Country · NZ

Animals in New Zealand

23 animal species on file have openly licensed sighting records from New Zealand, 8 of them threatened. Records include captive animals and introduced populations.

Tick-off checklist What did I see in New Zealand?

Species recorded: 23
Threatened: 8
Groups represented: 9
Sighting records: 163,875

None on record
1–7
8–12
13–17
18+

species per country · small islands are not drawn at this scale

Which well-known animals are recorded in New Zealand?

The most looked-up species with records here.

What kinds of animals are recorded in New Zealand?

Mammals
grey wolf, koala, blue whale, common bottlenose dolphin
4 species
Birds
mallard, common ostrich, western barn owl, atlantic puffin …
6 species
Reptiles
green turtle
1 species
Amphibians
axolotl
1 species
Fish
atlantic salmon, great white shark, ocean sunfish, giant oceanic manta ray
4 species
Insects
honey bee, monarch butterfly, seven-spot ladybird
3 species
Arachnids
black widow spider
1 species
Molluscs
giant squid
1 species
Other invertebrates
common jellyfish, earthworm
2 species

Which threatened animals are recorded in New Zealand?

Species listed as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The category is global, not specific to New Zealand.

Common name	Scientific name	Family	Status	Records here
Koala	Phascolarctos cinereus	Phascolarctidae	Vulnerable	1
Atlantic puffin	Fratercula arctica	Alcidae	Vulnerable	1
Blue whale	Balaenoptera musculus	Balaenopteridae	Endangered	93
Great white shark	Carcharodon carcharias	Lamnidae	Vulnerable	1,691
Ocean sunfish	Mola mola	Molidae	Vulnerable	32
Wandering albatross	Diomedea exulans	Diomedeidae	Vulnerable	7,723
Axolotl	Ambystoma mexicanum	Ambystomatidae	Critically Endangered	2
Giant oceanic manta ray	Mobula birostris	Myliobatidae	Endangered	11

All animals recorded in New Zealand

Open this list in the browser to filter and sort it

Common name	Scientific name	Family	Status	Records here
Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos	Anatidae	Least Concern	150,714
Grey wolf	Canis lupus	Canidae	Least Concern	25
Common ostrich	Struthio camelus	Struthionidae	Least Concern	3
Koala	Phascolarctos cinereus	Phascolarctidae	Vulnerable	1
Western barn owl	Tyto alba	Tytonidae	Least Concern	1
Atlantic salmon	Salmo salar	Salmonidae	Near Threatened	12
Honey bee	Apis mellifera	Apidae	Data Deficient	1,688
Atlantic puffin	Fratercula arctica	Alcidae	Vulnerable	1
Blue whale	Balaenoptera musculus	Balaenopteridae	Endangered	93
Emperor penguin	Aptenodytes forsteri	Spheniscidae	Near Threatened	14
Great white shark	Carcharodon carcharias	Lamnidae	Vulnerable	1,691
Green turtle	Chelonia mydas	Cheloniidae	Least Concern	31
Monarch butterfly	Danaus plexippus	Nymphalidae	Least Concern	1,452
Seven-spot ladybird	Coccinella septempunctata	Coccinellidae	Not recorded	3
Common bottlenose dolphin	Tursiops truncatus	Delphinidae	Least Concern	222
Ocean sunfish	Mola mola	Molidae	Vulnerable	32
Wandering albatross	Diomedea exulans	Diomedeidae	Vulnerable	7,723
Common jellyfish	Aurelia aurita	Ulmaridae	Not recorded	3
Axolotl	Ambystoma mexicanum	Ambystomatidae	Critically Endangered	2
Earthworm	Lumbricus terrestris	Lumbricidae	Not recorded	11
Black widow spider	Latrodectus mactans	Theridiidae	Not recorded	1
Giant oceanic manta ray	Mobula birostris	Myliobatidae	Endangered	11
Giant squid	Architeuthis dux	Architeuthidae	Least Concern	141

Method: a species is listed if GBIF holds at least one CC0 or CC BY occurrence record for it in New Zealand. Zoo animals, escapes and introduced populations are included, and native species nobody has recorded are missing. See the methodology.