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Shuhak
Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » Makes no sense to me. Does it to you? How can we possibly KNOW how many species have become extinct or how many there are currently?
RosieG

Makes no sense to me. Does it to you? How can we possibly KNOW how many species have become extinct or how many there are currently?

Google "how many species have become extinct?" and you get

More than 99 percent of all species amounting to over 5 BILLION are extinct. It is estimated that from 10-14 million exist currently of which 1.2 million have been documented and 86% not yet described.

Really? Where do those numbers come from? How can anyone possibly know what existed  billions of years ago or millions of years ago?  By what scientific process is that information available? Did they all leave  bits and pieces behind in billions of years old ice or captured in rocks that are billions of years old?

Posted - September 30, 2018
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Responses


  • 10642
    No one can give you an exact number of living or even extinct species (the fact that we keep finding new and extinct ones proves that).  However they can give a general estimate.   The numbers they give are simply estimates based on what they do know.  Much like how they devise the number of stars in a galaxy or the number of galaxies in the universe.  Are these "guesses" accurate?  Perhaps... perhaps not.  No one can accurately say as no one knows everything. 

    People have been going around cataloging any and every species they come across for thousands of years.  Even though the earth been here for quite some time, we still keep finding "new" species.  In fact, they've even come across several species that were once thought to be extinct (whoops!)   If one finds a fossil of a creature yet can no longer find a living example of that creature, then it's assumed to be extinct - and they keep finding those as well.  Of course some of those fossils aren't accurate either.  Several dinosaur species that they thought they had bones for were later found to be inaccurate (wrong bones put together).  
      September 30, 2018 10:07 AM MDT
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  • 113301
    Bummer! So the best we can ever do is guess and hope it's in some ballpark we can live with. You can't take it to the bank or gamble your life on it. SIGH. Thank you for your thoughtful and informative reply Shuhak and Happy Sundy! :)
      September 30, 2018 11:24 AM MDT
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  • 44619
    The Ivory billed woodpecker has made a comeback, or so I heard.
      September 30, 2018 3:51 PM MDT
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  • 10642
    Yes, but hopefully he'll be voted out in 2020.
      September 30, 2018 5:12 PM MDT
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  • 10642
    Sorry, I had a humor attack and couldn't resist that one. 
      September 30, 2018 5:14 PM MDT
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  • 44619
    **it happens.
      September 30, 2018 7:50 PM MDT
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  • 6477
    No exact numbers but yes, they can tell there were species that once existed and then died out.. In recent times we have more evidence of some of the species that have become extinct because they were recorded. Even so there may be many countless species we had not discovered, even recently, that have subsequently become extinct.
      September 30, 2018 12:23 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    How we "date" the universe boggles my mind.  Can we KNOW something existed if there is no physical evidence of it? I'm gonna ask. Thank you for your reply Addb! :)
      October 1, 2018 5:25 AM MDT
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  • 13277
    "Currently" is redundant. "How many there are" cannot be anything but current.
      September 30, 2018 12:25 PM MDT
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  • 44619
    The fact that there is no answer to your question is mind boggling. No one can really know. It's like "How many stars are in the universe?" How could we answer that as we don't really know how big the universe is.
      September 30, 2018 3:57 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    We are told there are something like 200 million GALAXIES in the universe.  How do we KNOW that fact is it a ballpark guesstimate because who is going to challenge/refute it? I've another question I'm gonna ask. Sigh. Never-ending quest...asking why and how and when and where and whom. Thank you for youor reply Ele and Happy Monday! :)
      October 1, 2018 5:27 AM MDT
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  • D&D

    682
    It's a scientific estimate. I am betting that religious folks are sceptical of that because God can't possibly made so many extinct before man even existed, can He?
      September 30, 2018 7:39 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    I surely don't know the answer to THAT question m'dear. The more questions you ask the more answer you get the more questions there are to ask. Questions beget questions beget questions! It's rabbit hole down which I go questioning this and that and everything else! Thank you for your reply D&D! :).
      October 1, 2018 5:30 AM MDT
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  • 5391
    There is no question we can never account for every species that has ever lived, nor can we count the current crop to an exact number. There are species which still escape our detection. 
    But based on what has been catalogued, to include studies of the various historical mass extinctions, we can extrapolate at least a rough estimate of how many species have ever existed, and measure what we still know exists against that figure. The count of the former is still many, many times the count of the latter. 
    Whether the true factor is 99% or something lower is purely academic, the point is still relevant, and I dare say, poignant. 

    Sadly, the path to extinction has clearly accelerated since man has made his indelible mark upon the planet. 
      September 30, 2018 8:06 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    We do leave our mark indelibly. Mostly sadly. Thank you for your thought reply DB. I have a couple more questions about questions. Oy vey and ARRGGHH!  :(
      October 1, 2018 5:32 AM MDT
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