Biodiversity

Category Type Number of Species Animals Total 10,50,000 Vertebrates 52,500 Fishes 25,000 Amphibians 5,750 Reptiles 7,500 Birds 9,000 Mammals 4,500 Insects 7,50,000 Crustaceans 70,000 Mollusca 85,000 Other Invertebrates 1,25,000 Plants Angiosperms 2,50,000 Fungi 69,000 Bryophytes 16,600 Algae 27,000 Pteridophytes (Ferns) 10,000 Gymnosperms 600

Category Details Introduction An alien would be amazed by the enormous diversity of life on Earth. Humans also find this diversity astonishing, with more than 20,000 species of ants, 300,000 species of beetles, 28,000 species of fishes, and nearly 20,000 species of orchids. Ecologists’ Key Questions Why are there so many species? Did such great