After compiling and analyzing a database of DNA sequences from 5 million microbe species from 35,000 sites around the world, researchers concluded that there are a staggering 1 trillion species on earth. That’s more species than the estimated number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
APRIL 29, 2019 https://phys.org/news/2019-04-species-earth-simple-hard.html
How many species on Earth? A simple question that’s hard to answer
by Tanya Latty And Timothy Lee, The Conversation
Scientist disagree about the number of species that make up earth’s biodiversity. In fact, they disagree about the definition of “species”. The estimates range from 3 million to one trillion. That’s a wide margin. 8.7 million is popular. So is 5.3 million. The fact is, we just don’t know. What we can be certain of is that there is a multitude of species that we have not yet met. And probably some that have gone or will go extinct before they are discovered by humans.
Everything Earth’s Creatures page will highlight animals from all over the planet- some of whom are at risk of extinction, some of whom are gloriously abundant – and all of whom are extraordinary.
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