Iceland: Fauna


Total Number of Known Living Species: Over 500,000 Flora and Fauna

(Numbers are approximate due to various reporting methods by varied qualified organizations.)

  • Fauna: ~2,435 species – about .027% of the world’s ~8.7 million identified animal species
    (Icelandic Institute of Natural History – Fauna)
    • Invertebrates – ~2,000
      • 1,245 insect species
      • 190 arachnid species
      • 110 crustaceans
      • 46 snail species
      • 6 mollusk species 
      • ~403 others
    • 275 marine (270) and freshwater (5) fish species. (IINH – Fauna)
      Note: Over 2,500 marine animal species have been found in Iceland’s exclusive economic zone.
    • 80 bird species (three of which are endangered)
    • 52 terrestrial and marine mammal species (.
    • 28 mammal species, eight of which are threatened or endangered.  (IUCN Red List)
    • 0 reptile species
    • 0 amphibian species 

Fast Fact: Domestic Animals far outnumber the native Icelandic human population by over 3-to-1 Sheep are the most populous domestic animals numbering 800,00, followed by about 80,000 horses. There there are the populations of dogs (58 different breeds including the popular Icelandic Sheepdog, cattle, chickens and rabbits among others.