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New Estimate Suggests 5.5M Species On Earth, Not 30-100M

Posted by timothy on from the depends-how-you-count dept.

An anonymous reader writes "How many species share our planet? According to a recalculation by an international research team, the number is significantly lower than we thought — only around 5.5 million."

17 of 256 comments (clear)

  1. Well yeah, now... by MarbleMunkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    after we've killed off a bunch of them.

    1. Re:Well yeah, now... by bsDaemon · · Score: 3, Funny

      hey, dude... BP is trying as hard as they can to get the rest of them, too. It's just taking a little longer than first thought. Cut them some slack.

    2. Re:Well yeah, now... by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

      So in order to kill Master Splinter, we must use flame throwers, got it.

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      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    3. Re:Well yeah, now... by Em+Emalb · · Score: 4, Funny

      In contrast, if you kill them all with fire (which they are very unlikely to be immune to) then none will survive to the next generation so the local population dies completely.

      A rat immune to poisons AND fire would be amazing. In a few generations, we could have rats that are poison resistant, fire-resistant, metal-resistant, you name it.

      Awesome.

      Basically, we'd have a group of cleric-rats.

      --
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    4. Re:Well yeah, now... by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 2, Funny

      after we've killed off a bunch of them.

      How can you be so calm when this study alone just wiped out an estimated 94.5% of all species on Earth?

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    5. Re:Well yeah, now... by Jason+Levine · · Score: 2, Funny

      Stop anthropomorphizing evolution, it hates it when you do that.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  2. Re:from the depends-how-you-count dept by bragr · · Score: 3, Funny

    I count 0, 1, 10, 11...

  3. Depending on where you start by decipher_saint · · Score: 5, Funny

    Each more delicious than the last!

    Hmm... maybe I should have had breakfast this morning...

    --
    crazy dynamite monkey
  4. BP claims responsibility by theNAM666 · · Score: 3, Funny

    London, England. Today BP Chairman Johan Georing declared responsibilty for the recently discovered mass extinction of species on Planet Earth. "With 10 to 15 million down," Georing said, "we only have four or five million more to go. And just look how well we seem to be doing this month."

  5. Re:from the depends-how-you-count dept by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I count 0, 1, 11, 10, 110, 111...

    My gears don't wear out as fast as yours.

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    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  6. This is an industry sponsored study by intheshelter · · Score: 4, Funny

    It is obviously another propaganda attempt by the biodiversity denialists who are funded by the Big Zoo industry.

  7. Re:from the depends-how-you-count dept by imakemusic · · Score: 3, Funny

    4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3...

    --
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  8. Re:from the depends-how-you-count dept by AndrewNeo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Good thing he has 11 of them!

  9. Re:from the depends-how-you-count dept by impaledsunset · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are 10 kinds of people: Those who understand Gray code, those who don't, and those who mistake it for binary.

  10. Re:Bzzt! Wrong by Coren22 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I would like to participate in the study to find out. I will graciously accept the burden of attempting to mate with a supermodel and see if we can produce offspring.

    --
    APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  11. Re:Bzzt! Wrong by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Funny

    We're like mules, same species, just practically incapable of reproduction.

    --
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  12. Re:from the depends-how-you-count dept by turbidostato · · Score: 2, Funny

    I count 1,2,4,5... for there is the number I never mention except to explode the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.