When thinking about animal sizes, categories like small, medium, and large are relative. An animal considered medium sized in one context may be small or large in another. Generally though, medium sized animals fall somewhere in the middle of the size spectrum for their class or taxonomic group.
Mammals
For mammals, medium sized species tend to weigh between 10-100 lbs as adults. Some examples of medium sized mammals include:
- Foxes
- Raccoons
- Skunks
- Opossums
- Civets
- Badgers
- Coyotes
- Jackals
- Hyenas
- Wild cats like bobcats, lynxes, and servals
Many domestic dog breeds are also considered medium sized, like spaniels, collies, whippets, beagles, and corgis. Some examples of medium sized wild canids besides coyotes include the gray wolf, dhole, and African wild dog.
In the feline family, in addition to the wild cats listed above, some medium sized members are the jungle cat, fishing cat, and ocelot.
For primates, medium sized species include macaques, baboons, mandrills, capuchins, and patas monkeys.
Equines around the size of the plains zebra are medium sized, as are tapirs. For even-toed ungulates, antelope like gazelles and springboks are medium sized. In the deer family, the roe deer and reindeer are medium sized species.
Of the odd-toed ungulates, animals like the onager and kiang are considered medium sized. For marsupials, smaller wallabies and wallaroos fall into the medium sized category.
Some examples of medium sized rodents are beavers, marmots, rock squirrels, muskrats, porcupines, and nutrias. Among lagomorphs, hares are medium in size compared to rabbits.
Birds
For birds, medium sized is generally considered to be between 2-20 lbs. Some examples of medium sized birds include:
- Hawks
- Eagles
- Vultures
- Owls
- Ravens
- Crows
- Jays
- Magpies
- Pheasants
- Grouse
- Ptarmigans
- Curassows
- Guans
- Malkohas
- Turacos
- Bustards
- Cranes
- Storks
- Herons
- Rails
Many species of ducks, geese, swans, gulls, terns, pigeons, and doves are also medium sized birds. Examples of medium sized parrots and parakeets include conures, lorikeets, and Pionus parrots. Among the perching birds, crows, jays, blackbirds, thrushes, magpies, and ravens tend to be medium sized.
Reptiles
For reptiles, medium sized is typically between 2-15 lbs. Some examples include:
- Monitor lizards
- Tegus
- Iguanas
- Chuckwallas
- Skinks
- Geckos
- Anoles
- Agamas
- Smaller species of snakes like rat snakes, racers, whipsnakes, and garter snakes
- Smaller turtles like box turtles, mud turtles, and spotted turtles
- Small tortoises like gopher tortoises and desert tortoises
- Terrapins
- Crocodilians under 6 feet like caimans and dwarf crocodiles
Many lizards in the iguana, agama, skink, and gecko families tend to be medium sized. Non-venomous colubrid snakes of many types also fit into this size range.
Amphibians
There are fewer examples of medium sized amphibians, but some that fit this size class include:
- Giant salamanders
- Hellbenders
- Mudpuppies
- Amphiumas
- Larger frogs like bullfrogs and pygmy hippo frogs
- Pacman frogs
- African bullfrogs
- Marine toads
Giant salamanders in the genera Andrias and Cryptobranchus can reach up to 30 lbs, qualifying them as medium sized. Large frog species in the family Pipidae are also medium sized amphibians.
Fish
For fish, medium sized covers a broad range, but generally includes fish that reach maturity between 4 inches to 24 inches in length. Some examples include:
- Sunfish
- Bass
- Walleye
- Catfish
- Carp
- Barracuda
- Groupers
- Snappers
- Jackfish
- Porgies
- Mojarras
- Grunts
- Porcupinefish
- Pufferfish
- Triggerfish
- Wrasses
- Parrotfish
- Squirrelfish
- Soldierfish
- Hawkfishes
- Sea chubs
- Tilefishes
- Tunas
- Amberjacks
- Cobia
- Remoras
- Mahi mahi
- Bonitos
- Jack mackerels
- Barracudas
- Pompanos
- Mojarras
- Grunts
- Snappers
- Groupers
- Drums
- Goatfishes
- Soapfishes
- Threadfins
- Croakers
Most freshwater sport fish fall in the medium size range for fish. Many species in reef habitats like wrasses, groupers, snappers, jacks, mojarras, and grunts are also medium sized fish. The same is true of many coastal pelagic fish species.
