Nature Atlas
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 marked Debated.
Shoebill, Population Estimate5000.000000
Shoebill, Species
Standing
Concerns Population Estimate
Currently States 5000.000000
Wikipedia gives a range of 5,000 to 8,000 birds, most in swamps of South Sudan, Uganda, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia; the lower published figure is recorded here rather than a midpoint, matching the family convention of citing the more conservative published estimate.
Source Shoebill (Wikipedia)
Silversword, Conservation StatusEndangered
Silversword, Species
Standing
Concerns Conservation Status
Currently States Endangered
Source Silversword (Wikipedia)
Sirenia, Member Species/Taxa Count4
Sirenia, Taxa
Standing
Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count
Currently States 4
Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.
Source Catalogue of Life
Snow Leopard, Population Estimate10000.000000
Snow Leopard, Species
Standing
Concerns Population Estimate
Currently States 10000.000000
IUCN gives an upper bound, fewer than 10,000 mature individuals globally, not a settled point estimate; 10000 recorded here as that upper bound.
Source Snow Leopard (Wikipedia)
Southern Cassowary, Population Estimate15000.000000
Southern Cassowary, Species
Standing
Concerns Population Estimate
Currently States 15000.000000
A 2002 study estimated 10,000 to 20,000 birds globally, of which 1,500 to 2,500 in Australia; a 2023 Australian federal draft recovery plan separately estimated around 5,000 individuals in Australia alone. Figure stored here is the midpoint of the 2002 global range.
Source Southern cassowary (Wikipedia)
Sphenisciformes, Member Species/Taxa Count18
Sphenisciformes, Taxa
Standing
Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count
Currently States 18
Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.
Source Catalogue of Life
Spotted Hyena, Population Estimate27000.000000
Spotted Hyena, Species
Standing
Concerns Population Estimate
Currently States 27000.000000
The IUCN gives a range of 27,000 to 47,000 individuals rather than a single census figure; this atlas records the lower, more conservative bound rather than a false precise midpoint, following the same convention used for African Elephant, Blue Whale and Gray Wolf on this atlas.
Source Spotted Hyena (Wikipedia)
Springbok, Population Estimate2000000.000000
Springbok, Species
Standing
Concerns Population Estimate
Currently States 2000000.000000
Estimates conflict: Rod East (IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group, 1999) put South Africa alone above 670,000, while separate country-level estimates summed to nearly 2,000,000 to 2,500,000 across southern Africa; recorded at the low end of the broader range as an open range, not an audited single figure.
Source Springbok (Wikipedia)
Squamata, Member Species/Taxa Count11000
Squamata, Taxa
Standing
Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count
Currently States 11000
Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.
Source Catalogue of Life
Strigiformes, Member Species/Taxa Count260
Strigiformes, Taxa
Standing
Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count
Currently States 260
Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.
Source Catalogue of Life
Struthioniformes, Member Species/Taxa Count2
Struthioniformes, Taxa
Standing
Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count
Currently States 2
Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.
Source Catalogue of Life
Sumatran Rhinoceros, Population Estimate40.000000
Sumatran Rhinoceros, Species
Standing
Concerns Population Estimate
Currently States 40.000000
Existing entity description cites fewer than 80 mature individuals; the Asian Rhino Specialist Group figure cited on this page is 34 to 47 individuals; sources conflict on the current count.
Source Sumatran Rhino, International Rhino Foundation
Sumatran Tiger, Population Estimate600.000000
Sumatran Tiger, Species
Standing
Concerns Population Estimate
Currently States 600.000000
Published estimates for the remaining wild population range from under 400 to roughly 600 individuals depending on survey year and method; camera-trap-based density estimates for a wide-ranging, low-density forest predator carry substantially more uncertainty than a count of a visible, aggregated species, so this figure is the upper end of recent published estimates, not a settled number.
Source IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Tardigrada, Member Species/Taxa Count1300
Tardigrada, Taxa
Standing
Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count
Currently States 1300
Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.
Source Catalogue of Life
Testudines, Member Species/Taxa Count360
Testudines, Taxa
Standing
Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count
Currently States 360
Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.
Source Catalogue of Life
Thomson's Gazelle, Population Estimate550000.000000
Thomson's Gazelle, Species
Standing
Concerns Population Estimate
Currently States 550000.000000
The article gives two different figures: the lead paragraph says numbers exceeding 200,000 across Africa, while the dedicated population estimate later in the article gives around 550,000; this atlas records the more specific, directly-stated population-section figure rather than the vaguer lead-paragraph floor.
Source Thomson's Gazelle (Wikipedia)
Trichoptera, Member Species/Taxa Count14500
Trichoptera, Taxa
Standing
Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count
Currently States 14500
Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.
Source Catalogue of Life
Tropical Dry Forest, Annual Precipitation (mm)1500.000000
Tropical Dry Forest, Biomes
Standing
Concerns Annual Precipitation (mm)
Currently States 1500.000000
Bioclimatic definitions disagree on bounds: Murphy and Lugo set 250 to 2000 mm annually, FAO sets 500 to 1500 mm, and the DryFlor network sets up to 1800 mm; Wikipedia's Seasonal Tropical Forest entry gives a typical 1000 to 2500 mm range. This entry uses a representative midpoint rather than asserting one agreed figure.
Source Tropical Dry Forest Bioclimatic Definitions (PMC)
Tropical Dry Forest, Typical High Temperature (C)26.000000
Tropical Dry Forest, Biomes
Standing
Concerns Typical High Temperature (C)
Currently States 26.000000
Representative low-elevation mean annual high from the Ecuadorian Dry Forests ecoregion (One Earth); this biome family bioclimatic definitions set only a mean annual floor above 17C (PMC bioclimatic paper, already cited), with no single universal high figure given.
Source Ecuadorian Dry Forests (One Earth)
Turdidae, Member Species/Taxa Count170
Turdidae, Taxa
Standing
Concerns Member Species/Taxa Count
Currently States 170
Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.
Source Catalogue of Life