So, why is this so important? Well, how are we supposed to take care of our ecosystems if we don’t know what’s in them? Better knowing these species helps scientists understand the roles they play in the ecosystem and how to further help protect the planet’s biodiversity. These discoveries clearly happen in many ways. Giraffes made big species news a few years ago when scientists finally noticed that the animals that we know as giraffes are actually four different distinct species of giraffes. For quite a long time though people just presumed the bump on the back of the ant was just a part of the ant, but after a closer look it was known to be this beetle. When the ants stop the beetles get down and wander around, but board back onto the ant before too long. In 2014, scientists in Costa Rica discovered a new species of beetle that lives on the abdomen of army ants. These discoveries happen all the time too. And just when you think all the big animals had already been discovered, a new species of Orangutan was identified in Indonesia. Some crazy new creatures have been added to the mix too. A brand new type of tardigrade was discovered in Japan a few months ago. Researchers have found a new species of giant deer in Vietnam. In fact this year alone has seen some pretty remarkable new discoveries already. Also, researchers have observed that diversity of land animals increases as they get smaller, giving them more reason to continue to search for more un-cataloged new species. About 18,000 new species are discovered every year. No worries, though, scientists are looking all the time. Scientists say that 86% of the species that live on land and 91% of those that live underwater have yet to be studied by science. These are not just numbers out of thin air, these are based on calculations around ecosystems and biodiversity, to help scientists and conservationists understand just how many variables are involved in our global ecosystems. The number of species that scientists think are left to be discovered is around 8.7 million (give or take about a million). What’s left to be discovered however is very interesting. We currently know there are about 1.2 million species to be recorded by science. Since then we humans have been studying the world around us including the biodiversity that can be found on all corners of the globe. While there’s no way of knowing the exact date that early humans started observing and studying animals, they certainly did leave some beautiful cave paintings about 35,000 years ago.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |