Antarctica
The white continent at the bottom of the planet — a freezer the size of a continent.
ClimateEarth's coldest, windiest place, plunging to −60°C.
LandscapeVast ice sheets, blue glaciers and frozen coastlines.
Species recorded110
Written profiles6
Groups present7
Coordinates-75.0°, 0.0°
About Antarctica
Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest continent, and almost nothing lives on the land itself — the interior is effectively a desert of ice. The life is in and around the sea. The Southern Ocean is one of the most productive marine systems on Earth thanks to upwelling that brings nutrients to the surface, and that productivity concentrates into krill, which in turn supports whales, seals, penguins and seabirds in enormous numbers. The result is a food web with very few steps between sunlight and large predators, which makes it both spectacularly rich and unusually sensitive: change what happens to krill and everything above it moves. Sea ice governs the timetable, forming and retreating each year and determining where animals can breed.
Featured animals of Antarctica
All profiles →6 species have a full written profile.
E
Emperor Penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
L
Leopard Seal
Hydrurga leptonyx
W
Wandering Albatross
Diomedea exulans
A
Antarctic Krill
Euphausia superba
H
Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
B
Blue Whale
Balaenoptera musculus
Most-recorded wild species here
Photographed and identified by iNaturalist contributors in this region, ordered by number of records.
W
Weddell Seal
Leptonychotes weddellii
A
Antarctic Winged Midge
Parochlus steinenii
N
Northern Giant Petrel
Macronectes halli
S
Sooty Shearwater
Ardenna grisea
D
Decolopoda australis
Decolopoda australis
W
Western Rockhopper Penguin
Eudyptes chrysocome
T
Two-banded Plover
Anarhynchus falklandicus
C
Crabeater Seal
Lobodon carcinophaga
K
King Penguin
Aptenodytes patagonicus
S
Striated Caracara
Daptrius australis
A
Antarctic Fur Seal
Arctocephalus gazella
R
Ruddy-headed Goose
Chloephaga rubidiceps
P
Paractora moseleyi
Paractora moseleyi
F
Falkland Steamer Duck
Tachyeres brachypterus
A
Adelie Penguin
Pygoscelis adeliae
S
Snow Petrel
Pagodroma nivea
C
Chinstrap Penguin
Pygoscelis antarcticus
H
Humped Rockcod
Gobionotothen gibberifrons
Full species checklist
A further 86 species recorded in Antarctica.
| Common name | Scientific name | Group | Records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fin Whale | Balaenoptera physalus | Mammals | 187 |
| Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant | Muscisaxicola maclovianus | Birds | 187 |
| South American Peregrine Falcon | Falco peregrinus cassini | Birds | 186 |
| South Georgia Shag | Leucocarbo atriceps georgianus | Birds | 184 |
| Magellanic Penguin | Spheniscus magellanicus | Birds | 184 |
| Brown Skua | Stercorarius antarcticus | Birds | 183 |
| Nesiotinus demersus | Nesiotinus demersus | Insects | 183 |
| Falkland Black-crowned Night Heron | Nycticorax nycticorax falklandicus | Birds | 182 |
| Southern Elephant Seal | Mirounga leonina | Mammals | 181 |
| Parborlasia corrugatus | Parborlasia corrugatus | Other animals | 180 |
| Imperial Shag | Leucocarbo atriceps | Birds | 179 |
| Gentoo Penguin | Pygoscelis papua | Birds | 174 |
| Black Rockcod | Notothenia coriiceps | Fish | 171 |
| South Georgia Diving Petrel | Pelecanoides georgicus | Birds | 170 |
| Patagonian Squid | Doryteuthis gahi | Mollusks | 170 |
| Black-browed Albatross | Thalassarche melanophris | Birds | 169 |
| Aglaophamus trissophyllus | Aglaophamus trissophyllus | Other animals | 168 |
| Turkey Vulture | Cathartes aura | Birds | 167 |
| Cephalorhynchus commersonii commersonii | Cephalorhynchus commersonii commersonii | Mammals | 166 |
| Correndera Pipit (Falkland) | Anthus correndera grayi | Birds | 165 |
| South Georgia Pintail | Anas georgica georgica | Birds | 164 |
| Cobb's Wren | Troglodytes cobbi | Birds | 164 |
