The Catalogue of Life, which chronicles 1.25 million organisms, is releasing a special edition this week to mark the International Year of Biodiversity, according to University of Reading organizers and other contributors.
(The catalog holds 5,747 species of Odonata alone. These are dragonflies and damselflies. From fossil records we know that these insects were flying some 300 million years ago, before even dinosaurs roamed the earth. The prehistoric "giant dragonflies” had wingspans of more than 2.5 feet. Image credit: Dave Dyet)
Frank Bisby of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading, is heading up the project. He and his team point out that scientists have a better understanding of the number of stars in the galaxy than they do of the species on Earth. Estimates of the total vary from 2-100 million, but it is thought that just 1.9 million species have been discovered so far.
The researchers say The Catalogue of Life Special 2010 Edition "is the most complete and integrated species list known to man. It has 77 databases feeding into an inventory of 1,257,735 species of plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms associated with 2,369,683 names."
The Catalogue of Life's DVD-Rom will be launched at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 19. This new edition encompasses more groups of organisms and has enhanced user functions and display features, allowing for easier access and searching of species names, relationships and additional information.
(There are over 26,801 known species of orchid in the world. The Catalogue of Life names every one. Orchids can be found globally, even above the Arctic Circle. Vanilla is an orchid. Orchids have developed highly specialized pollination systems and thus the chances of being pollinated are often scarce. Many orchids are rare and threatened – like this stunning ghost orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii. (Sector supplied and maintained in the Catalogue by Royal Botanical Gardens Kew)
Bisby said, "The Catalogue of Life program is vital to building the world's biodiversity knowledge systems of the future and the Special 2010 Edition is a celebration of the diversity of life on Earth. Expert validation of recorded species will not only boost our understanding of the living world today but also allow governments, agencies and businesses to improve their future modeling to benefit our natural resources, and to document biotic resources world-wide."
He added, "Through the Convention, 193 countries attempt to manage the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources. This work is facilitated by a taxonomic framework cataloging all known species."
Tags: Animals, Current Events, Evolution, History, Insects and Arachnids
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