[Animals] They create the first map of the animals that are yet to be discovered on Earth

[#Steeven.™]

Scientists suggest that we only know about 20% of all living species on Earth. Where is the remaining 80% hiding?
There are scientists who say that the sixth mass extinction is on our heels. In addition to the climatic emergency due to climate change, the environmental situation of the planet alarms biologists, conservationists and a wide variety of experts in different areas. For this reason, a map of animals that have not yet been discovered was drawn for the first time.

 

A map with information to know

Representations of Earth's geography and spaces are intended to map out the known. For the first time in history, however, a team of scientists set out to achieve the opposite goal: to design a map that attempts to delineate the places on the planet where there are still species to be discovered.

This effort responds to the global biodiversity crisis. With increasing speed, the variety of species and ecosystems is reducing, generating significant ecological imbalances in various parts of the world. The spirit of knowing new species not yet analyzed is awakened by the interest of not losing them.

The map's authors suggest four countries with the greatest potential for finding new species: Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Colombia.

According to the Yale scientists in charge of The Map of Life - as this study was called - documenting, classifying and saving these animals will be a simpler task with a graphical representation of places to be known:

"CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES SUGGEST THAT AT THIS TIME ONLY BETWEEN 13 AND 18% OF ALL LIVING SPECIES CAN BE KNOWN, ALTHOUGH THIS NUMBER COULD BE AS LOW AS 1.5%," THE RESEARCHERS EXPLAINED IN A COMMUNICATION.

Under this assumption, we still have about 80% of the species to be known on the planet. Conservation efforts and international commitments, according to scientists, should be aimed at not losing species that are not yet recorded until now: “[…] these [undiscovered] species and their functions can be lost forever in ignorance ".

 

How to tackle this ‘biodiversity deficit’?

The 'biodiversity deficit' has problematic ramifications in various fields of study. The most worrisome of these, without a doubt, is the growing ecological debacle looming in the not-so-distant future.

For this reason, ecologists at Yale designed a model that pinpoints where unknown species of terrestrial vertebrates are likely to exist today. This algorithm is based on biological, environmental and sociological factors related to human activity.

The possibilities of discovering and describing species quickly enough vary from animal to animal. This means that larger species are unlikely to have cousins that are not yet known.

Although initially the animal map may be imprecise, it is likely to be a useful tool for preserving amphibians and reptiles that have not yet appeared in the eyes of science. "After centuries of efforts by biodiversity explorers and taxonomists, the catalog of life still has too many blank pages," the authors write.