Cryofauna Cryofauna refers to the animals that live in, or very close to, cold areas.
Cryptofauna Cryptofauna is the fauna that exists in protected or concealed
microhabitats.
Epifauna Epifauna, also called
epibenthos, are aquatic animals that live on the bottom substratum as opposed to within it, that is, the
benthic fauna that live on top of the sediment surface at the seafloor.
Infauna movie shows images taken every hour during a two-week period. Worms, bacteria and fish are shown
disturbing the sediment as they burrow and move through it.
Infauna are
benthic organisms that live within the bottom substratum of a water body, especially within the bottom-most oceanic sediments, the layer of small particles at the bottom of a body of water, rather than on its surface.
Bacteria and
microalgae may also live in the interstices of bottom sediments. In general, infaunal animals become progressively smaller and less abundant with increasing water depth and distance from shore, whereas bacteria show more constancy in abundance, tending toward one million cells per milliliter of interstitial seawater. Such creatures are found in the fossil record and include
lingulata,
trilobites and
worms. They made burrows in the sediment as protection and may also have fed upon detritus or the mat of microbes which tended to grow on the surface of the sediment. Today, a variety of organisms live in and
disturb the sediment. The deepest burrowers are the ghost shrimps (
Thalassinidea), which go as deep as into the sediment at the bottom of the ocean.
Limnofauna Limnofauna refers to the animals that live in fresh water.
Macrofauna Macrofauna are
benthic or soil organisms which are retained on a 0.5 mm sieve. Studies in the deep sea define macrofauna as animals retained on a 0.3 mm sieve to account for the small size of many of the taxa.
Megafauna ,
Australian and
New Zealand fauna. This image was likely first published in the first edition (1876–1899) of the .
Megafauna are large animals of any particular region or time. For example,
Australian megafauna.
Meiofauna Meiofauna are small
benthic invertebrates that live in both marine and freshwater
environments. The term
meiofauna loosely defines a group of
organisms by their size, larger than microfauna but smaller than macrofauna, rather than a taxonomic grouping. One environment for meiofauna is between grains of damp sand (see
Mystacocarida). In practice these are metazoan animals that can pass unharmed through a 0.5–1 mm
mesh but will be retained by a 30–45 μm mesh, but the exact dimensions will vary from
researcher to researcher. Whether an organism passes through a 1 mm mesh also depends upon whether it is alive or dead at the time of sorting.
Mesofauna Mesofauna are macroscopic soil animals such as
arthropods or
nematodes. Mesofauna are extremely diverse; considering just the springtails (
Collembola), as of 1998, approximately 6,500 species had been identified.
Microfauna Microfauna are microscopic or very small animals (usually including
protozoans and very small animals such as
rotifers). To qualify as part of the microfauna, an organism must exhibit animal-like characteristics, as opposed to
microflora, which are more plant-like.
Stygofauna Stygofauna is any fauna that lives in
groundwater systems or aquifers, such as
caves, fissures and
vugs. Stygofauna and
troglofauna are the two types of
subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environments – stygofauna is associated with water, and troglofauna with caves and spaces above the
water table. Stygofauna can live within freshwater
aquifers and within the
pore spaces of
limestone,
calcrete or
laterite, whilst larger animals can be found in cave waters and wells. Stygofaunal animals, like troglofauna, are divided into three groups based on their life history - stygophiles, stygoxenes, and stygobites.
Troglofauna '', found at depths of in the
Lukina Jama–Trojama cave system of
Croatia, is completely blind with a translucent shell Troglofauna are small
cave-dwelling
animals that have
adapted to their dark surroundings. Troglofauna and
stygofauna are the two types of
subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environments – troglofauna is associated with caves and spaces above the water table and stygofauna with water. Troglofaunal species include
spiders,
insects,
myriapods and others. Some troglofauna lives permanently underground and cannot survive outside the cave environment. Troglofauna adaptations and characteristics include a heightened sense of hearing, touch and smell. Loss of under-used senses is apparent in the lack of pigmentation as well as eyesight in most troglofauna. Troglofauna insects may exhibit a lack of
wings and longer
appendages.
Xenofauna Xenofauna,
theoretically, are
alien organisms that can be described as
animal analogues. While no alien life forms, animal-like or otherwise, are known definitively, the concept of alien life remains a subject of great interest in fields like
astronomy,
astrobiology,
biochemistry,
evolutionary biology,
science fiction, and
philosophy.
Other (
Spain) Other terms include
avifauna, which means "
bird fauna" and
piscifauna (or
ichthyofauna), which means "
fish fauna". == Treatises ==