
Biodiversity
Australia's Biodiversity (2)
The taxonomic groups in this chart make up, in total, less than 2% of all Australia's species
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The size of each block is proportional to the estimated numbers of species in different groups of organisms (also given as a percentage). The dark section of the pie chart shows the proportion of the estimated species in the group that have not yet been named.
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Click on a box to to learn more.
The taxonomic groups in this chart make up, in total, less than 2% of all Australia's species
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The size of each block is proportional to the estimated numbers of species in different groups of organisms (also given as a percentage). The dark section of the pie chart shows the proportion of the estimated species in the group that have not yet been named.
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Hover over the details to learn more.




17 named species of acorn worms are known from Australian waters. It is likely that there are a handful of un-named species
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Around 30 species of proturans are known from Australia. It is likely that a few species remain undiscovered.
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Around 40 species of diplurans are known from Australia. It is likely that this is around 3/4 of species.
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The taxonomic groups in this area of the chart make up a tiny fraction of Australia's biodiversity - an estimated 110 species (0.02% of estimated species diversity) in 11 groups.
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There are 45 known species of Gastrotricha (sometimes called hairybacks) known from Australian freshwater and marine environments
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There are an estimated 60 species of comb jellies and relatives (Ctenophores) in Australia's marine waters, most of which are un-named.
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There are an estimated 80 species of velvet worms (onychophorans) in Australia, 10% of which remain un-named.
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100 species of mesozoans are known from Australia; it is considered unlikely that many more remain to be discovered.
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There are 48 known species of peanut worms in Australia and it is unlikely that more will be discovered.
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There are an estimated 70 species of brachiopods in Australia's marine waters, around 80% of which have been named.
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There are an estimated 160 species of acanthocephalan parasites in Australia, only 30% of which have been named.
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There are an estimated 240 species of frogs in Australia, around 5% of which have not yet been named.
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There are an estimated 300 species of sea spiders in Australian waters, around 70% of which have been named.
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There are an estimated 280 species of nemertean roundworms in Australia, only 30% of which have been named.
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There are an estimated 500 species of terrestrial, feshwater and marine water bears in Australia, only 20% of which have been named.
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There are an estimated 850 species of sea-squirts and relatives (tunicates) in Australia's oceans, around 90% of which have been named.
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There are an estimated 830 species of birds in Australia, almost all of which have been named.
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There are an estimated 950 species of reptiles in Australia, around 95% of which have been named.
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There are an estimated 2000 species of urchins, seastars and their relatives in Australia's oceans, around 75% of which have been named.
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There are an estimated 1300 species of rotifers in Australia, around half of which have been named.
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Numbers in this chart are derived from this publication by the Australian Biological Resources Study, updated by taxonomist Gerry Cassis and colleagues in a chapter in this book.
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Note that some numbers are very uncertain, particularly for hyperdiverse but poorly known groups such as bacteria, nematodes and fungi.
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