What is your favorite....?

I'm dangerously bad at resisting these kinds of prompts. Guess I'm staying up another 10-20 minutes!

Marsupial - thylacine / greater glider (extant favorite)
Elephant - Asian (Sri Lankan specifically!)
Non-Elephant Afrotherian - aardvark
Xenarthan - giant anteater
Primates - aye-aye, red ruffed lemur, mandrill, orangutan
Lagomorph - Sumatran striped rabbit
Rodents - capybara, Patagonian mara, Hystrix porcupines, red-and-white giant flying squirrel
Bats - Rodrigues & spectacled flying foxes
Felids - leopard, cougar, African golden cat, Eurasian lynx, domestic cat (aaand my biases reveal themselves)
Hyena - ... all of them I can't even choose
Other Feliforms - African civet, Asian palm civet, binturong, fossa
Canids - dhole, maned wolf, bush dog, raccoon dog
Bear - Asian black
Pinniped - leopard seal
Mustelids - Asian/Japanese badgers, Japanese marten, tayra
Rhinos - Indian & Sumatran
Tapir - Malayan
Equids - Grevy's & mountain zebras
Deer - all Cervus deer, roe deer, muntjacs, pudu
Cattle - wild yak, wild water buffalo
Antelope - (the hardest choices yet) elands, bongo, sable, Tibetan/chiru, saiga, red lechwe, zebra duiker, someone please stop me now
Caprine - Japanese serow, takin, wild/Bezoar goat
Pig - red river hog
Cetaceans - vaquita, Dall's porpoise, Amazon river dolphin
Other Mammals That Don't Fit In Any Of These - OKAPI. And all of the pangolins.

I'll uh... do the non-mammals another time.
 
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At the moment, Zoochatters' favourite animals are:
Antelope: Bongo
Ape: Orang-utan; Sumatran orang-utan
Bears: Asiatic black, spectacled, sun
Big cat: Snow leopard
Bird of prey: Steller's sea eagle
Cracid: Horned guan
Crocodilian: Gharial
Dog: Dhole
Elephant: Asian
Equids: Mountain zebra
Flamingo: James'
Hornbill: Great Indian, writhed
Lemur: Red ruffed
Lizard: Komodo dragon
Marsupial: Numbat
Monkey: Lion-tailed macaque, mandrill, proboscis monkey
Non-elephant afrotherian: Aardvark
Parrot: Hyacinth macaw
Pheasant: Bulwer's wattled
Pinniped: Leopard seal
Rhinoceros: Indian
Rodent: Capybara
Sheep/goat: Takin
Small cat: Caracal, cougar, Pallas's cat, serval
Stork: Marbou
Tapir: Malayan
Whale: Amazon river dolphin
 
I had a list just like this in my phone's notes but I deleted it only recently, argh! I'll try and revise it then with the groups of animals I still have a note of (very condensed, some of the groupings are based on arbitrary groups from an old textbook)

Apes: Mountain Gorilla (Sumatran Orangutan a VERY close runner-up)
Bat: Indian Flying Fox
Bear: Brown Bear (European)
Big Cat: Bengal Tiger
Canine: Coyote
Cattle and Relatives (Bovids): Wisent
Cetaceans: Common Dolphin
Civets and Mongooses: Binturong
Deer: Red Deer
Elephants: African Bush
Giraffes and Camels: Reticulated Giraffe
Hippos and Pigs: Common Hippo
Horses: Plains Zebra
Hyenas: Spotted Hyena
Insectivores ( Eulipotyphla): Western Hedgehog:
Marsupials and Monotremes: Koala
Monkeys: Olive Baboon
Mustelids: European Badger
'Other' Carnivores: Red Panda
'Other' Mammals: West Indian Manatee
Pinnipeds: Californian Sea Lion
Prosimians: Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
Rabbits and Rodents: Brown Rat/Brown Hare
Rhinos and Tapirs: Indian One-horned Rhinoceros
Small Cats: Scottish Wildcat
Xenarthrans: Giant Anteater

Birds of Prey: Common Buzzard
Cranes and Storks: Red-crowned Crane
Cuckoos and Turacos: Greater Roadrunner
Flamingos and Pelicans: Grey Heron
Flightless Birds (Ratites): Southern Cassowary
Gamebirds: Common Pheasant
Hornbills and Kingfishers: Yellow-billed Hornbill
Owls: European Eagle Owl
Parrots and Pigeons: Hyacinth Macaw
Passerines: Common Raven
Penguins: Emperor Penguin
Seabirds (Waders, Gulls, Auks): Eurasian Stone Curlew
Toucans and Woodpeckers: Toco Toucan
Waterbirds: Red-throated Diver

Colubrids: Grass Snake
Constrictor Snakes: Reticulated Python
Crocodilians: Nile Crocodile
Geckos: Leopard Gecko
Iguanas and Relatives: Bearded Dragon
Monitor Lizards: Nile Monitor
Other Lizards: Argentinian Tegu
Tortoises and Turtles: Green Sea Turtle
Venomous Snakes: Egyptian Cobra

Amphibians, Fish, and Invertebrates aren't really my thing, but I'm sure I could come up with something for them as well
 
Wish I could go back and edit, with mammals alone there are so many I'd already forgotten! Red panda, forest buffalo, serval, numbat, giant otter shrew... ugh. Anyway, birds and reptiles. Admittedly way more of a mammal person if that's not immediately evident.

