NUMBER SPECIES IN THE WORLD

WE DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY SPECIES INHABIT THIS EARTH. ESTIMATES RANGE FROM 4 MILLION TO 100 MILLION. THE BEST GUESS IS 10-14 MILLION. MOST OF THE SPECIES IN THE WORLD ARE INSECTS AND MICRO-ORGANISMS NOT VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE.

SO FAR ABOUT 1.8 MILLION SPECIES (NOT INCLUDING BACTERIA) HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, NAMED, AND CATALOGUED. THESE INCLUDE 270,000 PLANT SPECIES, 45,000 VERTEBRATES,  AND 950,000 INSECTS. ROUGHLY 10,000 NEW SPECIES ARE IDENTIFIED EVERY YEAR.

OVERALL, OUR KNOWLEDGE OF SPECIES AND ECOSYSTEMS IS POOR. EVEN OUT OF THE IDENTIFIED SPECIES, ONLY A ONE THIRD HAVE BEEN STUDIED TO SOME LEVEL. AMONG THESE AGAIN, WE UNDERSTAND THE EXACT ROLES AND INTERACTIONS OF JUST A SMALL NUMBER OF SPECIES.