HOW MANY species in the world are yet to be discovered? This is a question which scientists and environmentalist frequently ponder. The latest estimate falls between two and fifty million yet to be discovered species, writes Tim Sandle.
A
group of scientists have published a paper considering the number of species on
the planet which are yet to be discovered, according to e! Science News. For their review they excluded microscopic life
forms like bacteria, but included everything large enough to be discerned by
the human eye, including insects, fungi, nematodes, and deep-sea organisms.
The
scientists have put the estimated number of undiscovered species (that is,
species which have not been classified) at between two and fifty million. The
reason why this ranges so widely is because the range of insects and fungi in
the natural world, to pick two examples, are almost impossible to estimate
reliably. Whist scientists catalog many new insects each year, finding new
species of mammals and birds is far less common.
The
report by the scientists suggests that it is
quite likely that a full inventory of all of the species on the planet will
prove to be impossible. This relates particularly to creatures which live
in the deep-sea,
high up in mountains, or which live beneath the ground.
However,
the science team consider that “Novel
techniques, such as DNA barcoding, new databases, and crowd-sourcing, could
greatly accelerate the rate of species discovery.”
In
assessing the biodiversity, the scientific team speculate that the possibility
remains that many undiscovered species may offer benefits for people, such as
in the development of medicines.
Posted by Tim Sandle
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