Table 1. - Galapagos known marine biodiversity (up to March 1998)*.
| Groups | No. of species | Endemics | % Endemic | Richness** | Level of study |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mammals | 24 | 2 | 8% | High | Moderate |
| Macroalgae (seaweeds) | 333 | 130 | 39% | High | Poor |
| Marine birds | 19 | 5 | 26% | High | Good |
| Fishes | 447 | 51 | 11% | High | Poor |
| Soft bottom communities | 390 | ? | ? | High | Poor |
| Polchaeta (sea worms) | 192 | 50 | 50% | Intermediate | Poor |
| Brachyurans (crabs) | 20 | 23 | 19% | Intermediate | Poor |
| Caridea & Stenopods (shrimps, prawns) | 65 | 10 | 15% | High | Poor |
| Porcelain crabs | 12 | 1 | 8% | Low | Good |
| Barnacles | 18 | 4 | 22% | Low | Good |
| Mollusks | 800 | 141 | 18% | Low | Poor |
| Opistobranchs (nudibranchs) | 49 | 18 | 37% | Low | Poor |
| Echinoderms (sea urchins) | 200 | 34 | 18% | High | Poor |
| Bryozoans | 184 | 34 | 18% | High | Poor |
| Gorgonians (sea fans) | 12 | 8 | 67% | Low | Poor |
| Corals | 44 | 20 | 45% | Low | Moderate |
| Total | 2939 | 531 |
* Sources: JACKSON (1993), MERLEN (1995), HANCOCK (1945), HARRIS (1974), GROVE & LAVENBERG (1997), JAMES (1991), GLYNN & WELLI NGTON (1983), HICKMAN (1998), CDRS museum.
** Relative to other Pacific insular areas