ABSTRACT

The tremendous diversity of life on Earth is the only specific feature of our planet. Hence, it is all the more surprising that our knowledge of this biological diversity is distressingly limited. About 1.7 million different living organisms have been described and scientifically documented. According to all estimates, however, planet Earth is home to at least 8.6 million (probably even far more than 10 million) different species (Mora et al. 2011).