Ratite - southern cassowary, kiwis
Galliformes - green peafowl, Congo peafowl, Japanese green pheasant
Waterfowl - mandarin duck
Pigeon - Victoria crowned
Crane - blue
Penguins - king, African, rockhopper
Stork - marabou
Pelecaniformes - shoebill, roseate spoonbill, crested ibis, Madagascar ibis
Raptors - king vulture, cinereous vulture, bearded vulture, harpy eagle, secretarybird
Owls - great horned, long-eared
Turaco - Fischer's or green-crested
Hornbills - helmeted, knobbed
Parrots - sun conure, horned parakeet, Major Mitchell's cockatoo, kakapo
Passerines - superb lyrebird, blue bird-of-paradise, common raven, plush-crested jay, helmet vanga
Others - hoatzin, kagu, sunbittern, all bustards, tawny frogmouth

Crocodilians - saltie, Chinese alligator, black caiman
turtles - alligator snapper, painted batagur, pig-nosed, leatherback
Lizards - Philippine sailfin, Fiji iguanas, Cayman blue iguana, frilled lizard, shingleback, Komodo, sungazer, red-eyed crocodile skink
Snakes - albino Burmese python, reticulated python, emerald tree boa & green tree python, bush vipers, white-lipped island pit viper, Gaboon viper, cape cobra

Amphibians, fish and inverts some other time to keep the post short(ish).
 
Part 2 (Misssed mammals, birds and herps)

Afrotheria - Black and rufous elephant shrew
Xenarthea - Hairy armadillo
Pangolin - Chinese
Cetacean - Harbour porpoise
Insectivore - West European hedgehog

Bird Of Prey - Himalayan griffon vulture
Stork - Shoebill
Pigeon - Pheasant pigeon
Hornbill - Great Indian
Parrot - Kea
Crane - Stanley/blue
Ibis - Sacred
Sea bird - Atlantic puffin
Corvid - Red-billed chough
Songbird - 12-wired bird of paradise
Ratite - Brown kiwi
Waterfowl - Spectacled eider
Pheasant - Bornean peacock
Toucan - Green aracari

Snake - Boelen's python
Snake (hot) - Monocled cobra
Lizard - Water monitor
Crocodilian - Chinese alligator
Tortoise - Radiated
Turtle - Roti Island snake-necked
Frog/Toad - Mountain chicken
Other Amphibian - Chinese giant salamander
Shark/Ray - Whale shark
Bony fish - Ocean sunfish

I'm not an invert' man so I've left them off. :)
 
When I posted here, I just caught the already mentioned categories and filled with my own fave of each group. But reading the other's lists, I see that is a strong disagreement bewteen categories: for example one puts "reptile" and other "crocodilian, lizard, snake", for ones is "cat" and other divide between big and small cats, ones are OK with "whale" for all cetaceans and other divide the group in two categories, whales and dolphins... From my post forward, I see that the tendence is to make more exhaustive and precise categories, basically mammal categories. So I change my previous list for next one, putting my favourite of each family (under my taxonomical consideration of each one), so the categories can be seen in a much more accurate way than previously:

MAMMALS:

Aardvark: Aardvark
Acrobat: Feather-tailed possum
African/Malgasy rat: Malgasy giant jumping rat
Agouti/paca: Mountain paca
American porcupine: Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine
Anteater: Northern tamandua
Antelope/cattle/goat: Saola
Ape: Hoolock gibbon
Armadillo: Pink fairy
Aye-aye: Aye-aye
Bandicoot: Greater bilby
Beaked whale: Bottlehead
Bear: Sloth
Beaver: European
Bumblebee bat: Bumblebee bat
Bushbaby: Elegant galago
Camel: Llama
Cane rat: Greater
Cat: Marbled
Cavy/chinchilla: Plains viscacha
Chinchilla rat: Bennett's
Deer: Musk
Degu: Cururo
Disc-winged bat: Spix's
Dog: Tibetan fox
Dolphin: Southern right whale dolphin
Dormouse: Woodland
Dugong: Dugong
Echidna: Sir David's long-beaked
Elephant: African forest
Elephant shrew: Four-toed
False vampire: Yellow-winged bat
Flying fox: Hammerhead bat
Flying lemur: Philippine
Free-tailed bat: Chapin's
Funnel-eared bat: Mexican
Ganges dolphin: Ganges dolphin
Giraffe: Okapi
Glider: Striped possum
Golden mole: Grant's
Gopher: Botta's pocket gopher
Grey whale: Grey whale
Gundi: Speke's
Hamster/vole/lemming/New World rat: European hamster
Hedgehog: Desert
Hippopotamus: Pygmy
Honey possum: Honey possum
Horse: Mountain zebra
Horseshoe/Old World leaf-nosed bat: Rufous horseshoe bat
Hutia: Jamaican coney
Hyena: Striped
Hyrax: Southern tree dassie
Jerboa: Long-eared
Kangaroo: Banded hare-wallaby
Kangaroo rat/pocket mouse: Spiny pocket mouse
Lemur: either Fork-crowned or Coquerel's sifaka
Loris: Angwantibo
Manatee: African
Marsupial mole: Marsupial mole
Mastiff bat: Greater bulldog bat
Mole: Japanese shrew mole
Mole rat: Damaraland
Mongoose/civet: Owston's palm civet
Monito-del-monte: Monito-del-monte
Mountain beaver: Mountain beaver
Mouse deer: Water chevrotain
Mouse-tailed bat: Greater
Moustached bat: Antillean ghost-faced bat
Muroid mole rat: Big-headed mole rat
Narwhal/beluga: Narwhal
New World leaf-nosed bat: Honduran white bat
New World monkey: Red-backed bearded saki
New Zealand short-tailed bat: Lesser short-tailed bat
Old Wolrd monkey: Golden snub-nosed
Opossum: Four-eyed
Pacarana: Pacarana
Pangolin: Giant
Pen-tailed tree shrew: Pen-tailed tree shrew
Pig/peccary: Giant forest hog
Pika: Ili
Platypus: Platypus
Porcupine: Long-tailed
Porpoise: Vaquita or Dall's, not sure which one wins
Pronghorn: Pronghorn
Pygmy possum: Mountain
Pygmy right whale: Pygmy right whale
Quoll/devil/kowari: Numbat
Rabbit: Annamese striped
Raccoon: Mountain coati
Red panda: Red panda
Rhinoceros: Sumatran
Right whale: Bowhead whale
Ringtail/greater gliding possum: Herbert River ringtail possum
River dolphin: La Plata
Rorqual: Humpback whale
Sac-winged bat: Northern ghost bat
Scaly-tailed squirrel: Pel's flying squirrel
Sea lion: Australian
Seal: Ribbon
Shrew: Piebald
Shrew opossum: Chilean
Skunk: Eastern spotted
Slit-faced bat: Cape long-eared bat
Sloth: Brown-throated
Smoky/thumbless bat: Thumbless bat
Solenodon: Cuban
Sperm whale: Pygmy sperm whale (either species)
Spiny rat/coypu: Armored rat
Springhare: Springhare
Squirrel: Indian giant
Sucker-footed bat: Eastern
Tapir: Mountain
Tarsier: Horsfield's
Tenrec: Lesser long-tailed shrew tenrec
Titi/tamarin/marmoset: Silvery marmoset
Tree shrew: Madras
Typical mouse/rat: Maned rat
Vesper bat: Pied bat
Walrus: Walrus
Weasel/otter: Marbled polecat
Wombat: Northern hairy-nosed


BIRDS:

Accentor: Rufous-breasted
Albatross: Galapagos
Antbird/antpitta: Giant antshrike
Asity: Yellow-bellied sunbird-asity
Auk: Rhinoceros auklet
Australasian treecreeper: Red-browed treecreeper
Avocet/stilt: New Zealand stilt
Babbler/laughing trush: Fire-tailed myzornis
Barbet: Nacked-faced
Barn owl: Congo bay owl
Bee-eater: Purple-bearded
Bird of paradise: Black sicklebill
Booby/gannet: Blue-footed booby
Bowerbird: Flame
Broadbill: Silver-breasted
Bulbul: Tylas vanga
Bunting: Lapland longspur
Bushtit: Black-throated
Bustard: Lesser florican
Buttonquail: Quail-plover
Cardinal: Ultramarine grosbeak
Cassowary: Single-wattled
Cockatoo: Yellow-tailed black
Condor: Greater yellow-headed vulture
Cormorant: Flightless
Cotinga: Bare-necked fruitcrow
Crab plover: Crab plover
Crane: Whooping
Crow/jay/magpie: Ratchet-tailed treepie
Cuckoo: Sumatran ground
Cuckoo-roller: Cuckoo-roller
Cuckoo-shrike: Orange minivet
Darter: Australian
Dipper: White-capped
Diving petrel: Common
Drongo: Balicassiao
Emu: Emu
Fairy wren/thornbill: Purple-crowned fairy wren
Falcon/caracara: Mauritius kestrel
Fantail: New Zealand
Finch: Black-headed canary
Finfoot: Masked
Flamingo: James's
Flowerpecker: Spotted pardalote
Frigatebird: Lesser
Frogmouth: Ocellated
Gnatcatcher: Collared gnatwren
Gnateater: Black-cheeked
Grebe: Titicaca
Ground roller: Long-tailed
Grouse: Greater sage
Guan/curassow: Horned guan
Guineafowl: Black
Gull: Lava
Hammerkop: Hammerkop
Hawayan honeycreeper: 'Akohekohe
Heron: Pileated
Hoatzin: Hoatzin
Honeycreeper: Cape sugarbird
Honeyguide: Lyre-tailed
Hoopoe: African
Hornbill: Helmeted
Hornero: Lark-like brushrunner
Hummingbird: Marvelous spatuletail
Ibisbill: Ibisbill
Jacana: Pheasant-tailed
Kagu: Kagu
Kingfisher: Shovel-billed
Kiwi: Lesser spotted
Lark: Thick-billed
Leafbird/verdin/fairy bluebird: Philippine fairy bluebird
Limpkin: Limpkin
Logrunner: Cinnamon quail-thrush
Loon: Adam's
Lorikeet: Blue
Lyrebird: Albert's
Mannakin: Araripe
Megapode: Malleefowl
Mesite: Subdesert
Mockingbird: Galapagos
Monarch/magpie lark: Celestial monarch
Motmot: Broad-billed
Mousebird: White-headed
New World quail: Montezuma's quail
New World warbler: Red warbler
Nightjar: Lyre-tailed
Nuthatch/wallcreeper: Blue nuthatch
Oilbird: Oilbird
Old World flycatcher: Clicking shieldbill
Old World warbler: White-browed tit warbler
Oriole: Maroon
Osprey: Osprey
Ostrich: Ostrich
Owl: Long-whiskered owlet
Owlet-nightjar: Australian
Oystercatcher: Sooty
Painted snipe: Common
Palmchat: Palmchat
Parrot: Spix's macaw
Parrotbill: Black-throated
Pelican: American white
Penduline tit: Fire-capped tit
Penguin: Yellow-eyed
Petrel/shearwater: Fairy prion
Pheasant/partridge: Bulwer's pheasant
Philippine creeper: Stripe-headed creeper
Pigeon: Cloven-feathered
Pitta: Garnet
Plains wanderer: Plains wanderer
Plover: Wrybill
Plushcap: Plushcap
Potoo: Rufous
Pratincole/courser: Australian pratincole
Puffbird: Swallow-winged
Rail/coot/moorhen/swamphen: Watercock
Raptor: Black and white hawk-eagle
Rhea: Lesser
Rifleman: Rifleman
Rockfowl: Grey-necked
Roller: Racquet-tailed
Sandgrouse: Four-banded
Sandpiper and allies: American curlew
Screamer: Horned
Scrub-bird: Noisy
Secretarybird: Secretarybird
Seedsnipe: Chestnut-bellied
Seriema: Black-legged
Sheatbill: Black-faced
Shoebill: Shoebill
Shrike: Bornean bristlehead
Skimmer: African
Skua/jaeger: Long-tailed jaeger
Starling: White-collared
Stork: Black-necked
Storm petrel: Gray-backed
Sunbird: Golden-winged
Sunbittern: Sunbittern
Swallow: White-eyed river martin
Swallow tanager: Swallow tanager
Swift: Glossy swiftlet
Tanager: Magpie tanager
Tapaculo: Chucao
Tern: Large-billed
Thick-knee: Great
Thrush/chat: Grandala
Tinamou: Dwarf
Tit: Varied
Tody: Jamaican
Toucan: Green-billed
Tourpial/oropendola/cowbird: Red-bellied grackle
Tree swift: Grey-rumped
Treecreeper: Spotted
Trogon/quetzal: Violaceous trogon
Tropicbird: Red-tailed
Trumpeter: White-winged
Turaco: Bare-faced go-away bird
Turkey: Ocellated
Tyrant flycatcher: Cock-tailed
Vanga: Blue
Vireo: Rufous-browed peppershrike
Wagtail/pipit: Forest wagtail
Waterfowl: Musk duck
Wattle-eye: Chinspot batis
Wattled crow: Saddleback
Waxbill: Violet-eared
Waxwing/silky flycatcher: Hypocolius
Weaver/sparrow: Long-tailed widowbird
Whistler: Crested shrike-tit
White-eye: Bonin
Wood hoopoe: White-headed
Woodcreeper: Long-billed
Woodpecker: Okinawa
Woodswallow/butcherbird/currawong: Pied butcherbird
Wren: Zapata

Will work on ectotherms other day, as now I must go to work.
 
For ectotherms, I realized that is a too hard work to use family level for categories, both for me as for readers, many families lack a standarized common name, and for many I can't have a favourite species as many are poorly known to me and/or all plain-looking. So from this point I will choose Order as the category:

Crocodile/alligator: Cuban crocodile
Lizard/snake: Indian fan-throated lizard
Tuatara: Brothers Islands's
Turtle/tortoise: Painted terrapin

