Also: biodiversity, rainforest canopy, insect species, beetles
Most of Earth's animal species are insects and other arthropods, many living in tropical forests. Estimates of how many exist have changed as methods improved.
Values as stated in the cited paper's abstract.
| Property | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated insect species worldwide | ~5.5 million | Stork 2018 |
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Stork's review put the global totals at about 1.5 million beetle, 5.5 million insect and 7 million land arthropod species, with earlier estimates of 30 million or more now seeming extremely unlikely and about 80% of insects still undescribed.
As reported in: Stork (2018). How Many Species of Insects and Other Terrestrial Arthropods Are There on Earth?. Annual Review of Entomology. doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043348