This is a summary of the variety of life currently known to exist in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This list represents 20+ years of work by researchers and volunteers as part of the Smokies All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI).
More details about these data are found at the bottom of this page.
Check out this list of the newest species recorded in the Smokies.
| Organism group | Historic records | New to park | New to science | Total records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microbes: bacteria (including Cyanobacteria) | 0 | 267 | 272 | 539 |
| Microbes: archaea | 0 | 0 | 44 | 44 |
| Microbes: viruses | 1 | 18 | 5 | 24 |
| Protista (slimemolds, amoebas, microsporidia) | 143 | 195 | 18 | 356 |
| Plants: vascular | 1598 | 219 | 1 | 1818 |
| Plants: non-vascular (mosses, liverworts, etc) | 634 | 11 | 0 | 645 |
| Chromista (water molds, sporozoans) | 9 | 39 | 1 | 49 |
| Algae | 358 | 566 | 78 | 1002 |
| Fungi (non-lichenized) | 2687 | 1237 | 64 | 3988 |
| Fungi: lichenized (lichens) | 340 | 559 | 66 | 965 |
| Cnidaria (jellyfish, hydra) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Porifera (sponges) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Platyhelminthes (flatworms) | 6 | 43 | 4 | 53 |
| Bryozoa (moss animals) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Gastrotricha (hairy bellies) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Nematomorpha (horsehair worms) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Nematodes (roundworms) | 13 | 87 | 4 | 104 |
| Nemertea (ribbon worms) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mollusca (snails, slugs, mussels, etc) | 121 | 66 | 2 | 189 |
| Annelida (earthworms, leeches, aquatic worms) | 23 | 68 | 7 | 98 |
| Tardigrada (water bears) | 2 | 57 | 26 | 85 |
| Arachnids: mites & ticks | 43 | 252 | 48 | 343 |
| Arachnids: harvestman | 1 | 22 | 2 | 25 |
| Arachnids: spider | 236 | 274 | 43 | 553 |
| Arachnids: scorpions, pseudoscorpions | 11 | 10 | 1 | 22 |
| Crustaceans (crayfish, copepods, pillbugs) | 20 | 75 | 28 | 123 |
| Rotifera (wheel animals, spiny-headed worms) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Myriapods: Chilopoda (centipedes) | 21 | 41 | 0 | 62 |
| Myriapods: Symphyla (pseudocentipedes) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Myriapods: Pauropoda (millipede-like arthropods) | 7 | 25 | 17 | 49 |
| Myriapods: Diplopoda (millipedes) | 39 | 34 | 4 | 77 |
| Protura (coneheads) | 7 | 9 | 10 | 26 |
| Collembola (springtails) | 89 | 138 | 61 | 288 |
| Diplura (two-pronged bristletails) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 |
| Insects: Archaeognatha (jumping bristletails) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Insects: Zygentoma (silverfish) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Insects: Ephemeroptera (mayflies) | 81 | 53 | 8 | 142 |
| Insects: Odonata (dragonflies, damselflies) | 58 | 43 | 0 | 101 |
| Insects: Dermaptera (earwigs) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Insects: Plecoptera (stoneflies) | 78 | 50 | 12 | 140 |
| Insects: Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids) | 63 | 50 | 4 | 117 |
| Insects: Phasmida (walking sticks) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Insects: Mantodea (mantids) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Insects: Blattodea (cockroaches, termites) | 2 | 8 | 0 | 10 |
| Insects: Thysanoptera (thrips) | 0 | 48 | 0 | 48 |
| Insects: Hemiptera (true bugs, plant hoppers, cidadas, etc) | 352 | 570 | 5 | 927 |
| Insects: Psocodea (bark lice, book lice, parasitic lice) | 26 | 104 | 5 | 135 |
| Insects: Megaloptera (alderflies, dobsonflies, fishflies) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Insects: Neuroptera (lacewings, antlions, owlflies, etc) | 9 | 36 | 0 | 45 |
| Insects: Strepsiptera (twisted-wing insects) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Insects: Coleoptera (beetles) | 572 | 2062 | 84 | 2718 |
| Insects: Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps) | 374 | 1278 | 25 | 1677 |
| Insects: Trichoptera (caddisflies) | 173 | 67 | 4 | 244 |
| Insects: Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths, skippers) | 728 | 1207 | 39 | 1974 |
| Insects: Mecoptera (scorpionflies) | 15 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
| Insects: Siphonaptera (fleas) | 17 | 9 | 1 | 27 |
| Insects: Diptera (true flies) | 943 | 1329 | 78 | 2350 |
| Vertebrates: fish | 71 | 5 | 0 | 76 |
| Vertebrates: amphibians (salamanders, frogs) | 39 | 3 | 3 | 45 |
| Vertebrates: reptiles (turtles, snakes, lizards, etc) | 38 | 2 | 0 | 40 |
| Vertebrates: birds | 233 | 21 | 0 | 254 |
| Vertebrates: mammals | 64 | 6 | 0 | 70 |
| TOTAL | 10,363 | 11,298 | 1,083 | 22,744 |
Last updated: April 3, 2025
11:44 am
This species tally represents the total of all park records to date and is updated periodically. The ATBI is ongoing and many records are still in the process of being added to the park’s database. We strive to include many outstanding park records (historic and present-day) and to make these web accessible for park management, researchers, and the general public.
