A report card on our knowledge of the earth s species SOS State of Observed Species

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1 A report card on our knowledge of the earth s species SOS 2009 State of Observed Species International Institute for Species Exploration Arizona State University in partnership with International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature International Plant Names Index Thomson Reuters (publisher of Zoological Record) and International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology

2 State of Observed Species Report Partner Institutions & Organizations International Institute for Species Exploration Arizona State University International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature International Plant Names Index Thomson Reuters International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology Page 2

3 Overview Scientists are engaged in a continuing search to discover and describe all the kinds of plants, animals and microbes that inhabit planet Earth. It is estimated that the approximately 1.8 million species named since 1758 represent no more than a fraction of the world s species. When microbes are included in estimates, this number is almost certainly less than 10% of all kinds of living organisms. Each year taxonomists report the discovery of thousands of new species. Because new species descriptions appear in hundreds of scientific journals, it is difficult to have a sense of the annual progress made in exploring species-level biodiversity. This State of Observed Species (SOS) publication is a report card on our progress and summarizes the number of new species of plants, animals, and microbes described in the most recent year for which relatively complete data exists. The SOS report is an annual, collaborative project of the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University; the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) at Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew; the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) at the Natural History Museum, London; Thomson Reuters, the publishers of Zoological Record; and the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. The 2009 SOS Report provides an overview of 18,516 species described as new in the calendar year The report encompasses major plant, animal, and microbial groups with the notable exception of fungi and non-vascular plants. About three-quarters of the new species in 2007 (75.6%) were invertebrates, 11.1% were plants, and 6.7% were vertebrates. More than half the new species (9,411) were insects, a group that has recently surpassed a million described species [1]. SOS staff and partners are working to improve the comprehensiveness, reliability, and timeliness of data about our growth of knowledge of species. Despite the superb work accomplished by Thomson Reuters and IPNI each year, there is a significant lag period between the description of new species across hundreds of journals and the recording of those species in the appropriate database. Microbial names, in sharp contrast, are published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology and thereby available immediately in full. The recent advent of ZooBank is an important advance toward one stop shopping for newly described animals, but unless and until such registration of new species becomes mandatory under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, there will be no assurance that all relevant data is known. Rapid environmental changes around the world highlight the urgent need to accelerate our exploration of Earth s species. Millions of species the majority not yet known to science face an uncertain future. Among these species are keys to understanding the history of the origin and diversification of life on our planet as well as the complexities of the living systems that deliver essential ecological services. An increased appreciation is urgently needed for taxonomy, the science of species exploration, and for the botanical gardens and natural history museums around the world that care for the collections that document biodiversity. It is hoped that this annual report card will remind us of both the steady stream of exciting discoveries by, and the great challenges that lie ahead for, species explorers. [1] Foottit, R. G. and P. H. Adler (Editors) Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell (2009), p. 3. Page 3

4 Species Described as New in 2007 Page 4

5 Insecta: 9,411 new species. This year's newly described insect species represent a 4.6% increase over last year and includes 30 orders. The vast majority of the new insects are Coleoptera (beetles) which outdistance the next major order, Hymenoptera (wasps, ants, bees), by twofold. Vascular Plants (flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns and relatives): 2,052 new species. The number of new f l o w e r i n g p l a n t s (angiosperms) actually increased this year to 97% of the newly described botanical species. Almost one-fourth of the angiosperms are within the orchid family. The myrtle family dropped off as a major taxon this year but was replaced by newly described species for roses, custard apples, and the bromeliads. Of the 62 new nonflowering plants, 82% were ferns and relatives. Page 5

6 Vertebrata (birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fishes): 1,233 new species. Across all living and fossil vertebrates, the fishes (including conodonts) comprise the largest group of newly described species (44%). It should again be noted that this year's vertebrates include a significant number of newly described fossil species: 39% of the reptiles; 79% of the mammals; 81% of the birds and 100% of the newly described conodonts were fossils. Arachnida (spiders, ticks, scorpions and relatives): 1,194 new species. Mollusca (snails, clams, squid and relatives): 967 new species [40% (338) are fossils]. Crustacea (crabs, lobsters, barnacles, shrimp and relatives): 840 new species [20% (169) are fossils]. Page 6

7 Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea): 631 new species. Protozoa (animal-like protists): 591 new species. Platyhelminthes (flatworms): 255 new species. Nematoda (round worms): 205 new species. Bryozoa (moss animals): 192 new species. Annelida (segmented worms): 150 new species. Cnidaria (corals, sea anemones, jellyfishes, hydra and relatives): 112 new species. Echinodermata (sea urchins, starfishes, sea cucumbers and relatives): 89 new species. Other animals not assigned to the above categories: 594 new species. Page 7

8 Photo by Philip Bragg Thousands of New Species Around the World As humans, we often have difficulty comprehending the magnitude of large, abstract numbers. Sometimes something familiar is used for example, the national debt could be portrayed as the number of dollar bills that would stretch to the moon and back. If Earth's geologic time scale was reduced to a 24hour clock, Homo sapiens would have appeared in the last second before midnight. Using AndreaMosaic, visualization of the 18,000+ new species discovered and described in 2007 is provided in the image below where each "tile" represents one new species. Together, the number of new species reported in this year's SOS form a seamless map of the world. Enjoy! Page 8 SOS REPORT

9 FAQs What is a new species? These are species newly known to science. In many cases specimens have been discovered in the field for the first time. In other cases specimens have existed in museums or herbaria for many years and have only now been recognized as new. Are described species permanent? Yes, in a sense. All validly described species names remain available permanently. It is important to note that species, however, are scientific hypotheses and are subject to rejection with the addition of new data. Thus, some species recognized today may eventually be found to consist of several species. Alternatively, some may be found to actually be the same as some previously known species. There are internationally accepted rules that determine the correct name when such circumstances arise. Who gets to name new species? Anyone complying with the international codes of botanical or zoological nomenclature may describe and name new species. Why are museums and herbaria important to new species documentation? Natural history collections play a very special role in the documentation of species. Type specimens serve as a kind of international standard for scientific names. They are cared for permanently in such collections and may be referred to any time that the application of a name is in doubt. Second, collections house large series of specimens collected in many places and times that allow scientists to study variation within and between species. Who are the scientists who primarily explore for new species? In general they are known as taxonomists. Within taxonomy, however, are many specialties. An entomologist studies insects, a botanist plants, and so forth. There are also many subspecialties such as a coleopterist (a beetle expert) or dipterist (a fly expert). Page 9

10 Satellite image courtesy of NASA Contact us: PO Box Tempe, AZ USA Phone: Design by: Charlotte H. Johnston Unless otherwise noted, all images and photos are copyrighted by: A. C. Gill, K. M. Gill and C. H. Johnston