Question

How many species of animals are there in Iceland?

Asked By

Eydís Halldórsdóttir, f. 1990

Answer

FamilyNumber of Species
Insects1245
Spiders84
Pseudoscorpion 2
Harvest spiders4
Acari* 90 *that is to say mites. The number of predatory ants is not known.
Multipedes10
Earthworms10
Snails50
Birds (nesting)80
Mammals**8 **This refers to wild Icelandic mammals. We could add a few more mammals, like man and our domesticated animals.

This list is not exhaustive, as some aquatic species were not mentioned. In lakes in Iceland the main species are several fresh water fish species and crabs. Animals that are in some way related to the sea, or whose habitat is where land and sea meet, such as amphipods and bristleworms, are also not included in the list.

This list does however give some picture of the number of species on dry land. They probably total about 1600 species.

Translated by Paul Richardson.

Um þessa spurningu

Dagsetning

Published 7.3.2005

Category:

Answers in English

Citation

Jón Már Halldórsson. „How many species of animals are there in Iceland?“. The Icelandic Web of Science 7.3.2005. http://why.is/svar.php?id=4818. (Skoðað 28.3.2024).

Author

Jón Már Halldórssonbiologist



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