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.
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