Fauna
Simplified schematic of an island's fauna - all its animal species, highlighted in boxes.
Fauna is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.
Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna".
Paleontologists sometimes refer to a sequence of faunal stages, which is a series of rocks all containing similar fossils.
The name comes from Fauna, a Roman fertility and earth goddess, the Roman god Faunus, and the related forest spirits called Fauns. All three words are cognates of the name of the Greek god Pan, and panis is the Greek equivalent of fauna. Fauna is also the word for a book that catalogues the animals in such a manner. The term was first used by Linnaeus in the title of his 1747 work Fauna Suecica.
Subdivisions of fauna
Infauna
Infauna are aquatic animals that live within the bottom substratum rather than on its surface. Bacteria and microalgae may also live in the interstices of bottom sediments. On average, infaunal animals become progressively rarer with increasing water depth and distance from shore, whereas bacteria show more constancy in abundance, tending toward one billion cells per milliliter of interstitial seawater. (Infauna are benthos that live buried in underwater mud.)
Macrofauna
Macrofauna are benthic or soil organisms which are at least one millimeter in length.
Megafauna
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Main article: Megafauna
Megafauna are large animals of any particular region or time. For example, Australian megafauna.
Meiofauna
Meiofauna are small benthic invertebrates that live in both marine and fresh water environments. The term Meiofauna loosely defines a group of organisms by their size, larger than microfauna but smaller than macrofauna, rather than a taxonomic grouping. In practice these are organisms that can pass through a 1 mm mesh but will be retained by a 45 μm mesh, but the exact dimensions will vary from researcher to researcher. Whether an organism will pass through a 1 mm mesh will also depend upon whether it is alive or dead at the time of sorting.
Mesofauna
Mesofauna are macroscopic soil invertebrates such as arthropods, earthworms, and nematodes.
Microfauna
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Main article: Microfauna
Microfauna are microscopic or very small animals (usually including protozoans and very small animals such as rotifers).
Other
Other terms include avifauna, which means "bird fauna" and piscifauna (or ichthyofauna), which means "fish fauna".
Fauna treatises
Classic faunas
See also
Fauna of Africa |
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Sovereign states |
Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Republic of the Congo · Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) · Djibouti · Egypt1 · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Gabon · The Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Rwanda · Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · Sudan · Swaziland · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
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Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories |
Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) · Madeira (Portugal) · Mayotte / Réunion (France) · Puntland · St. Helena (UK) · Socotra (Yemen) · Somaliland · Southern Sudan · Western Sahara · Zanzibar (Tanzania)
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Italics indicate an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 Transcontinental country. |
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Fauna of Asia |
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Sovereign
states |
Afghanistan · Armenia1 · Azerbaijan1 · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Burma2 · Cambodia · People's Republic of China · Cyprus1 · East Timor3 · Egypt4 · Georgia1 · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan4 · North Korea · South Korea · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia4 · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Republic of China5 · Thailand · Turkey4 · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen
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Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories |
Aceh · Adjara1 · Abkhazia1 · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Altai · British Indian Ocean Territory · Buryatia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Guangxi · Hong Kong · Inner Mongolia · Iraqi Kurdistan · Jakarta · Khakassia · Macau · Nagorno-Karabakh · Nakhchivan · Ningxia · Northern Cyprus · Palestine (Gaza Strip · West Bank) · Papua · Sakha · South Ossetia1 · Tibet · Tuva · West Papua · Xinjiang · Yogyakarta
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Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 Sometimes included in Europe, depending on the border definitions. 2 Also known as Myanmar. 3 Sometimes included in Oceania, and also known as Timor-Leste. 4 Transcontinental country. 5 Commonly known as Taiwan. |
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Fauna of Europe |
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Sovereign
states |
Albania · Andorra · Armenia1 · Austria · Azerbaijan2 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus1 · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia2 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan3 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia3 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey3 · Ukraine · United Kingdom (England • Northern Ireland • Scotland • Wales)
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Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories |
Abkhazia 2 · Adjara1 · Adygea · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Åland · Azores · Bashkortostan · Chechnya · Chuvashia · Crimea · Dagestan · Faroe Islands · Gagauzia · Gibraltar · Guernsey · Ingushetia · Jan Mayen · Jersey · Kabardino-Balkaria · Kalmykia · Karachay-Cherkessia · Republic of Karelia · Komi Republic · Kosovo · Madeira7 · Isle of Man · Mari El · Mordovia · Nagorno-Karabakh1 · Nakhchivan1 · North Ossetia-Alania · Northern Cyprus1 · South Ossetia 2 · Svalbard · Tatarstan · Transnistria · Udmurtia · Vojvodina
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Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 / 7 Entirely in Asia / on the African Plate, but historically considered European. 2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the border definitions. 3 Has part of its territory in Asia. |
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Fauna of Oceania |
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Australasia |
Australia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · New Zealand1 · Norfolk Island
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Melanesia |
East Timor2 · Fiji · New Caledonia · Papua New Guinea3 · Solomon Islands · Vanuatu
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Micronesia |
Federated States of Micronesia · Guam · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Nauru · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau
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Polynesia |
American Samoa · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · Hawaii · Niue · Pitcairn Islands · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Tuvalu · Wallis and Futuna
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1 Often included in Polynesia. 2 Often included in Southeast Asia. 3 Often included in Australasia. |
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Fauna of North America |
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Sovereign states |
Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama1 · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago1 · United States
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Dependencies and
other territories |
Anguilla · Aruba1 · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Clipperton Island · Greenland · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Montserrat · Netherlands Antilles1 · Puerto Rico · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Martin · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Turks and Caicos Islands · United States Virgin Islands
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1 Territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas (South America). |
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Fauna of South America |
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Sovereign states |
Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Panama1 · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago1 · Uruguay · Venezuela
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Dependencies |
Aruba1 / Netherlands Antilles1 (Netherlands) · Falkland Islands / South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) 2 / French Guiana (France)
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1 Territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas (North America and/or Central America). 2 Territories also in or commonly reckoned to be in Antarctica. |
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