ANIMALS: Estimated 10 million species inhabit the earth. Of this estimate, a little more than 1.3 million have actually been named and described by the scientific community.
Natural rate of extinction described as less than one species per year for every million species. However, habitat destruction has led experts to estimate the current annual rate of extinction is between 1,000 and 10,000 per million species.
Total Known Animal Species (2008)
Invertebrates – 1.3 million
Fish – 30,300
Birds – 10,000
Reptiles – 8,200
Amphibians – 5,700
Mammals – 5,400
PLANTS: Approximately 300,000 species of plants have been identified out of a total global number of 320,000
Total known Plant Species (2001)
Flowering plants – 270,000
Conifers – 550
Ferns – 12,000
Cycads – 145
Club mosses – 1,000
Mosses and liverworts – 16,000
