FaunaHub

Animal coverage gaps

An honest map of where FaunaHub's animal coverage is still thin or planned. Naming a gap is how we make sure no major group is forgotten as coverage grows.

Why “missing” does not mean ignored

FaunaHub is built in verified batches, so at any moment some major groups are well covered and others are queued. Listing the gaps openly keeps the project honest and makes sure whole branches of the animal tree — especially invertebrates and the deep sea — are not forgotten.

Where coverage is thin or planned

Invertebrate coverage gaps

Invertebrates make up the great majority of described animal species, yet they are the thinnest part of FaunaHub today. Several whole groups have no profiles yet.

Examples on the roadmap: scorpions, centipedes & millipedes, earthworms & leeches, sea urchins & sea cucumbers, corals & sea anemones, snails & slugs

Deep-sea coverage gaps

FaunaHub's ocean depth pages describe deep-sea life from authoritative sources, but the deeper zones do not yet have dedicated animal profiles.

Examples on the roadmap: anglerfish, giant squid, vampire squid, dumbo octopus, gulper eel, barreleye

Regional fauna coverage gaps

The continents layer is representative, not complete. Each continent has well-known animals still to add, especially smaller mammals, regional birds, and herpetofauna.

Examples on the roadmap: echidna, wild boar, okapi, saiga, markhor, Tasmanian devil

Conservation (Red List) coverage gaps

The endangered-animals layer holds many index records but only a limited number of detailed profiles. More threatened species deserve full, source-backed profiles with licensed images.

Examples on the roadmap: additional Critically Endangered mammals, threatened amphibians, threatened marine fish, more region-specific species

Domestic, farm & urban gaps

Common domestic, farm, and urban-adapted animals are only partly covered, and should be clearly labelled as domestic or human-associated rather than wild fauna.

Examples on the roadmap: chicken, turkey, donkey, opossum, starling

Groups currently marked thin or planned

  • ArachnidsThin coverage
    scorpion, tarantula, tick, mite, harvestman
  • CrustaceansThin coverage
    shrimp, crayfish, barnacle, krill, giant isopod
  • MollusksThin coverage
    snail, slug, clam, oyster, mussel
  • EchinodermsThin coverage
    sea urchin, sea cucumber, sand dollar, brittle star, crinoid
  • CnidariansThin coverage
    coral, sea anemone, hydra, portuguese man o war, sea fan
  • AnnelidsPlanned expansion
    earthworm, leech, ragworm, tube worm
  • FlatwormsPlanned expansion
    planarian, tapeworm, fluke
  • NematodesPlanned expansion
    roundworm, hookworm
  • SpongesPlanned expansion
    sea sponge, glass sponge
  • Other InvertebratesPlanned expansion
    tardigrade, comb jelly, velvet worm, horseshoe crab, sea squirt
  • Deep-Sea AnimalsPlanned expansion
    anglerfish, giant squid, vampire squid, dumbo octopus, gulper eel
  • Planktonic AnimalsPlanned expansion
    krill, copepod, salp, comb jelly
  • Invasive & Introduced SpeciesPlanned expansion
    cane toad, lionfish, european starling, zebra mussel

How FaunaHub prioritises future species

We weigh several factors: how big a coverage gap a group represents, how well-known and searched its animals are, whether authoritative sources exist, and whether properly licensed images are available. The full plan lives on the coverage roadmap.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

Does “missing” mean FaunaHub will never cover these animals?
No. Missing means not yet covered. These groups are queued for future verified batches. We add profiles only when sources and (for detailed pages) licensed images are available, so coverage grows steadily rather than all at once.
Why not just add the missing animals quickly?
Speed at the cost of quality produces thin, weakly sourced pages. FaunaHub prioritises source-backed content and licensed images over raw page counts.

Last updated: