Zoogeography of Australian fish species

  • Updated
    03/11/23
  • Read time
    12 minutes

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Australia has a remarkably rich fish fauna with many endemic species. The tables below provide some statistics.

Leafy Seadragon, Phycodurus eques
A male Leafy Seadragon at a depth of 9m, Victor Harbour, South Australia. This fish is carrying eggs attached to the underside of its tail. Image: Andrew Bowie
© Andrew Bowie

The first table shows the numbers of Australian native species by broad habitat categories.

Australian native species by broad habitat categories
Tropical Temperate Tropical / temperate Subtropical Total
Marine 3029 1222 267 123 4107
Estuarine 332 123 24 12 443
Freshwater 174 83 6 7 258
Total native species 3278 1308 274 137 4449

The second table gives information on endemism in tropical, subtropical and temperate environments.

Endemism in tropical, subtropical and temperate environments
Tropical Temperate Tropical / temperate Subtropical Total
Number of endemic species 448 612 47 63 1078
Percent of endemic species to category 14% 47% 17% 46% 24%
Total native species 3278 1308 274 137 4449
(* See below for updated figure.)

Reference:

Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.

* The latest figure (8 November 2011) for the total number of species in Australian waters is 4,482. View more details on the Australian Faunal Directory Pisces page.