Caecilian: Ko Tao island
Frog/toad: Corroboree frog
Salamander/newt: Hellbender

Anglerfish: Wolftrap angler Lasiognathus saccostoma
Beardfish: Stout
Bichir: Mokele-mbembe
Bonytongue: African arowana
Bowfin: Bowfin
Carp/loach: Giant barb
Catfish: Striped eel catfish
Clingfish: Urchin clingfish
Cod: Giant grenadier
Coelacanth: Indonesian
Cusk eel/brotula: Pinhead pearlfish
Dory: Deepbody boarfish
Dragonfish/bristlemouth: Sloane viperfish
Eel: Slender snipe eel
Flatfish: Cockatoo flounder
Gar: Tropical
Gulper eel: Pelican gulper eel
Herring: Amazon hatchet herring
Jellynose fish: Highfin tadpole fish
Lamprid: Scalloped ribbonfish
Lizardfish: Long-snouted lancetfish
Lungfish: Marbled
Milkfish: Beaked salmon
Mullet: Yellowtail
Needlefish: Spotfin flying fish
Perchlike: Indopacific sailfish
Pike: Central mudminnow
Puffer/filefish: Slender sunfish
Ridgehead: Ragged bigscale
Salmon: Luminous lanternfish
Sawbelly: Common fangtooth
Scorpionfish: Ocellated waspfish
Seahorse/stickleback: Harlequin ghost pipefish
Silverside: Delicate blue-eye
Smelt: Barreleye
South American knifefish/electric eel: Tamandua knifefish
Spiny eel: Gilbert's halosaurid
Sturgeon/paddlefish: Chinese paddlefish
Swamp eel: Rice swamp eel
Tarpon/ladyfish: Bonefish
Toadfish: Splendid
Toothcarp: Blackfin pearlfish
Trout-perch: Southern cavefish

Angelshark: Japanese
Bullhead shark: Zebra bullhead shark
Carpet shark: Whale shark
Chimera: Elephantfish
Cow shark: Bluntnose sixgill shark
Dogfish shark: Greenland shark
Electric ray: Ocellated
Ground shark: Winghead shark
Mackerel shark: Goblin shark
Ray: Giant freshwater stingray (but others are just equal favourite)
Sawfish: Japanese sawshark

Hagfish: Atlantic
Lamprey: Pouched

Invertebrates will follow some day....
 
I was going to post a few, listing only species I've seen, which would limit me a lot, eg only cetacean ever seen in a zoo is bottle nosed dolphin , no Sumatran Rhino , mountain Tapir , brown hyaena ever seen. Mine would be a much shorter & less interesting list than those that give other species I haven’t seen such as Saola and Leopard Seal, so I don't think I'll bother!
 
I was going to post a few, listing only species I've seen, which would limit me a lot, eg only cetacean ever seen in a zoo is bottle nosed dolphin , no Sumatran Rhino , mountain Tapir , brown hyaena ever seen. Mine would be a much shorter & less interesting list than those that give other species I haven’t seen such as Saola and Leopard Seal, so I don't think I'll bother!

I've just gone through my two posts and I've seen 44 (45 if we go to species level for (Javan) leopard). And I don't think any of mine are ridiculously obscure. In fact one (tree kangaroo) is much more likely to go on my "seen" list now than it was a week or so ago... :p So go for it @pipaluk .
 
I've just gone through my two posts and I've seen 44 (45 if we go to species level for (Javan) leopard). And I don't think any of mine are ridiculously obscure. In fact one (tree kangaroo) is much more likely to go on my "seen" list now than it was a week or so ago... :p So go for it @pipaluk .
Ok, going by Dassie Rat's categories and only animals I've seen :

Antelope -Blesbok, Blue Duiker
Ape - Bonobo
Bear - Polar
Big Cat - Snow Leopard
Bird of Prey - Crested Caracara
Crocodilian - Gharial
Dog - Dhole
Elephant - Asian
Equid - Somali Wild Ass
Flamingo - James'
Hornbill - Northern Ground
Lemur - Sifaka
Lizard - Blue Tree Monitor
Marsupial - Wombat, Tree Kangaroo
Monkey - Crowned Guenon
Parrot - Hyacinth Macaw
Pheasant -
Pinniped - Cape Fur Seal
Rhino - Indian
Rodent - Brazilian Porcupine
Sheep/goat - Golden Takin
Small cat Asian Golden Cat
Tapir - Malayan
Stork - Lesser Adjutant

Hippo - Common
Cattle - European Bison
Mustelid - Ratel
Mongoose - Dwarf
Civet - Binturong
Malagasy carnivore - Ring-tailed mongoose

My favourite reptile , Tuatara and one of my favourite mammals, Okapi , have nothing to compete against !
 
Aplousobranch sea squirt: Cat eye (Clavelina robusta)
Enterogone sea squirt: (Ascidia mentula)
Phlebobranch sea squirt: Predatory tunicate (Megalodicopia hians)
Pleurogone sea squirt: (Botrylloides anceps)

Doliolid: (Doliolum denticulatum)
Pyrosomid: Fire roller (Pyrosoma atlanticum)
Salp: (Salpa maxima)

Brisingid: Velcro sea star (Novodinia antillensis)
Forcipulatid: Antarctic sun starfish (Labidiaster annulatus)
Notomyotid: (Cheiraster echinulatus)
Paxillosid: Royal starfish (Astropecten articulatus)
Spinulosid: Mosaic sea star (Plectaster decanus)
Valvatid: Icon star (Iconaster longimanus)
Velatid: Striking sea star (Euretaster insignis)

Feather star: Bennet's feather star (Oxycomanthus bennetti)
Sea lily: (Monachocrinus caribbeus)
Short-stalked sea lily: (Holopus rangii)
Whorled sea lily: (Neocrinus decorus)

Arbacioid urchin: Exquisite urchin (Coleopleurus exquisitus)
Cassiduloid urchin: (Cassidulus caribaearum)
Cidaroid urchin: (Goniocidaris clypeata)
Clypeasteroid urchin: (Rotula deciesdigitata)
Diadematoid urchin: Banded urchin (Echinothrix calamaris)
Echinoid urchin: Helmet urchin (Colobocentrotus atratus)
Echinoneoid urchin: Little burrowing urchin (Echinoneus cyclostomus)
Echinothurioid urchin: (Phormosoma placenta)
Holasteroid urchin: (Stereopneustes relictus)
Pedinoid urchin: (Caenopedina hawaiiensis)
Phymosomatoid urchin: (Glyptocidaris crenularis)
Spatangoid urchin: Elongate heart urchin (Lovenia elongata)
Stomopneustoid urchin: Black urchin (Stomopneustes variolaris)
Temnopleuroid urchin: Bald-patch urchin (Microcyphus rousseaui)

Apodid cucumber: Sticky snake sea cucumber (Euapta godeffroyi)
Aspidochirotid cucumber: Prickly redfish (Thelenota ananas)
Dendrochirotid cucumber: Sea gherkin (Eupentacta quinquesemita)
Elasipodid cucumber: Sea pig (Scotoplanes globosa)
Molpadiid cucumber: See-through sea cucumber (Paracaudina australis)

Basket star: (Astrobrachion constrictum), especially in the zebra-form
Brittle star: Pied brittle star (Ophiocoma pica)

Camel spider: (Metasolpuga picta)
Feather mite: Osprey wing mite (Pandionacarus fuscus)
Harvestman: (Sadocus polyacanthus)
Hooded tick-spider: (Cryptocellus goodnighti)
Mesostigmate mite: Varroa mite (Varroa destructor)
Microwhip scorpion: (Eukoenenia spelaea)
Moss mite: (Damaeus onustus)
Pseudoscorpion: (Titanobochica magna)
Scorpion: Blind scorpion (Belisarius xambeui)
Spider: Ladybug spider (Paraplectana coccinella)
Tick: Bat tick (Argas vespertilionis)
Trombidiiform mite: Giant red velvet mite (Trombidium grandissimum)
Vinegaroon: (Hubbardia pentapeltis)
Whip spider: Giant tailless whip scorpion (Euphrynichus amanica)

Bark centipede: Flag-legged centipede (Alipes grandidieri)
House centipede: (Sphendononema guildingii)
Soil centipede: Luminous centipede (Geophilus electricus)
Stone centipede: (Eupolybothrus fasciatus)

Amphipod: Giant Lake Baikal amphipod (Acanthogammarus victori)
Barnacle: (Conchoderma virgatum)
Clam shrimp: California clam shrimp (Cyzicus californicus)
Copepod: (Gaussia princeps)
Crab/shrimp: Lollipop crab (Ixa cylindrus)
Fairy shrimp: Giant fairy shrimp (Branchinecta gigas)
Fish louse: (Argulus foliaceus)
Hooded shrimp: (Bodotria scorpioides)
Krill: Northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica)
Leptostracan: (Nebalia bipes)
Mantis shrimp: Keeled witch mantis shrimp (Hemisquilla ensigera)
Opossum shrimp: (Gnathophausia zoea)
Ostracod: Pacific giant ostracod (Gigantocypris agassizii)
Tadpole shrimp: Arctic tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus arcticus)
Tanaid: (Leptochelia longimana)
Water flea: (Ceriodaphnia laticaudata)
Woodlouse: Giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus)

Bristly millipede: (Phryssonotus brevicapensis)
Chordeumatid millipede: (Plectogona angustum)
Flatback millipede: Pink dragon millipede (Desmoxytes purpurosea)
Giant pill millipede: (Sphaerotherium hippocastaneum)
Glomerid pill millipede: White pill millipede (Trachysphaera lobata)
Julid millipede: (Julus terrestris)
Spirobolid millipede: Bifid red millipede (Centrobolus bifidus)
Spirostreptid millipede: Giant Texas brown millipede (Orthoporus ornatus)

Bark louse: (Cerastipsocus trifasciatus)
Beetle: Feather-horned beetle (Rhipicera femorata)
Bristletail: Shore bristletail (Petrobius maritimus)
Bug/cicada: Picasso bug (Sphaerocoris annulus)
Butterfly/moth: (Semioptila spathulipennis)
Caddishfly: (Nectopsyche utleyorum)
Diplure: (Gollumjapyx smeagol)
Dragonfly/damselfly: Clearspot bluewing (Zenithoptera viola)
Earwig: (Arixenia esau)
Flea: Jigger (Tunga penetrans)
Fly: Malaysian stalk-eyed fly (Teleopsis dalmanni)
Grasshopper/cricket: Australian crested katydid (Alectoria superba)
Lacewing: (Palmipenna aeoleoptera)
Louse: Elephant louse (Haematomyzus elephantis)
Mantid/cockroach/termite: Blister beetle mimic cockroach (Melyroidea magnifica)
Mayfly: Tisa mayfly (Palingenia longicauda)
Rock crawler: Northern rock crawler (Grylloblatta campodeiformis)
Scorpionfly: Earwigfly (Merope tuber)
Silverfish: (Squamatinia algharbica)
Springtail: New Zealand giant sprintail (Holacanthella duospinosa)
Stick insect: Lord Howe stick insect (Dryococelus australis)
Stonefly: (Hemimelaena flaviventris)
Strepsipteran: (Stylops melittae)
Thrips: (Frankliniothrips vespiformis)
Wasp/bee/ant: (Pelecinus polyturator)
Webspinner: (Embia amadorae)
Zorapteran: (Zorotypus guineeensis)

Horseshoe crab: Chinese horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus)

Sea spider: (Stylopallene longicauda)

Pseudocentipede: (Hanseniella caldaria)

Sorry for molluscs, segmented worms, cnidarians and so, but I will let it here, searching each order for each favourite species is too tiring (and probably reading it too).
 
I understand "my favourite" as the most wished one on each category, hence, most of my elections are species that I didnt't saw and probably I will never see. However, as various Zoochatters here are putting their lists based only in the species that they have seen, I will do the same resulting in a completely different list. Following the last DassieRat categories, they will be:

Antelope: Gerenuk
Ape: Bonobo
Bear: Spectacled
Big cat: Clouded leopard
Bird of prey: Harpy eagle
Cracid: Helmeted curassow
Crocodilian: Gharial
Dog: Bat-eared fox
Elephant: Asian
Equids: African wild ass
Flamingo: James'
Hornbill: Sulawesi
Lemur: Greater bamboo
Lizard: New Guinea snake lizard
Marsupial: Goodfellow's tree kangaroo
Monkey: Red-shanked douc langur
Non-elephant afrotherian: Yellow-breasted hyrax
Parrot: Lear's macaw
Pheasant: Himalayan monal
Pinniped: Steller's sea lion
Rhinoceros: White
Rodent: North Luzon giant cloud rat
Sheep/goat: Rocky Mountain goat
Small cat: Oncilla
Stork: African openbill
Tapir: Baird's
Whale: Orca
 
I have combined a few groups, mainly using criteria adopted by earlier listers. I have also added some new groups of classes or phyla. I have included the okapi in a camel and giraffe etc group and the tuatara with the chelonians.

So far, the leading species in some groups are:
Antelope: Bongo
Ape: Sumatran orang-utan
Arachnid: Vinegaroon
Bear: Spectacled
Big cat: Snow leopard
Bird of prey: Steller's sea eagle, harpy, secretary bird
Camels, giraffes etc: Okapi
Cattle: Wisent
Cracid: Horned guan
Cranes, storks etc: Shoebill, marabou
Crocodilian: Gharial
Deer: Musk deer
Dog: Dhole
Dolphin: Southern right whale dolphin
Elephant: Asian
Equid: Mountain zebra
Fish: Whale shark
Flamingo: James's
Flightless bird: Southern cassowary
Hornbills & kingfishers: Great Indian hornbill; helmeted hornbill
Insectivores: West European hedgehog
Lemur: Red ruffed lemur; aye-aye
Lizard: Komodo dragon
Marsupial: Numbat
Monkey: Mandrill; lion-tailed macaque; proboscis monkey
Non-elephant afrotherian: Aardvark
Other birds: Hoatzin
Parrots: Hyacinth macaw
Pheasant etc: Bulwer's wattled pheasant
Pigs & hippos: Common hippo
Pigeon: Victoria crowned; cloven-feathered
Pinniped: Baikal Seal; Californian Sealion; leopard seal; Ribbon seal; walrus
Procyonid etc: Red panda
Prosimian: Angwantibo
Rhinoceros: Indian
Rodent: Capybara
Sheep/goat: Takin
Small cat: Serval; Pallas’s cat; Asian Golden Cat; caracal;
cougar; marbled cat
Snake: Reticulated python
Songbird: Common raven; grey-necked rockfowl
Tapir: Malayan
Viverrid: Binturong
Waterfowl: Spectacled eider; musk duck
Whale: Orca; vaquita, Dall's porpoise, Amazon river dolphin
Xenarthran: Giant anteater
 
Here I go.
Part 1: Monotremes and Marsupials
Monotreme: Platypus
Carnivorous marsupial: Numbat, Tasmanian devil, tiger quoll
New World marsupial: Monito del monte
Bandicoot or marsupial mole: Greater bilby
Kangaroo or wallaby: Quokka
Tree kangaroo: Matschie's
Koala: Koala
Wombat: Northern hairy-nosed
Cuscus: Common spotted
Glider: Mahogany
Pygmy possum: Mountain pygmy
Possum: Leadbeater's
Part 2 (lesser-known mammal orders) will come soon.

-:cool::cool:TheWalrus:cool::cool:
 
Gonna finish this up.

Frogs - goliath, Asian horned, waxy monkey, Cranwell's horned, all flying frogs
Salamanders - all giant salamanders, axolotl, olm, mudpuppy

Not too many fish and inverts, and I'm not as good with their classification anyway, so...

