A List of All Species on Earth: What We Know and What We're Still Finding
Introduction: Can We Name All the Things That Live Here?
Earth is
full of wonderful life. There are tiny bacteria and large whales, and they all live in some of the most extraordinary places. People always ask: Have we compiled a list of
everything that lives on earth?
The true
answer is very cool, but it's not straightforward. Scientists have identified
millions of species, but still many more are concealed. Here’s what we know
now: how we classify living things, how many we think there are, and why
cataloging them all is an ongoing project.
This is
for everyone – beginners, students, teachers, and anyone who loves nature.
Contents: What's a species, anyway?
A
species is merely defined as a bunch of living organisms that can mate and have babies that can, in turn, mate and have babies. They consider
appearance, genes, behavior, and how they've evolved to decide what a species
is.
Sorting species helps us:
* See how much variety there is in life
* Keep track of which ones are in danger
* How things change.
* Keep habitats safe
How Scientists Sort Life on Earth
We sort
all living things using a system called taxonomy.
The basic groups are:
1. Domain
2. Kingdom
3. Phylum
4. Class
5. Order
6. Family
7. Genus
8. Species
This
way, scientists everywhere can know for certain what they’re talking about.
The Three Big Groups of Life
Everything alive is classified into one of these three domains:
1. Bacteria
* Tiniest things, one-celled things.
* Everywhere – in dirt, water, even inside
you!
* We don’t know a lot of them even yet.
2. Archaea
* Single-celled as well
* Often live in super harsh places
*
Different genes from bacteria
3. Eukarya
*
Organisms with complex cells
* This
applies to animals and plants, fungi, and protists
The Six Kingdoms of Life
Within
those domains, there are six primary kingdoms:
1. Animalia (Animals)
* Make up many cells
* Eat stuff
* Such as mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects
2. Plantae (plant)
* Make
their own food from sunlight
* such
as trees, grasses, and seaweed
3. Fungi
*
Get food from dead stuff
* Keep
producing like mushrooms and mold
4. Protista
* Predominantly single-celled eukaryotes
* Like amoebas
5. Bacteria
* An organism that is a functional single
cell without a nucleus.
6. Archaea
* Unicellular, sometimes inhabit extreme
environments
How Many Types of Beings Are there?
Species We Know About:
To date,
scientists have given names to around 2 million species.
How Many Could There Be?
Most
scientists believe there to be somewhere in the region of 8–10 million species
on the earth, and a few estimate even more.
That is
to say, we are still missing more than 80% of all species on the
planet!
Encyclopedia of Life-https://eol.org
A General List of Species Groups on Earth
There are too many species to tell you about all of them, but here are the major groups.
Mammals
* About
6500 spp. known
* Examples:
humans, whales, bats, elephants)
* They
maintain a constant body temperature, and they are warm-blooded, having milk and
hair.
[Mammal Diversity Database](https://www.mammaldiversity.org)
Birds
* The number of known species is about 11,000,
and...
* Live everywhere
* Many migrate super far
[Avian Conservation Worldwide](https://www.birdlife.org)
Reptiles
*
Approximately 11,000 known species
*
Like snakes, turtles, crocs, and lizards
*
Primarily cold-blooded
Amphibians
*
Approximately 8,700 described species.
* Like
frogs and salamanders
*
Sensitive to environmental changes
[AmphibiaWeb](https://amphibiaweb.org)
Fish
* Approximately
35,000 known species
* Live
in both marine and aquatic environments.
*
Largest group of vertebrates
Insects
* About 1 million known species
* Maybe 5–6 million species total
* Including beetles, butterflies, ants,
and bees.
Insects
are most of the animal species.
Plants
*
Roughly 390,000 known species
* Like
flowers, trees, and ferns
* They
produce oxygen and are habitat essential
Plants
of the World Online – Kew Gardens
Fungi
* About 150,000 known species
* Maybe 2–4 million species total
* Help break down stuff and keep soil healthy
Microbes: The Most Numerous Yet Least Understood Life Forms
Scientists think
there are trillions of species, but they have no idea what to call them.
These include:
*
Bacteria
*
Archaea
*
Microalgae
Why Don’t We Have a Complete List of Species?
It’s
hard to make a list because:
* Lots of species live where we haven't looked
yet
* Tiny organisms are hard to tell apart
* Species change over time
* Some species disappear before we find them
Rainforests
and the deep ocean are especially unexplored.
How We Find New Species
Scientists
find new species by:
* Going out into the field
* Studying DNA
* Seafaring in the depths
* Visiting rainforests
We discover
new species in the thousands every year.
Why Listing Everything Matters
Figuring
out how many species are out there helps us:
* Keep habitats safe
* Stop living things from disappearing
* Make progress in medicine and science
*
Respond to climate change issues
"If
we don't know what is out there, we can't protect it."
Saving Species
* Many
species are rapidly disappearing.
* Losing
habitats is the main problem
* The
problem is exacerbated by climate change
IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species-https://www.iucnredlist.org
FAQs:
Q1. Do you have a list of temperatures for all living things on Earth?
Scientists
are still finding out new things.
Q2. How many species are there that we don't know about?
Probably
millions, especially insects and small creatures.
Q3. Which group has the most species?
Especially
insects and beetles.
Q4. Are there still large animals yet to be discovered?
Sometimes,
but very rarely. Discoveries are typically tiny, distant, or breathe underwater.
Q5: Why do species vanish before we even find out about them?
We are
wrecking their homes a lot faster than we can learn about them.
Conclusion: The List That Never Ends
We are
without a complete list of species, and maybe we always will be. Life is always
evolving, and more diverse than we can think.
In
studying life, we’re standing up for nature. Each additional species helps to
complete Earth’s story.