Can We Name Earth's Species Before They Go Extinct?

Abstract

Completing the Catalog Despite the widely held belief that the number of taxonomists is decreasing, there is evidence that increasing numbers of authors are describing species new to science. In parallel, several statistically sophisticated attempts have been made to better quantify the number of species that may exist on Earth, including the oceans. Estimates of recent extinction rates have also been re-examined to question whether we are in, or heading toward, an anthropogenic mass extinction event. Costello et al. (p. 413 ) review these findings, provide hope that science will describe most species within this century, and suggest how this complete description can be facilitated.