| Austral Thrush (Falkland) | Turdus falcklandii falcklandii | Birds | 163 |
| Aequiyoldia eightsii | Aequiyoldia eightsii | Mollusks | 162 |
| Light-mantled Albatross | Phoebetria palpebrata | Birds | 160 |
| South Georgia Pipit | Anthus antarcticus | Birds | 160 |
| Royal Penguin | Eudyptes schlegeli | Birds | 160 |
| Macaroni Penguin | Eudyptes chrysolophus | Birds | 159 |
| Orca | Orcinus orca | Mammals | 156 |
| Antarctic sea urchin | Sterechinus neumayeri | Other animals | 156 |
| Antarctic Stalked Jelly | Haliclystus antarcticus | Other animals | 155 |
| Long-tailed Meadowlark | Leistes loyca | Birds | 153 |
| Southern Giant Petrel | Macronectes giganteus | Birds | 151 |
| Antarctic limpet | Nacella concinna | Mollusks | 150 |
| Pintado Petrel | Daption capense | Birds | 145 |
| Victoria Brittle Star | Ophionotus victoriae | Other animals | 144 |
| Southern Fulmar | Fulmarus glacialoides | Birds | 143 |
| Snowy Sheathbill | Chionis albus | Birds | 141 |
| Long-tailed Meadowlark (Falkland) | Leistes loyca falklandicus | Birds | 141 |
| Brown Skua (Falkland) | Stercorarius antarcticus antarcticus | Birds | 138 |
| Antarctic Petrel | Thalassoica antarctica | Birds | 135 |
| Kelp Gull | Larus dominicanus | Birds | 134 |
| Falkland Imperial Shag | Leucocarbo atriceps albiventer | Birds | 133 |
| Kelp Goose | Chloephaga hybrida | Birds | 131 |
| Austral Thrush | Turdus falcklandii | Birds | 129 |
| Upland Goose | Chloephaga picta | Birds | 125 |
| White-bridled Finch | Melanodera melanodera | Birds | 122 |
| Brown-hooded Gull | Chroicocephalus maculipennis | Birds | 121 |
| South Polar Skua | Stercorarius maccormicki | Birds | 114 |
| Antarctic Tern | Sterna vittata | Birds | 112 |
| Blackish Cinclodes | Cinclodes antarcticus | Birds | 107 |
| Antarctic Shag | Leucocarbo atriceps bransfieldensis | Birds | 105 |
| Magellanic Oystercatcher | Haematopus leucopodus | Birds | 105 |
| Blackish Oystercatcher | Haematopus ater | Birds | 104 |
| Sei Whale | Balaenoptera borealis | Mammals | 101 |
| Black-crowned Night Heron | Nycticorax nycticorax | Birds | 98 |
| Wilson's Storm-Petrel | Oceanites oceanicus | Birds | 93 |
| Diamondback Moth | Plutella xylostella | Insects | 90 |
| Magellanic green spider | Molinaranea magellanica | Arachnids | 88 |
| Southern Royal Albatross | Diomedea epomophora | Birds | 84 |
| Crested Duck | Lophonetta specularioides | Birds | 78 |
| White-rumped Sandpiper | Calidris fuscicollis | Birds | 76 |
| Black Kelp Fly | Coelopa frigida | Insects | 74 |
| Magellanic Snipe | Gallinago magellanica | Birds | 73 |
| Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant (Falkland) | Muscisaxicola maclovianus maclovianus | Birds | 70 |
| Hourglass Dolphin | Cephalorhynchus cruciger | Mammals | 68 |
| Magellanic Cormorant | Leucocarbo magellanicus | Birds | 62 |
| Grass Wren | Cistothorus platensis | Birds | 58 |
| White-chinned Petrel | Procellaria aequinoctialis | Birds | 47 |
| Limacina rangii | Limacina rangii | Mollusks | 45 |
| Common Diving Petrel | Pelecanoides urinatrix | Birds | 41 |
| Peale's Dolphin | Cephalorhynchus australis | Mammals | 41 |
| Rufous-chested Dotterel | Zonibyx modestus | Birds | 39 |
| Blackish Cinclodes (Blackish) | Cinclodes antarcticus antarcticus | Birds | 36 |
| Antarctic Kelp Gull | Larus dominicanus austrinus | Birds | 27 |
| Dolphin Gull | Leucophaeus scoresbii | Birds | 27 |
| Black-bellied Storm-Petrel | Fregetta tropica | Birds | 25 |
| Variable Hawk | Geranoaetus polyosoma | Birds | 23 |
| Antarctic Sun starfish | Labidiaster annulatus | Other animals | 20 |
| Antarctic Blue Whale | Balaenoptera musculus intermedia | Mammals | 19 |
| Blue Petrel | Halobaena caerulea | Birds | 19 |
| Chilean Skua | Stercorarius chilensis | Birds | 14 |
| Antarctic Prion | Pachyptila desolata | Birds | 12 |
| Sperm Whale | Physeter macrocephalus | Mammals | 11 |
| Gray-headed Albatross | Thalassarche chrysostoma | Birds | 4 |
| Blue Blowfly | Calliphora vicina | Insects | 2 |