fauna
Sign in to saveframe|right|Simplified schematic of an island's fauna – all its animal species, highlighted in boxes
AI overview
Fauna refers to all the animal species that live in a particular place, like an island or region. Understanding fauna matters because it helps us know what animals are part of an ecosystem and how they fit into the natural world around us.
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Article
20 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Subdivisions on the basis of region
- Cryofauna
- Cryptofauna
- Epifauna
- Infauna
- Limnofauna
- Macrofauna
- Megafauna
- Meiofauna
- Mesofauna
- Stygofauna
- Troglofauna
- Xenofauna
- Other
- Treatises
- Classic faunas
- See also
- References
- External links
frame|right|Simplified schematic of an island's fauna – all its animal species, highlighted in boxes
The Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is the whole of animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are flora and funga, respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as biota. 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 study of animals of a particular region is called faunistics.