All-Leps:: Barcode of Life

Australian Checklist

Background

This page provides access to a Checklist for the 10,590 lepidopteran species known to occur in Australia. These species include representatives of 89 different families. Until 1996, there was no checklist available for Australian Lepidoptera. This gap was then filled in a dramatic way when Ebbe Nielsen,Ted Edwards and Vanna Rangsi produced a checklist for the fauna. This major contribution represented the efforts of 13 authors who joined forces to produce a compendium that includes 10,583 valid species assigned to 89 different families. Although the species count has since edged up to 10,590 species, it is known that many species await description. Common (1990) suggests that more than 20,000 species of Lepidoptera occur on the continent. This page provides access to a species list that is based almost entirely on the work of Nielsen et al. (1996)

Key References

Common, I. F. B. 1990. Moths of Australia. Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Australia
Nielsen, E. S., E. D. Edwards, and T. V. Rangsi. 1996. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 4. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood Victoria.

Finding a Species

You can either find a particular species using the search function or view all species in a particular family or subfamily. Click on the family name to access its member subfamilies or species. When species are not assigned to a subfamily, they are shown as unplaced.

Errors or Updates

If you detect errors or overlooked updates in taxonomic status, please follow this link and fill out the form. Your comments will be directed to the appropriate taxonomic specialist for consideration. If you would like to view a fully detailed taxonomic list for this campaign please click here.

Australian Checklist

Please note the numbers in red after the family names indicate the number of species.