Insects
For insects, medium sized is roughly 0.5 inches to 3 inches in length. Some examples of medium sized insects include:
- Rhinoceros beetles
- Stag beetles
- Longhorn beetles
- Leaf beetles
- Scarab beetles
- Ground beetles
- Tiger beetles
- Blister beetles
- Darkling beetles
- Cicadas
- Alderflies
- Dobsonflies
- Fishflies
- Crane flies
- Bee flies
- Hoverflies
- Long-horned bees
- Leafcutter bees
- Cicada killer wasps
- Tarantula hawks
- Caterpillars
- Butterflies
- Antlions
- Aphids
- Cicadas
- Grasshoppers
- Katydids
- Crickets
- Wetas
- Stick insects
- Mantises
- Dragonflies
- Damselflies
Many of the most familiar beetle groups contain medium sized species, like scarabs, longhorns, leaf beetles, and ground beetles. In the fly order, there are a number of medium sized flies including crane flies, bee flies, and hoverflies.
Among the hymenoptera, bees, wasps, ants, and sawflies have medium sized representatives. Butterflies and moths span a wide range of sizes, with many falling into the medium size class as caterpillars and adults.
Orthopterans like grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids are generally medium sized, as are mantises and walking sticks. Odonates like dragonflies and damselflies are also medium sized insects.
Spiders
For spiders, medium sized generally refers to those with legspans between 0.5 – 2 inches. Some examples include:
- Fishing spiders
- Wolf spiders
- Nursery web spiders
- Running crab spiders
- Jumping spiders
- Orb weavers
- Garden spiders
- Hackledmesh weavers
- Hammock spiders
- Comb-footed spiders
- Ground spiders
- Sac spiders
- Spitting spiders
Many common web builders like orb weavers and garden spiders are medium sized. So are hunting spiders like wolf spiders, fishing spiders, and jumping spiders. Comb-footed spiders, ground spiders, and sac spiders also have medium sized representatives.
Crustaceans
For crustaceans, medium size generally corresponds to those with bodies 2-6 inches long. Some examples include:
- Crayfish
- Lobsters
- Crabs
- Shrimp
- Krill
- Mysid shrimp
- Mantis shrimp
- Squat lobsters
- Amphipods
- Isopods
- Copepods
- Ostracods
- Barnacles
Decapods like lobsters, crabs, crayfish, and shrimp have medium sized species, as do krill and mantis shrimp. Among the peracarids, mysid shrimp, amphipods, and isopods have medium sized members.
Many parasites like copepods and ostracods are also medium sized crustaceans. Barnacles range widely in size, with some medium sized species.
Molluscs
For molluscs, medium size generally corresponds to a shell height of 2-8 inches. Some examples include:
- Topshells
- Periwinkles
- Moon snails
- Conches
- Tritons
- Augers
- Olives
- Marginellas
- Cowries
- Helmet shells
- Welks
- Wentletraps
- Epitoniids
- Ceriths
- Pleurotomariids
- Strombids
- Violet snails
- Murexes
- Rock shells
- Thaidids
- Frog shells
- Tulip shells
- Harps
- Volutes
- Olives
- Mitres
- Cypraeids
- Cassids
- Bonnet limpets
- Keyhole limpets
- Slit limpets
- Sea hares
- Abalones
- Top snails
- Turban snails
- Periwinkles
- Littorines
- Stomatellids
- Pond snails
- Orb snails
- Glass snails
- Freshwater limpets
- Bladder snails
- Ramshorn snails
- Land slugs
- Semi-slugs
- Banana slugs
- Squids
- Cuttlefish
- Octopuses
- Nautilus
- Ammonites
- Belemnoids
In the sea snail group, numerous families like cowries, murex snails, whelks, and olives have medium sized species. The same is true of limpets, abalones, periwinkles, and topsnails.
Among freshwater snails, many pond, orb, ramshorn, and bladder snails are medium sized. Slugs like the familiar banana slug also fit into this size class.
For cephalopods, squids, cuttlefish, and octopuses have a range of medium sized species. Extinct cephalopods like ammonites and belemnoids were also medium sized.
Conclusion
As this overview shows, medium sized animals span a diverse range of phyla, families, and species. Ranging from around 0.5 inches to 100 pounds, medium size is relative depending on the taxonomic group. Familiar medium sized animals include species like foxes, wild cats, herons, monitor lizards, carp, cicadas, crabs, banana slugs, and orb weaving spiders. So when it comes to the question “what animals are medium sized?”, there are a great many fascinating creatures that fit the bill!
