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Aquatic animal

An aquatic animal is an animal which lives in water for most or all of the time. Natural environments are classified as either aquatic (water), terrestrial (land), or amphibious (water and land). The term "aquatic animal" can be applied to aquatic or sea mammals such as those in the order Cetacea (whales), which cannot survive on land, as well as four-footed mammals like the river otter (Lutra canadensis) and beavers (family Castoridae). It also includes aquatic birds that either swim, wade or dive on the water itself. These include for example the seabirds, such as gulls (family Laridae), pelicans (family Pelecanidae), and albatrosses (family Diomedeidae), and most of the the Anseriformes (ducks, swans and geese).

Amphibious and amphibiotic animals, like frogs (the order Anura), while they do require water, are separated into their own environmental classification. The majority of amphibians (class Amphibia) have an aquatic larval stage, like a tadpole, but then live as terrestrial adults, and may return to the water to mate.

Aquatic animals are often of special concern to conservationists because of the fragility of their environments.