Photo credit: Right, Arno Gasteiger; bottom left, Christine Stewart
Photo credit: Right, Arno Gasteiger; bottom left, Christine Stewart

Te tautohu i ngā momo kīrehe, tupu hoki o Tāmaki Makaurau

Identifying species of Tāmaki Makaurau

This suite of resources and tools will help you identify and learn about the fauna and flora of Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland and Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Photo credit: Right, Arno Gasteiger; bottom left, Christine Stewart

Tāmaki Makaurau is home to a range of native plant and animal species, some of which are unique to our region. Discover these with the great online tools and documents below.

As our knowledge of species increases so does our ability to adequately protect and restore habitat for Tāmaki Makaurau's unique biodiversity. 

Start with these resources

iNaturalist NZ

Explore, learn and record what you see in nature and meet other nature watchers.

New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Search the plant information database for information about plant species.

New Zealand Birds Online

A searchable encyclopedia of the birds of Aotearoa / New Zealand. Explore the site to read expert-written texts, listen to sound files of bird calls, and browse more than 8700 photographs.

The New Zealand Herpetological Society

Explore the comprehensive list of native and exotic lizards, frogs and marine reptiles.

Birds and bats

NZ Tracker

Identify footprints left by shorebirds and their common predators using an online reference guide.

Birds A-Z

Explore DOC's online catalogue of native Aotearoa / New Zealand birds.

New Zealand ebird

A tool for reporting bird sightings in Aotearoa / New Zealand and around the world. Explore the latest bird sightings and join the birding community.

Bats of New Zealand

A overview of the two species of bat in Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Garden Bird Survey

The Garden Bird Survey is a citizen science project that helps students discover and learn more about New Zealand’s garden birds.

Garden bird identification

A handy tool from Landcare research to help you quickly identify common garden bird species

Long-tailed bat fact sheet

Find out about long tail bats, their behavior, habitat and how to monitor them

PDF download 3.45 MB

May 2023

Coastal birds of Auckland

Auckland parks poster of birds found in the harbours and estuaries of Tāmaki Makaurau.

PDF download 1.8 MB

May 2023

Native Forest birds in Auckland

Auckland Parks poster of some of the native forest birds found in Tāmaki Makaurau.

PDF download 2.3 MB

Reptiles and frogs

Reptiles and frogs

DOC's overview of reptiles and frogs of Aotearoa / New Zealand.

New Zealand reptile and frog distribution

Search the herpetofauna database on the DOC website and learn about how to report sightings.

NZFrog

A website dedicated to frog research and conservation in Aotearoa / New Zealand. You will also find educational resources for kids and teachers.

The conservation status of New Zealand reptiles

DOC's comprehensive report on the conservation status of all known Aotearoa / New Zealand reptile taxa from 2015.

PDF download 550 KB

State of our frogs

The Ministry for the Environments report on the state of Aotearoa / New Zealand frogs from the State of the Environment 1997 report.

How to create a lizard friendly garden

A how-to guide on creating safe and appropriate habitat for Aotearoa / New Zealand lizards.

Lizards, Te Ara

An overview of Aotearoa / New Zealand lizard populations from the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Physiology, history, habitat and conservation management of lizards is explored.

Frogs, Te Ara

An overview of native and exotic frog populations from the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Their behaviour, physiology, habitat, threats and current conservation practices are explored.

Lizards alive in your garden

A brochure of some of the native gecko and skink species you may come across in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland and how you can improve and increase suitable native lizard habitat.

PDF download 1.07 MB

May 2023

Gecko's and Skink's of Auckland

Auckland parks poster of some of the gecko and skink species found in Tāmaki Makaurau.

PDF download 2.1 MB

Lichens, fungi and bacteria

The fungal guide

The fungal guide provides non-specialist field like information on common macrofungi (including mushrooms) of Aotearoa / New Zealand.

The virtual Mycota

The virtual Mycota provides an interface to descriptions and images of Aotearoa / New Zealand's fungi, data also available through NZFungi - the New Zealand fungi and bacteria database.

Conservation status indigenous lichens and lichenicolous fungi

DOC's comprehensive report from 2018.

PDF download 786 KB

New Zealand lichens and their habitats

A summary of Aotearoa / New Zealand lichen and their various habitats from 1969.

The Hidden Forest website

A comprehensive guide to fungi (including mushrooms) in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland's lowland and coastal areas. It also includes information on lichen, bryophytes, primitive plants and slime moulds.

Fungi

The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network introduction to fungi (including mushrooms) in Aotearoa / New Zealand.

NZFungi - the New Zealand fungi and bacteria database

A database providing access to an up to date catalogue of the fungi, mushrooms, plant pathogenic bacteria and plant viruses reported in Aotearoa / New Zealand, together with nomenclatural, bibliographic and descriptive information on those organisms.

Lichens observation

This iNaturalist page is dedicated to lichen observations in Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Plants

Pest search

A search tool for pest plants and animals with information on habitat, threats and control methods.

Pest plants (weeds) of New Zealand

Share your pest plant observations in New Zealand.

Introduction to plant life in New Zealand

NZPCN Plant Conservation Training Module 1 emphasises the importance of plant conservation in Aotearoa / New Zealand. It also provides an introduction to plant communities and an overview of plant physiology.

PDF download 11.4 MB

The New Zealand Plants website

Auckland Universities guide to plants of Aotearoa / New Zealand including descriptions and photos of native plants plus further reading and 3D animation resources.

New Zealand indigenous and naturalised plant lists

A comprehensive list Aotearoa / New Zealand indigenous vascular flora.

Plant identification and interactive keys

Landcare Research's collection of guides and keys for flowering plants, grasses, weeds and more.

New Zealand rushes: field identification guide

Use this field guide to help you identify rushes (Juncus) to species level.

Macrophytes ID guides

NIWA's guides to Macrophytes, plants that live in or near water, in Aotearoa / New Zealand.

The Weedbusters weed list

Search for weeds species, learn how to identify and understand why they are a problem and how to control each weed.

Freshwater algae guides

NIWA's useful guides to identifying freshwater algae in Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Plants only found in Auckland

Plants are described as “endemic” to an area when they are only found in that area. There are 11 plants which are endemic to the Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau region.

Conservation Status of Vascular Plant Species in Auckland

The conservation status of all known indigenous vascular plant taxa in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland.

PDF download 2.86 MB

May 2023

Native ferns of Auckland

Auckland parks poster of fern species found in the ngahere of Tāmaki Makaurau.

PDF download 2 MB

May 2023

Giant Trees of Auckland

Auckland parks poster of giant tree species found in the ngahere of Tāmaki Makaurau

PDF download 1.8 MB

Freshwater fish

Freshwater pest species of New Zealand

Information on pest freshwater fish, invertebrates and plants in Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Freshwater pests

Information about what central government is doing to prevent the spread of freshwater pests and diseases.

Atlas of New Zealand freshwater fish species

NIWA's detailed overview of freshwater fish species in Aotearoa / New Zealand, including species lists, factsheets and identification tools.

Freshwater fish ID guides

NIWA's guides to freshwater fish species of Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Freshwater fish (native)

DOC's summary of 51 species of freshwater fish native to Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Freshwater fish of New Zealand

An educational resource that outlines the conservation status and threats facing our freshwater fish.

May 2023

Auckland stream life

Auckland parks A3 poster of freshwater species found in the streams of Tāmaki Makaurau

PDF download 3 MB

Insects and freshwater invertebrates

Why invertebrates are important

Understand the important role invertebrates play in our native forest.

What is this bug?

A collection of guides to help you identify insects, including bees, wasps, ants, beetles, moths and freshwater invertebrates.

Invertebrate systematics

An overview of research relating to invertebrate in Aotearoa / New Zealand including introduced invasive insects. You can also find a series of guides, fact sheets, image collections and databases.

Explore stories about insects and other invertebrates

A overview of insects in Aotearoa / New Zealand on Te Ara, Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

Guide to New Zealand soil invertebrates

A Massey University study of Aotearoa / New Zealand soil and litter invertebrates, their diversity, biology, ecosystem role and conservation status.

Wai Care invertebrate field guide

A guide to assist with the classification of freshwater habitat and identification of invertebrates when monitoring Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland streams.

PDF download 1.45 MB

Invertebrate ID guides

NIWA's collection of checklists and quick guides to help you identify macroinvertebrate species associated with the freshwater environment.

The nature of Auckland lowland stream invertebrates, and effects of urban development

A paper by Landcare Research on macroinvertebrate communities in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland streams.

PDF download 435 KB

Freshwater macroinvertebrates

An educational summary of freshwater macro-invertebrate ecology including the human impacts on macro-invertebrates and their role as indicators of water quality.

Marine species

Marine mammals

Learn about the rich and diverse communities of marine mammals found in Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Explore stories about sea life

An introduction to the many life forms that occupy Aotearoa / New Zealand's waters.

New Zealand Fishes Volume 1: A field guide to common species caught by bottom and midwater fishing

A comprehensive documentation of species of fish commonly found in Aotearoa / New Zealand's coastal waters.

PDF download 9.86 MB

Marine fish and reptiles

Find out about mangō (sharks), spotted black grouper, sea snakes, kraits and turtles.

National Aquatic Biodiversity Information System (NABIS)

An interactive map by the Ministry of Primary Industries that allows users to explore spatial layers of information relating to the management of aquatic biodiversity including marine habitat, reserves and other management areas.