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Global biodiversity is the measure of biodiversity on planet Earth and is defined as the total variability of life forms. More than 99 percent of all species [1] that ever lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct. [2][3] Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 2 million to 1 trillion, but most estimates are around 11 ...
More than 99 percent of all species, amounting to over five billion species, [7] that ever lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct. [8] [9] Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, [10] of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86 percent have not yet been described. [11]
Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million in total. Animals range in size from 8.5 millionths of a metre to 33.6 metres (110 ft) long and have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs .
Nearly 1,000 new species were found across the globe in 2023, adding significantly to the tree of life and illuminating how much biodiversity is waiting to be found on Earth.
The order Primates consists of 505 extant species belonging to 81 genera. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species. Modern molecular studies indicate that the 81 genera can be grouped into 16 families; these families are divided between two named suborders and are grouped in those suborders into named clades, and some of these families are subdivided into named ...
The term "opossum" is used to refer to American species (though "possum" is a common abbreviation), while similar Australian species are properly called "possums". Isolated petrosals of Djarthia murgonensis , Australia's oldest marsupial fossils [ 70 ] Dentition of the herbivorous eastern grey kangaroo, as illustrated in Knight's Sketches in ...
Balaenoptera sibbaldii Sars 1875. The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 m (98 ft) and weighing up to 199 t (196 long tons; 219 short tons), it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. [a] The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades ...
On rare occasions, wild chimpanzees may live nearly 60 years. Captive chimpanzees tend to live longer than most wild ones, with median lifespans of 31.7 years for males and 38.7 years for females. [73] The oldest-known male captive chimpanzee to have been documented lived to 66 years, [74] and the oldest female, Little Mama, was nearly 80 years ...