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‘Hotspots’ of biodiversity (taxonomic richness, endemism, taxonomic affinities between communities) at small (α), medium (β) and larger (γ) scales of diversity were examined for marine sponge populations throughout tropical and subtropical Australia, with the faunas of Vanuatu, Palau and Thailand used as outgroups for comparison. Spatial and numerical (ordination) models and hierarchic classifications delineated 37 β and 13 γ scale faunas from 1343 investigated localities using a pool of 2324 species. The Australian taxonomic literature was ignored completely to avoid the many still unresolved taxonomic problems and to allow equal treatment of collecting localities. Richness and endemism varied considerably between marine areas, for species and genera at all spatial scales, with gradients strongly corroborated by hierarchic taxonomic relationships between faunas. Richness and endemism were …