Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora, and for fungi, it is funga. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as biota. Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess Shale fauna". Paleontologists sometimes refer to a sequence of faunal stages, which is a series of rocks all containing similar fossils. The study of animals of a particular region is called faunistics.

किसी क्षेत्रविशेष या कालविशेष में पाया जाने वाले पशुपक्षियों (जन्तुओं) को सम्मिलित रूप से प्राणिसमूह या प्राणिजात (Fauna) कहते हैं। इसी तरह किसी क्षेत्रविशेष या कालविशेष में पाये जाने वाले पेड़-पौधों को सम्मिलित रूप से वनस्पतिजात (Flora) कहते हैं।