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Disputed Statements

Claims this atlas currently marks as unsettled or as tested and found false. A debated fact is one scholars hold competing positions on; a debunked one has been checked against the record and found not to hold. Both are kept in view rather than quietly smoothed over, with the reasoning that put each one where it stands.

251 statements.

Common Loon, Population Estimate626000.000000

Common Loon, Species

Standing

Concerns Population Estimate

Currently States 626000.000000

IUCN assessment states a global population of 612,000 to 640,000 individuals; midpoint recorded here, real range preserved in this note, as for the Eurasian Magpie.

Source Common Loon (Wikipedia)

Common Nightingale, Population Estimate3200000.000000

Common Nightingale, Species

Standing

Concerns Population Estimate

Currently States 3200000.000000

Estimated at between 3.2 and 7 million breeding pairs across the European breeding range only; excludes the wintering sub-Saharan African range and any population outside Europe. The lower, more conservative figure is recorded here rather than a false precise midpoint, following the family convention already used for blue whale and African elephant population estimates.

Source Common Nightingale (Wikipedia)

Congo Basin Rainforest, Area (sq km)2000000.000000

Congo Basin Rainforest, Ecosystems

Standing

Concerns Area (sq km)

Currently States 2000000.000000

Estimates for Congo Basin rainforest extent range from roughly 1.78 to 2 million square kilometers depending on methodology and ongoing deforestation; this figure reflects a commonly cited approximate extent.

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Convergent Evolution, First DescribedThe concept predates the phrase: British anatomist Richard Owen distinguished analogous, similar-function but unrelated-origin, structures from homologous, shared-ancestry, ones in the 1840s, before Darwin published his theory of evolution. The specific term convergent evolution came into standard scientific use later, with sources disagreeing on exactly when.

Convergent Evolution, Natural Phenomena

Standing

Concerns First Described

Currently States The concept predates the phrase: British anatomist Richard Owen distinguished analogous, similar-function but unrelated-origin, structures from homologous, shared-ancestry, ones in the 1840s, before Darwin published his theory of evolution. The specific term convergent evolution came into standard scientific use later, with sources disagreeing on exactly when.

Source Convergent Evolution (New World Encyclopedia)

Coral Reef, Annual Precipitation (mm)990.000000

Coral Reef, Biomes

Standing

Concerns Annual Precipitation (mm)

Currently States 990.000000

990mm is the source global ocean+land blended figure; the source does not isolate a coral-reef-specific figure. Reefs are shallow, surface-exposed tropical marine systems, so the same global ocean blend already used on the Marine and Open Ocean biome entities is applied here.

Source Precipitation (Wikipedia)

Coral Reef Systems, Area (sq km)284300.000000

Coral Reef Systems, Ecosystems

Standing

Concerns Area (sq km)

Currently States 284300.000000

Global coral reef area estimates range from roughly 255,000 to 284,300 square kilometers depending on mapping methodology and resolution; this figure reflects a commonly cited estimate.

Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Corvidae, Member Species/Taxa Count130

Corvidae, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 130

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Crenarchaeota, Member Species/Taxa Count400

Crenarchaeota, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 400

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Crinoidea, Member Species/Taxa Count700

Crinoidea, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 700

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Crocodilia, Member Species/Taxa Count27

Crocodilia, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 27

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Ctenophora, Member Species/Taxa Count200

Ctenophora, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 200

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Cyanobacteria, Member Species/Taxa Count8000

Cyanobacteria, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 8000

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Cycadophyta, Member Species/Taxa Count350

Cycadophyta, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 350

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Cyclostomata, Member Species/Taxa Count120

Cyclostomata, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 120

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Cypriniformes, Member Species/Taxa Count4300

Cypriniformes, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 4300

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Dalmatian Pelican, Population Estimate15000.000000

Dalmatian Pelican, Species

Standing

Concerns Population Estimate

Currently States 15000.000000

Global estimate of 10,000 to 20,000 individuals, roughly 3,000 to 5,000 breeding pairs; the Danube Delta alone holds about 450 of those pairs.

Source Dalmatian Pelican (Wikipedia)

Delphinidae, Member Species/Taxa Count38

Delphinidae, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 38

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life

Desertification, First DescribedThe term was used by French ecologist L. Lavauden as early as 1927, but is most often credited to French botanist Andre Aubreville, who used it in 1949 to describe the transformation of productive agricultural land in northern Africa into desert-like, uncultivable fallow land.

Desertification, Natural Phenomena

Standing

Concerns First Described

Currently States The term was used by French ecologist L. Lavauden as early as 1927, but is most often credited to French botanist Andre Aubreville, who used it in 1949 to describe the transformation of productive agricultural land in northern Africa into desert-like, uncultivable fallow land.

Encyclopedia.com's own entry carries both attributions in different sections: one credits Aubreville alone, a second names Lavauden 1927 and Aubreville 1949 together, with Aubreville's usage the one that became prominent in later scientific literature.

Source Desertification (Encyclopedia.com)

Dingo, Scientific NameTaxonomic status contested: variously Canis familiaris, Canis lupus familiaris, Canis familiaris dingo, Canis lupus dingo, or Canis dingo

Dingo, Species

Standing

Concerns Scientific Name

Currently States Taxonomic status contested: variously Canis familiaris, Canis lupus familiaris, Canis familiaris dingo, Canis lupus dingo, or Canis dingo

Source Dingo (Wikipedia)

Diplopoda, Member Species/Taxa Count12000

Diplopoda, Taxa

Standing

Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count

Currently States 12000

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Source Catalogue of Life