Spanish Phrases: Names of animals in Spanish: fish and reptiles

Following on from the section on Spanish words for animals (mammals), this page looks at Spanish vocabulary for fish, reptiles and amphibians.

As with the section on mammals, you may also be interested in the separate section on pets in Spanish, which also includes various phrases for describing animals and pets.

Reptiles and amphibians

Here are the Spanish words for some common reptiles, also called reptiles in Spanish, and amphibians (anfibios):

un caimán	-	an alligator*
un cocodrilo	-	a crocodile
una iguana	-	an iguana
un lagarto	-	a lizard
una rana	-	a frog
una salamandra	-	a salamander
un sapo	-	a toad
una serpiente	-	a snake
una tortuga	-	a tortoise
una tortuga (marina)	-	a turtle
un tritón	-	a newt

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^* The word aligátor is also occasionally used in Spanish, but caimán appears far more common.

Fish and crustaceans

The general name for a fish is una pez, with the plural spelling peces. A fish referred to as food is pescado. Crustaceans are referred to as crustáceos. Here, then, are the Spanish words for some common types of fish and crustacean:

una anguila	-	an eel
una anguila eléctrica	-	an electric eel
un arenque	-	a herring
un bacalao	-	a cod
un cangrejo	-	a crab
una carpa	-	a carp
un eglefino	-	a haddock
un esturión	-	a sturgeon
una gamba	-	a shrimp
un halibut	-	a halibut
una langosta	-	a lobster
un lucio	-	a pike
una perca	-	a perch
una pez espada	-	a swordfish
un pulpo	-	an octopus
un salmón	-	a salmon
una sardina	-	a sardine
un tiburón	-	a shark
un tiburón martillo	-	a hammerhead shark
una trucha	-	a trout

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See the section on Spanish food vocabulary for names of some other seafood and fish commonly eaten in certain Spanish-speaking countries.

 animals (mammals) in Spanish
 insects and rodents in Spanish
 birds in Spanish