An estimate of the earth’s biodiversityshows that we are one among the 10–15million species inhabiting the blue planet‘earth’. It took over two centuries forthe taxonomists to describe 1.8 millionspecies, but we know this figure mightbe a gross underestimate of the true biological diversity on earth. In addition,human impact, e.g. fragmentation ordestruction of habitats, results in a steadydecline in diversity due to loss of speciesand increase in the number of endangered species. Many species have alsobecome extinct without having been described. In view of this trend, there is anurgent need to develop a tool to describeall the earth’s species so that the associated societal and economic benefitscould be derived in addition to evolvingstrategies for protecting them and conserving the resources they constitute.Scrutiny of 138 reports and inventoriesmade between 1960 and 2004 has shownthat about one-third of specimens collected for assessing the biodiversity isnot determined to species level.
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