Coverage & classification

How FaunaHub organizes animal life

An honest map of how FaunaHub groups animals and how coverage grows. We currently profile 167 animals across the major groups and expand in verified batches — this is representative coverage, not a complete species inventory.

Vertebrates Invertebrates Marine animal groups Missing animals Coverage roadmap

How FaunaHub organizes animals

Animal life is vast and unevenly known. We organize it by widely used major groups so coverage can grow without forgetting whole branches of the tree of life. Classification itself changes as science improves, so we describe groups cautiously and link to taxonomy authorities rather than asserting a single definitive scheme.

Coverage status at a glance

Strong coverage5Well represented groups

Partial coverage10Some representation groups

Thin coverage5Few profiles so far groups

Planned expansion8Expansion planned groups

Browse the major groupings

Vertebrates

Animals with a backbone — mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

5 groups trackedExplore →

Invertebrates

Animals without a backbone — insects, mollusks, corals, and many more.

11 groups trackedExplore →

Marine animal groups

Cross-cutting ocean groupings, from reefs to the deep sea.

5 groups trackedExplore →

Domestic & human-associated

Domestic, farm, companion, and urban-adapted animals — clearly distinguished from wild fauna.

5 groups trackedExplore →

Missing groups & future expansion

We track where coverage is thin and maintain a roadmap of 15 future expansion batches — from deep-sea species to invertebrates and regional fauna. “Missing” never means ignored: it means queued for verified, source-backed work.

See coverage gaps View the expansion roadmap

Why we don't publish thin species pages

It would be easy to auto-generate a page for every species name. We don't. A page is only worth publishing when it has meaningful, source-backed content and — for detailed profiles — a properly licensed image. That keeps FaunaHub trustworthy and avoids the thin, AI-spam pages that make information harder to trust.

Sources

Catalogue of Life — Global index of the world's known species
GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility — International biodiversity data network
ITIS — Integrated Taxonomic Information System — Authoritative taxonomic information (U.S. partnership)
Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan — Peer-edited reference accounts for animal species

Frequently Asked Questions

Does FaunaHub cover every animal?

No. There are millions of animal species — most of them invertebrates — and many are still being discovered. FaunaHub provides representative coverage of major groups and expands systematically in verified batches. It is not, and does not claim to be, a complete species inventory.

How are animals grouped here?

By widely used major groups: vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish), invertebrates (insects, arachnids, mollusks, and more), plus cross-cutting marine and human-associated groupings. Classification changes as science improves, so we describe groups cautiously and cite taxonomy authorities.

Why not just publish a page for every species?

Thin, weakly sourced pages help no one. FaunaHub only publishes a profile when there is meaningful, source-backed content and, for detailed pages, a properly licensed image. Quality gates come before volume.

Where do the species counts come from?

We deliberately avoid stating exact species totals, because counts vary by source and discovery status. We describe relative diversity qualitatively and link to taxonomy authorities such as the Catalogue of Life and GBIF.