Evidence found
173,561 coordinate-bearing animal records; 1,200+ species facets.
AQ is the stable ISO place code.
🇦🇶Animals recorded in Antarctica
Which animals have been recorded in Antarctica? 173,561 occurrence records cover 1,200+ species. The most-recorded are listed below, with what the record pattern says about each one. 256 is the most-recorded animal class; the leading species records include humpback whale, leopard seal, Weddell seal.
- 173,561 records
- 1,200+ species
- 66 classes
Country evidence passport
Source coverage
GBIF Animalia occurrence facets for this country, restricted to CC0 records.
Refreshed 2026-09-20. Inspect GBIF.
What this means
The listed species have reusable occurrence evidence in the stated source universe.
Rows are ordered by record count.
What this does not mean
The list is not a census, abundance ranking, native-range claim or guarantee of current presence.
Missing or low counts can reflect uneven survey effort.
256 · 12,456359 · 50,694229 · 7,674225 · 6,346350 · 5,720206 · 5,697214 · 5,02711545536 · 4,762221 · 4,820252 · 4,547222 · 3,623137 · 3,289
The most-recorded species in this dataset include humpback whale, leopard seal, Weddell seal. Use the country list as evidence of recorded wildlife, then open a species to compare its records across other countries and months. It is not a complete habitat or population census.
Most-recorded animals in Antarctica
| Animal | Group | Records | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
humpback whale
Megaptera novaeangliae |
Mammalia Balaenopteridae |
21,162 |
 |
leopard seal
Hydrurga leptonyx |
Mammalia Phocidae |
5,950 |
 |
Weddell seal
Leptonychotes weddellii |
Mammalia Phocidae |
5,690 |
 |
southern elephant seal
Mirounga leonina |
Mammalia Phocidae |
4,526 |
 |
crabeater seal
Lobodon carcinophaga |
Mammalia Phocidae |
4,193 |
 |
blue whale
Balaenoptera musculus |
Mammalia Balaenopteridae |
2,881 |
 |
fin whale
Balaenoptera physalus |
Mammalia Balaenopteridae |
2,851 |
 |
orca
Orcinus orca |
Mammalia Delphinidae |
2,103 |
 |
Antarctic Feather Star
Promachocrinus kerguelensis |
Crinoidea Antedonidae |
1,793 |
| Chionodraco hamatus | — Channichthyidae |
939 | |
| Doris kerguelenensis | Gastropoda Dorididae |
857 | |
 |
Antarctic toothfish
Dissostichus mawsoni |
— Nototheniidae |
799 |
| Habrotrocha constricta | Eurotatoria Habrotrochidae |
771 | |
 |
Emerald rockcod
Trematomus bernacchii |
— Nototheniidae |
765 |
 |
Antarctic silverfish
Pleuragramma antarctica |
— Nototheniidae |
699 |
| Ploughfish
Gymnodraco acuticeps |
— Bathydraconidae |
666 | |
| Bald notothen
Pagothenia borchgrevinki |
— Nototheniidae |
621 | |
 |
Victoria Brittle Star
Ophionotus victoriae |
Ophiuroidea Ophiuridae |
566 |
| Diphascon pingue | Eutardigrada Hypsibiidae |
549 | |
| Laetmonice producta | Polychaeta Aphroditidae |
512 | |
| Antarctic sea urchin
Sterechinus neumayeri |
Echinoidea Echinidae |
512 | |
| Dolloidraco longedorsalis | — Artedidraconidae |
486 | |
| Myer's icefish
Chionodraco myersi |
— Channichthyidae |
439 | |
 |
Antarctic minke whale
Balaenoptera bonaerensis |
Mammalia Balaenopteridae |
427 |
| Scaly rockcod
Trematomus loennbergii |
— Nototheniidae |
411 | |
| Paraliparis devriesi | — Liparidae |
396 | |
| Rhynchocidaris triplopora | Echinoidea Ctenocidaridae |
395 | |
| red spiny cushion star
Glabraster antarctica |
Asteroidea Poraniidae |
388 | |
 |
Snow Petrel
Pagodroma nivea |
Aves Procellariidae |
386 |
 |
painted notothen
Nototheniops larseni |
— Nototheniidae |
371 |
 |
Antarctic lanternfish
Electrona antarctica |
— Myctophidae |
353 |
 |
Adelie Penguin
Pygoscelis adeliae |
Aves Spheniscidae |
353 |
| Polyeunoa laevis | Polychaeta Polynoidae |
337 | |
| Ctenocidaris perrieri | Echinoidea Ctenocidaridae |
332 | |
| Antarctic springtail
Cryptopygus antarcticus |
Collembola Isotomidae |
330 | |
| Ophioplinthus gelida | Ophiuroidea Ophiopyrgidae |
329 | |
| Blunt scalyhead
Trematomus eulepidotus |
— Nototheniidae |
323 | |
| Flabellum impensum | Anthozoa Flabellidae |
307 | |
 |
South Polar Skua
Stercorarius maccormicki |
Aves Stercorariidae |
306 |
| Deontostoma augustifissulatum | — Leptosomatidae |
297 | |
| Saddleback plunderfish
Pogonophryne scotti |
— Artedidraconidae |
292 | |
| Sterechinus diadema | Echinoidea Echinidae |
292 | |
| Antarctic starfish
Odontaster validus |
Asteroidea Odontasteridae |
281 | |
 |
humped rockcod
Gobionotothen gibberifrons |
— Nototheniidae |
277 |
| Antarctic Sun starfish
Labidiaster annulatus |
Asteroidea Heliasteridae |
271 | |
| Parborlasia corrugatus | Pilidiophora Lineidae |
271 | |
 |
Scotia Sea Gapehead
Chaenocephalus aceratus |
— Channichthyidae |
264 |
 |
Black rockcod
Notothenia coriiceps |
— Nototheniidae |
249 |
| Peanut worm
Golfingia margaritacea |
Sipunculidea Golfingiidae |
248 | |
| Rossella racovitzae | Hexactinellida Rossellidae |
246 | |
 |
Mackerel icefish
Champsocephalus gunnari |
— Channichthyidae |
244 |
| Acutuncus antarcticus | Eutardigrada Hypsibiidae |
242 | |
| Lindbergichthys nudifrons | — Nototheniidae |
242 | |
| eelpout
Lycodichthys dearborni |
— Zoarcidae |
242 | |
| boreal horny sponge
Stylocordyla borealis |
Demospongiae Stylocordylidae |
241 | |
| Ophiacantha antarctica | Ophiuroidea Ophiacanthidae |
241 | |
| smalleye moray cod
Muraenolepis microps |
— Muraenolepididae |
238 | |
| blackfin notothen
Trematomus scotti |
— Nototheniidae |
234 | |
| Alacia hettacra | Ostracoda Halocyprididae |
234 | |
| minke whale
Balaenoptera acutorostrata |
Mammalia Balaenopteridae |
233 |
How to read this. These are records, not a census. A high count can mean a
common animal or simply a well-watched one, and limited records appear alongside repeated records. Open an animal to
inspect whether the evidence is one-off, repeated, recent or historical.