'This work deduces the most basic number needed to describe our living biosphere,' says co-author Boris Worm of Dalhousie University. Many species may vanish before we even know of their existence, of their unique niche and function in ecosystems, and of their potential contribution to improved human well-being.'

Says lead author Camilo Mora of the University of Hawaii and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada: 'The question of how many species exist has intrigued scientists for centuries and the answer, coupled with research by others into species' distribution and abundance, is particularly important now because a host of human activities and influences are accelerating the rate of extinctions. Until now, the number of species on Earth was said to fall somewhere between 3 million and 100 million.įurthermore, the study, published by PLoS Biology, says a staggering 86% of all species on land and 91% of those in the seas have yet to be discovered, described and catalogued. That is a new, estimated total number of species on Earth - the most precise calculation ever offered - with 6.5 million species found on land and 2.2 million (about 25 percent of the total) dwelling in the ocean depths.Īnnounced today by Census of Marine Life scientists, the figure is based on an innovative, validated analytical technique that dramatically narrows the range of previous estimates.

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