🇿🇦Animals recorded in South Africa

Which animals have been recorded in South Africa? 201,724 occurrence records cover 1,200+ species. The most-recorded are listed below, with what the record pattern says about each one. 216 is the most-recorded animal class; the leading species records include humpback whale, Xeric Four-striped Grass Rat, Namaqua Micaelamys.

• 201,724 records
• 1,200+ species
• 68 classes

Country evidence passport

The most-recorded species in this dataset include humpback whale, Xeric Four-striped Grass Rat, Namaqua Micaelamys. 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 South Africa

	Animal	Group	Records
	humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae	Mammalia Balaenopteridae	14,240
	Xeric Four-striped Grass Rat Rhabdomys pumilio	Mammalia Muridae	1,528
	Namaqua Micaelamys Micaelamys namaquensis	Mammalia Muridae	1,144
	Ocellated Sand Lizard Pedioplanis lineoocellata	Squamata Lacertidae	1,014
	Cape Dwarf Chameleon Bradypodion pumilum	Squamata Chamaeleonidae	734
	Hairy-footed Gerbil Gerbillurus paeba	Mammalia Muridae	685
	Spotted Sand Lizard Meroles suborbitalis	Squamata Lacertidae	628
	Silver moonfish Monodactylus argenteus	— Monodactylidae	587
	Red Veld Aethomys Aethomys chrysophilus	Mammalia Muridae	585
	African catfish Clarias gariepinus	— Clariidae	582
	Convict surgeonfish Acanthurus triostegus	— Acanthuridae	579
	Striped threadfin Polydactylus plebeius	— Polynemidae	555
	butterfish Neoscorpis lithophilus	— Kyphosidae	470
	Karasburg Tree Skink Trachylepis sparsa	Squamata Scincidae	468
	Southern Fiscal Lanius collaris	Aves Laniidae	465
	Southern Rock Agama Agama atra	Squamata Agamidae	455
	Hadada Ibis Bostrychia hagedash	Aves Threskiornithidae	393
	western honey bee Apis mellifera	Insecta Apidae	391
	Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca	Aves Anatidae	381
	Southern Masked-Weaver Ploceus velatus	Aves Ploceidae	372
	Southern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris chalybeus	Aves Nectariniidae	370
	Cape Sparrow Passer melanurus	Aves Passeridae	368
	hippo Hippopotamus amphibius	Mammalia Hippopotamidae	359
	Common Spiny Agama Agama hispida	Squamata Agamidae	349
	Cape Short-tailed Gerbil Desmodillus auricularis	Mammalia Muridae	348
	African elephant Loxodonta africana	Mammalia Elephantidae	341
	Cape Wagtail Motacilla capensis	Aves Motacillidae	341
	Cape Weaver Ploceus capensis	Aves Ploceidae	339
	Wailing Cisticola Cisticola lais	Aves Cisticolidae	336
	Common Giant Ground Gecko Chondrodactylus angulifer	Squamata Gekkonidae	313
	Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis	Aves Columbidae	310
	Blacksmith Lapwing Vanellus armatus	Aves Charadriidae	304
	Bibron's Gecko Chondrodactylus bibronii	Squamata Gekkonidae	300
	Southern Red Bishop Euplectes orix	Aves Ploceidae	296
	Levaillant's Cisticola Cisticola tinniens	Aves Cisticolidae	293
	plains zebra Equus quagga	Mammalia Equidae	290
	Cape hyrax Procavia capensis	Mammalia Procaviidae	290
	Cape Dwarf Gecko Lygodactylus capensis	Squamata Gekkonidae	288
	Red-headed Cisticola Cisticola subruficapilla	Aves Cisticolidae	285
	Red-winged Starling Onychognathus morio	Aves Sturnidae	282
	Tropical carp-gudgeon Hypseleotris cyprinoides	— Eleotridae	281
	Indian Ocean humpback dolphin Sousa plumbea	Mammalia Delphinidae	277
	African Striped Mabuya Trachylepis striata	Squamata Scincidae	276
	impala Aepyceros melampus	Mammalia Bovidae	275
	Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris	Aves Numididae	273
	Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus	Aves Pycnonotidae	273
	Eastern rock elephant shrew Elephantulus myurus	Mammalia Macroscelididae	271
	Leopard tortoise Stigmochelys pardalis	Testudines Testudinidae	267
	Aposematic Reed Frog Hyperolius marmoratus	Amphibia Hyperoliidae	267
	African Stonechat Saxicola torquatus	Aves Muscicapidae	262
	Hound needlefish Tylosurus crocodilus	— Belonidae	257
	Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis	Aves Dicruridae	257
	Malachite Sunbird Nectarinia famosa	Aves Nectariniidae	256
	Bluestripe herring Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus	— Clupeidae	253
	South African bowsprit tortoise Chersina angulata	Testudines Testudinidae	253
	Fiscal Flycatcher Sigelus silens	Aves Muscicapidae	250
	Southern Giraffe Giraffa giraffa	Mammalia Giraffidae	250
	Red-knobbed Coot Fulica cristata	Aves Rallidae	246
	Southern African Vlei Rat Otomys irroratus	Mammalia Muridae	242
	Karoo Prinia Prinia maculosa	Aves Cisticolidae	240