🇮🇸Animals recorded in Iceland

Which animals have been recorded in Iceland? 22,124 occurrence records cover 1,059 species. The most-recorded are listed below, with what the record pattern says about each one. 359 is the most-recorded animal class; the leading species records include humpback whale, orca, Common Eider.

• 22,124 records
• 1,059 species
• 44 classes

Country evidence passport

The most-recorded species in this dataset include humpback whale, orca, Common Eider. 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 Iceland

	Animal	Group	Records
	humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae	Mammalia Balaenopteridae	14,371
	orca Orcinus orca	Mammalia Delphinidae	498
	Common Eider Somateria mollissima	Aves Anatidae	144
	Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis	Aves Procellariidae	128
	Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica	Aves Alcidae	109
	Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus	Aves Laridae	103
	Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla	Aves Laridae	103
	blue whale Balaenoptera musculus	Mammalia Balaenopteridae	94
	Redwing Turdus iliacus	Aves Turdidae	92
	minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata	Mammalia Balaenopteridae	79
	Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea	Aves Laridae	76
	Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus	Aves Anatidae	75
	Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus	Aves Laridae	72
	Graylag Goose Anser anser	Aves Anatidae	64
	Synalpheus paraneomeris	Malacostraca Alpheidae	63
	Staph beetle Atheta melanocera	Insecta Staphylinidae	61
	Ariadna boliviana	Arachnida Segestriidae	58
	Common Redshank Tringa totanus	Aves Scolopacidae	55
	sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus	Mammalia Physeteridae	55
	white-beaked dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris	Mammalia Delphinidae	50
	Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta	Aves Phasianidae	50
	Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus	Aves Scolopacidae	49
	Mallard Anas platyrhynchos	Aves Anatidae	49
	Pseudonannolene robsoni	Diplopoda Pseudonannolenidae	48
	Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope	Aves Anatidae	48
	Common Raven Corvus corax	Aves Corvidae	45
	Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus	Aves Haematopodidae	45
	Obtusoecia obtusata	Ostracoda Halocyprididae	44
	European Golden-Plover Pluvialis apricaria	Aves Charadriidae	43
	Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima	Aves Scolopacidae	43
	White Wagtail Motacilla alba	Aves Motacillidae	43
	Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus	Aves Anatidae	42
	Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus	Aves Scolopacidae	42
	Parahyadina lacustris	Insecta Ephydridae	40
	harbor seal Phoca vitulina	Mammalia Phocidae	38
	Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis	Aves Motacillidae	37
	Pseudonannolene microzoporus	Diplopoda Pseudonannolenidae	36
	Discoconchoecia elegans	Ostracoda Halocyprididae	36
	Hentschel's horny sponge Geodia hentscheli	Demospongiae Geodiidae	36
	Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle	Aves Alcidae	35
	Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus	Aves Stercorariidae	35
	Common Murre Uria aalge	Aves Alcidae	35
	Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula	Aves Anatidae	35
	Barrow's Goldeneye Bucephala islandica	Aves Anatidae	35
	Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago	Aves Scolopacidae	33
	European Starling Sturnus vulgaris	Aves Sturnidae	33
	striped black fly Simulium vittatum	Insecta Simuliidae	32
	Agar River prawn Macrobrachium jelskii	Malacostraca Palaemonidae	32
	Dunlin Calidris alpina	Aves Scolopacidae	32
	Speocera pinima	Arachnida Ochyroceratidae	31
	Thick-billed Murre Uria lomvia	Aves Alcidae	31
	Dilophus pectoralis	Insecta Bibionidae	31
	Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula	Aves Charadriidae	31
	Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis	Aves Calcariidae	29
	Geodia parva	Demospongiae Geodiidae	28
	Boroecia borealis	Ostracoda Halocyprididae	28
	Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres	Aves Scolopacidae	27
	northern bottlenose whale Hyperoodon ampullatus	Mammalia Hyperoodontidae	27
	Macrosteles laevis	Insecta Cicadellidae	26
	Leafhopper Jassargus distinguendus	Insecta Cicadellidae	26