All Species Inventory

Nine-tenths of species still undiscovered

There are 8.7 million species on Earth, according to the latest estimate, claimed to be far more precise than any before.  

Census of Marine Life scientists say there are around 6.5 million species found on land and 2.2 million in the ocean. And, they say, a staggering 86 percent of all species on land and 91 percent of those in the seas have yet to be discovered, described and catalogued.

"The question of how many species exist has intrigued scientists for centuries and the answer, coupled with research by others into species' distribution and abundance, is particularly important now because a host of human activities and influences are accelerating the rate of extinctions," says Says lead author Camilo Mora of the University of Hawaii and Dalhousie University in Canada.

"Many species may vanish before we even know of their existence, of their unique niche and function in ecosystems, and of their potential contribution to improved human well-being."

About 1.25 million species have been described and entered into central databases, with another 700,000-odd described but yet to reach the central databases. Up to now, the best approximation of Earth's species total was based on educated guesses, with experts variously pegging the figure at something between three and 100 million.

The new research gives an estimated figure of 8.7 million by identifying a series of reliable numerical relationships between the more complete higher taxonomic levels and the species level.

"We discovered that, using numbers from the higher taxonomic groups, we can predict the number of species," says Sina Adl of Dalhousie University.

"The approach accurately predicted the number of species in several well-studied groups such as mammals, fishes and birds, providing confidence in the method."

The authors suggest that describing all remaining species using traditional approaches could require up to 1,200 years of work by more than 300,000 taxonomists - and cost $364 billion.

3rdparent: All Species Inventory

Here are some of my mid-read reactions. I think that eventually we are all going to die from something awful - Old Faithful the super volcano (a la 2012), some super virus/bacteria, or from an asteroid clobbering the planet. In the book, each is described with frightening detail. The most frightening thing is that basically we wouldn't even see it coming. We'd just be dead - and in the case of the asteroid/meteorite - it would be in 1 second or less if you were within the blast zone. Ouch. Here's another point. The best current science can say is that there are between 2 million and 200 million species on earth right now. RIGHT NOW! This is not a total count of ever - but currently on earth with us. We are talking a 10x spread here. That's a bit of a problem for all of us. We, as a species, should know more about what is on this planet with us.

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