Earthworms are a type of invertebrate.
There are about 1,250,000 identified species of animals. This includes 1,190,200 invertebrates, including 950,000 insects, 70,000 molluscs, 40,000 crustaceans, and 130,200 others. There are about 58,800 identified vertebrates, including 29,300 fish, 5,743 amphibians, 8,240 reptiles, 9,800 birds, and 5,416 mammals. For comparison, about 300,000 plant species are known.
Mammals are part of the vertebrate species.
It is important to note that the numbers above do not take into account species that have not yet been caught or scientifically described. Scientists estimate that there may be 10 to 30 million species of unidentified insects, many of them living in the rainforest, and up to 1 million species of mites. Mites are small arthropods, a group of animals related to but not the same as insects.
There are about 1,250,000 identified species of animals.
Of course, modern science does not know all the species on the planet. When Carl Linnaeus and his students began recording as many species as they could in the mid-18th century, they found just over 15,000 species of animals. Today, estimates of the total number range from 2 to 30 million. In addition to all animals, there are between 10 and 1 billion species of bacteria and archaea. Furthermore, the current number of species is thought to represent only 1% of all species that have ever lived, as past mass extinctions probably killed up to 97% of all species.
Many animals, like the sun bear, live in the world’s tropical forests.
Unfortunately, the number of animal species on Earth today is declining. An event known as the Holocene extinction event is underway, caused by humans. When humans first spread across the globe, many species went extinct, including the entire Pleistocene megafuna, which disappeared completely 9,000 years ago. These include the mammoth, mastodon, aurochs, saber-toothed tiger, cave bear, short-faced bear, giant wolf, camelop, woolly rhinoceros, giant lizards, many marsupials, and others. Today, with human population growth, global warming, and widespread deforestation and poaching, the destruction of thousands of species continues.