Global Biodiversity
How much "stuff" is there out there? In other words, how many species are there?
Besides simple curiousity, the answer to this question is vital for understanding local biodiversity and conservation. For example, if a species of frog (an amphibian) goes extinct, is that 1 of 100, or 1 of 10,000, or 1 of a million species of amphibian?
| Taxonomic Group | Number of Species | Source |
| Vertebrates | 58,000 | |
| Amphibians | 7,000 | AmphibiaWeb.org, Aug 30, 2015 |
| Reptiles | 10,272 | www.reptile-database.org, May28, 2016 |
| Birds | 9,800 | wikipedia.org, Jun 1, 2013, from Clements 2007 |
| Mammals | 5,416 | (Wikipedia Jun1, 2013. Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds), ed (2005-11-16). Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. |
| Fish | 32,800 | Fishbase.org, July 18, 2014 |
| Invertebrates | ||
| insects | 6-10 million | |
| Plants | ||
| Angiosperms | 350,000 | www.theplantlist.org, July 18, 2014 |
| Gymnosperms | 1,000 | |
| Pteridophytes | 13,000 | |
| Bryophytes | 20,000 | |
| Fungi | 100,000 | Wikipedia, July 18, 2014 |