So far, scientists have identified about 1.2 million species of living creatures on Earth.
There may be around 8 million in all. Most live in the oceans. On land, most species exist in the tropical rain forests near the equator. These areas get a lot of sunlight and water, which support life. That may sound like a lot of species, but what we see today is just a fraction of Earth’s diversity. More than 99 percent of the species that ever lived have died out.
