Zoogeography of Australian fish species
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Australia has a remarkably rich fish fauna with many endemic species. The tables below provide some statistics.
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
© Andrew Bowie
The first table shows the numbers of 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.
| 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.
