Estimated number of species

Range 5,000,000 - 6,000,000 species
Organism Insect
Reference Pimm SL et al., The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection. Science. 2014 May 30 344(6187):1246752. doi: 10.1126/science.1246752. p.1 middle column 2nd paragraphPubMed ID24876501
Primary Source [10] P. H. Raven, D. K. Yeates, Australian biodiversity: threats for the present, opportunities for the future. Aust. J. Entomol. 46, 177–187 (2007). doi: 10.1111/j.1440-6055.2007.00601.x link
Comments P.1 middle column 2nd paragraph: "For animals, recent overviews attest to the question’s difficulty. About 1.9 million species are described (BNID 113443) the great majority are not. Costello et al. (ref 8) estimate 5 ± 3 million species, Mora et al. (ref 9) 8.7 ± 1.3 million, and Chapman (BNID 113443) 11 million. Raven and Yeates (primary source) estimate 5 to 6 million species of insects alone, whereas Scheffers et al. (ref 11) think uncertainties in insect and fungi numbers make a plausible range impossible. Estimates for marine species include 2.2 ± 0.18 million (BNID 113445), and Appeltans et al. estimate 0.7 to 1.0 million species, with 226,000 described and another 70,000 in collections awaiting description (BNID 113445)."
Entered by Uri M
ID 113444