Bony Fish - arapaima, Asian arowana, paddlefish, alligator gar, ocean sunfish, giant oarfish, lancetfish

Sharks - frilled, whale, sand tiger
Ray - giant manta

Lobe-finned Fish - coelacanth

Lepidopteran - atlas and Hercules moths
Beetle - Hercules
Fly - bee fly
Hemipteran - lanternfly
Mantid - orchid

Arachnid - peacock jumping spider

Crustaceans - coconut crab, Japanese spider crab, yeti crab, peacock mantis shrimp

Favorite Arthropod in General - horseshoe crabs

Cephalopods - chambered nautilus, giant squid
Nudibranch - Glaucus atlanticus
Gastropod - banana slug
Bivalve - giant clam

Cnidarians - moon jelly, lion's mane jellyfish

Props to Dassie keeping tabs, the results are interesting! I don't know if I'll go more in depth like others are or not.
 
I had a list just like this in my phone's notes but I deleted it only recently, argh! I'll try and revise it then with the groups of animals I still have a note of (very condensed, some of the groupings are based on arbitrary groups from an old textbook)

Apes: Mountain Gorilla (Sumatran Orangutan a VERY close runner-up)
Bat: Indian Flying Fox
Bear: Brown Bear (European)
Big Cat: Bengal Tiger
Canine: Coyote
Cattle and Relatives (Bovids): Wisent
Cetaceans: Common Dolphin
Civets and Mongooses: Binturong
Deer: Red Deer
Elephants: African Bush
Giraffes and Camels: Reticulated Giraffe
Hippos and Pigs: Common Hippo
Horses: Plains Zebra
Hyenas: Spotted Hyena
Insectivores ( Eulipotyphla): Western Hedgehog:
Marsupials and Monotremes: Koala
Monkeys: Olive Baboon
Mustelids: European Badger
'Other' Carnivores: Red Panda
'Other' Mammals: West Indian Manatee
Pinnipeds: Californian Sea Lion
Prosimians: Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
Rabbits and Rodents: Brown Rat/Brown Hare
Rhinos and Tapirs: Indian One-horned Rhinoceros
Small Cats: Scottish Wildcat
Xenarthrans: Giant Anteater

Birds of Prey: Common Buzzard
Cranes and Storks: Red-crowned Crane
Cuckoos and Turacos: Greater Roadrunner
Flamingos and Pelicans: Grey Heron
Flightless Birds (Ratites): Southern Cassowary
Gamebirds: Common Pheasant
Hornbills and Kingfishers: Yellow-billed Hornbill
Owls: European Eagle Owl
Parrots and Pigeons: Hyacinth Macaw
Passerines: Common Raven
Penguins: Emperor Penguin
Seabirds (Waders, Gulls, Auks): Eurasian Stone Curlew
Toucans and Woodpeckers: Toco Toucan
Waterbirds: Red-throated Diver

Colubrids: Grass Snake
Constrictor Snakes: Reticulated Python
Crocodilians: Nile Crocodile
Geckos: Leopard Gecko
Iguanas and Relatives: Bearded Dragon
Monitor Lizards: Nile Monitor
Other Lizards: Argentinian Tegu
Tortoises and Turtles: Green Sea Turtle
Venomous Snakes: Egyptian Cobra

Amphibians, Fish, and Invertebrates aren't really my thing, but I'm sure I could come up with something for them as well

Wish I could go back and edit, with mammals alone there are so many I'd already forgotten! Red panda, forest buffalo, serval, numbat, giant otter shrew... ugh. Anyway, birds and reptiles. Admittedly way more of a mammal person if that's not immediately evident.

Ratite - southern cassowary, kiwis
Galliformes - green peafowl, Congo peafowl, Japanese green pheasant
Waterfowl - mandarin duck
Pigeon - Victoria crowned
Crane - blue
Penguins - king, African, rockhopper
Stork - marabou
Pelecaniformes - shoebill, roseate spoonbill, crested ibis, Madagascar ibis
Raptors - king vulture, cinereous vulture, bearded vulture, harpy eagle, secretarybird
Owls - great horned, long-eared
Turaco - Fischer's or green-crested
Hornbills - helmeted, knobbed
Parrots - sun conure, horned parakeet, Major Mitchell's cockatoo, kakapo
Passerines - superb lyrebird, blue bird-of-paradise, common raven, plush-crested jay, helmet vanga
Others - hoatzin, kagu, sunbittern, all bustards, tawny frogmouth

Crocodilians - saltie, Chinese alligator, black caiman
turtles - alligator snapper, painted batagur, pig-nosed, leatherback
Lizards - Philippine sailfin, Fiji iguanas, Cayman blue iguana, frilled lizard, shingleback, Komodo, sungazer, red-eyed crocodile skink
Snakes - albino Burmese python, reticulated python, emerald tree boa & green tree python, bush vipers, white-lipped island pit viper, Gaboon viper, cape cobra

Amphibians, fish and inverts some other time to keep the post short(ish).
What species do you mean by "grass snake"? There are countless species who are commonly referred to as simply a "grass snake".
 
I didn't have any particular species in mind, but I should have made them plural in that case.

I think 'grass snake' on its own usually means Natrix natrix, although I didn't list any grass snake so I'm not sure why I was quoted there.
 
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