, grab or corner them.

• People attempt to handle wildlife without training or protection.

Keeping a respectful distance and following local safety guidelines is usually enough to avoid trouble.

4.4 Which V animals are important for ecosystems?

Many V animals play key ecological roles:

• Vultures – essential scavengers that clean up carcasses and limit the spread of disease.

• Vipers – control rodent populations that damage crops and spread disease.

• Voles – important prey for many predators (owls, foxes, weasels) and ecosystem “engineers” that affect soils and vegetation.

• Vervet monkeys – disperse seeds of fruits they eat, helping regenerate African woodlands.

• Vicuñas – graze high-altitude grasslands and help maintain Andean ecosystems.

• Vaquitas – as predators of small fish and invertebrates, they are part of the delicate food web of the Gulf of California.

• Unicornfish & other herbivorous reef fish – keep algae in check so corals are not smothered.

• Sea urchins (urchin = U-word) – in balanced numbers, they help structure kelp forests and rocky reefs.

• Velvet worms, vinegaroons & other small predators – help regulate insects and other invertebrates in soil and leaf litter.

Protecting these Animals That Start With V and their habitats helps forests, grasslands, mountains, rivers and oceans stay healthy and balanced.

By exploring this guide to Animals That Start With V, you’ve met a whole alphabet slice: vampire bats, vervet monkeys, vicuñas, vaquitas, voles, vultures, vipers, veiled chameleons, viperfish, velvet worms, viceroy butterflies, vinegaroons and more.

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We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a Animals Top editor.