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Table 9.1: Indigenous and introduced species in New Zealand (excluding extinct species)1
| Major taxonomic groups | Estimated number of indigenous species2 | Number that have been described | Percentage of described species that are endemic | Described species known to be threatened3 | Number of introduced species in the wild | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-Celled | Bacteria4 | ? | c 200-300 | ? | ? | ? |
| Protozoans4 | c 7,500 | c 2,600 | 5%? | ? | c 100 | |
|
3,200 | c 700 | 5%? | ? | ? | |
|
3,300 | c 1,650 | 5%? | ? | ? | |
|
1,000 | c 250 | 5%? | ? | c 100 | |
| Algae4(see also lichen fungi below) | c 4,000 | c 3,700 | ? | ? | ? | |
| Micro-algae (plankton, periphytons) | c 3,000 | c 2,800 | ? | ? | ? | |
|
c 2,200 | c 2,100 | ? | ? | at least 6 | |
|
c 800 | c 700 | ? | ? | ? | |
| Multi-Celled Species | Macro-algae (seaweeds) | c 1,000 | c 900 | 43% | none | at least 3 |
| Plants4 | c 3,400 | c 3,080 | 65-70% | c 300 | c 1,900 | |
| Mosses, liverworts, hornworts | c 1,100 | c 1,060 | 20-40% | c 85 | 13 | |
| Vascular plants | c 2,300 | c 2,022 | 81% | c 200 | 1,896 | |
|
c 200 | 189 | 46% | at least 15 | 26 | |
|
20 | 20 | 100% | none | 28 | |
|
c 2,100 | 1,813 | 84% | c 180 | 1,842 | |
| Fungi4 | c 22,000 | c 5,800 | ? | c 200 | c 2,000 | |
|
c 1,800 | c 1,300 | ? | ? | ? | |
| Other (mushrooms, rusts, yeast, blight, etc.) | c 20,000 | c 4,500 | ? | ? | ? | |
| Invertebrate Animals4 | c 52,000 | c 20,500 | ? | c 200 | c 2,200 | |
| Arthropods | c 27,300 | c 14,400 | ? | ? | c 1,200 | |
| Insects (beetles, bees, flies etc.) | c 20,000 | c 10,000 | 90% | c 175 | c 1,100 | |
| Arachnids (spiders, mites etc.) | c 4,600 | c 2,600 | 90% | 510 | c 60 | |
| Pycnogonids (sea spiders) | c 120 | 53 | ? | ? | ? | |
| Crustacea (crabs, copepods, slaters etc) | c 2,000 | 1,517 | ? | 5 | ? | |
| Myriapods (millipedes, centipedes etc) | c 600 | c 200 | ? | ? | ? | |
| Molluscs c | 4,800 | c 2,500 | ? | ? | c 40 | |
| Land and freshwater snails and slugs | c 1,300 | c 500 | 100% | 15 c | 33 | |
| Marine species (snails, shellfish, squid etc) | c 3,500 | c 2,000 | ? | ? | at least 6 | |
| Worms (many phyla) | c 17,500 | c 1,500 | ? | ? | c 980 | |
| Nematodes (roundworms etc.) | c 11,400 | 414 | 43% | ? | c 600 | |
| Annelids | ||||||
|
220 | 178 | 100% | at least 3 | c 25 | |
|
c 4,200 | c 430 | 30-35% | at least 1 | c 230 | |
| Platyhelminths (flatworms, cestodes etc.) | 430 | 80 | 56% | at least 3 | c 75 | |
| Other worms (spiny-heads, tunicates etc.) | c 1,200 | c 400 | ? | ? | c 50 | |
| All Other Invertebrates5 | c 2,600 | c 2,100 | ? | ? | ? | |
| Vertebrate Animals4 | c 1,500 | c 1,250 | 21% | c100 | 90 | |
| Fish | ||||||
|
c 1,100 | c 870 | 5% | 2 | ? | |
|
c 100 | 94 | 62% | 9 | ? | |
|
c 35 | 28 | 90% | 10 | 20 | |
| Amphibians (frogs) | 4 | 4 | 100% | 4 | 3 | |
| Reptiles | 61 | 61 | 100% | 25 | 1 | |
| Birds | ||||||
|
88 | 88 | 57% | 37 | 34 | |
|
61 | 61 | 30% | 18 | 0 | |
| Mammals | ||||||
|
2 | 2 | 100% | 2 | 34 | |
|
416 | 41 | 5% (2 spp.) | 4 | 0 | |
| TOTAL (multi-celled species only)4 | c 80,000 | c 30,000 | ? | c 800 | c 6,000 | |
1 No inventory of biodiversity has been attempted since the National Museum's 1980 symposium on the NZ biota (Brownsey and Baker, 1983). This table draws on that work and on the opinions of several current taxonomists, but is far from definitive.
2 Total species estimates are highly uncertain, except for plants and vertebrate animals.
3 Full species only. If sub-species were included, the total number of known threatened taxa would be about 1,000.
4 Given the imprecision of many of these figures, all totals and sub-totals have been rounded to avoid spurious accuracy.
5 Includes 350 known sponges, 400 cnidarians, 400 echinoderms, 900 bryozoans, and about 50 species from minor phyla.
6 Includes 34 cetaceans and 7 pinnipeds, many of which are visitors and seasonal migrants.
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