Zoogeography of Australian fish species
Australia has a remarkably rich fish fauna with many endemic species. The tables below provide some statistics.
The first table shows the numbers of Australian native species by broad habitat categories. The lower table gives information on endemism in tropical, subtropical and temperate environments.
| Tropical | Temperate |
Tropical / |
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 |
| 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 |
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.
