--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most people are surprised when they hear…" description: "\"Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can give them ea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/e-o-wilson-1348_anatomy_most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear_179833.jpg" --- # Most people are surprised when they hear my somber… ![“Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can give them each a scientific name and a diagnostic description. We know, perhaps generously, more than just a little bit of the anatomy in no more than 10…” quote by E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/e-o-wilson-1348_anatomy_most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear_179833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/e-o-wilson-1348_anatomy_most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear_179833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/e-o-wilson-1348_anatomy_most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear_179833.jpg) > “Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can give them each a scientific name and a diagnostic description. We know, perhaps generously, more than just a little bit of the anatomy in no more than 10 percent. We have done thorough studies in fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent. And the total number of species on Earth is unknown to the nearest order of magnitude.” [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our knowledge of Earth’s biodiversity is minuscule compared to its vast unknown, highlighting the urgency for scientific exploration. **In simple terms:** We know very little about species. Key Takeaway Prioritize biodiversity research. Themes biodiversity knowledge science Mood concerned curious Type scientific informative When to use this quote - research funding - education - policy making Key Concepts ecology taxonomy conservation Questions to Reflect On - What species might we be overlooking? - How can we accelerate species discovery? A Different Perspective Our limited understanding hampers effective conservation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anatomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anatomy/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Million Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-species-453964/) [Number Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/number-species-342769/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Somber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somber/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-earth-921057/) [Species Plants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-plants-1926619/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Thorough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorough/) ## Related quotes > [“We are all so much alike, because we are all human. But it goes deeper than that. Every species you’ll encounter on Earth is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/we-are-all-so-much-alike-because-we-are-all-human-but-it-goes-deeper/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Now when you cut a forest, an ancient forest in particular, you are not just removing a lot of big trees and a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/now-when-you-cut-a-forest-an-ancient-forest-in-particular-you-are-not/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Why is it not just as likely that there were as many small general nearly at first as now, and as great a disproportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/why-is-it-not-just-as-likely-that-there-were-as-many-small-general/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“we probably know of less than 1 percent of soil biology. “A recent study found that there are more than 1.6 million species of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/we-probably-know-of-less-than-1-percent-of-soil-biology-a-recent/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [“In the selfsame day entered Noah … and every beast.” With a million or so species (There are more than a million known today.),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wells/in-the-selfsame-day-entered-noah-and-every-beast-with-a-million-or-so/) [Steve Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wells/) > [The question that will decide our destiny is not whether we shall expand into space. It is: shall we be one species or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/the-question-that-will-decide-our-destiny-is-not-whether-we-shall/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [“when we look down on ourselves through the eyes of nature we are of absolutely no significance. It is a reality that each one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/when-we-look-down-on-ourselves-through-the-eyes-of-nature-we-are-of/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [“Diversity is a survival factor for the community itself. A community of a hundred million species can survive almost anything short of a global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/diversity-is-a-survival-factor-for-the-community-itself-a-community/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [There are about 250,000 different species of fossil plants and animals known . . In spite of this large quantity of information, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-about-250-000-different-species-of-fossil-plants-and/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [There are 7 million species of animals on the planet and we’re the only ones of all of them who have walked away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-robinson/there-are-7-million-species-of-animals-on-the-planet-and-we-re-the/) [Jo Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-robinson/) > [The reality is that if we in this rich, lucky quarter of the planet cannot make a stand for the 30 million other species…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-brown/the-reality-is-that-if-we-in-this-rich-lucky-quarter-of-the-planet/) [Bob Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-brown/) > [Because of the nature of my life, because I train a great many people, I come upon such a huge variety of human species,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/because-of-the-nature-of-my-life-because-i-train-a-great-many-people/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [You look at the fact that for millions of years species on earth have been developing and we've been knocking them off at like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-fishman/you-look-at-the-fact-that-for-millions-of-years-species-on-earth-have/) [Jon Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-fishman/) > [“Humans nowadays completely dominate the planet not because the individual human is far smarter and more nimble-fingered than the individual chimp or wolf, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/humans-nowadays-completely-dominate-the-planet-not-because-the/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [We are the only species on earth capable of preventing our own flowering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/we-are-the-only-species-on-earth-capable-of-preventing-our-own/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) ## More by E. O. Wilson > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/it-s-always-been-a-dream-of-mine-of-exploring-the-living-world-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/competing-is-intense-among-humans-and-within-a-group-selfish/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [When all else fails, men turn to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/when-all-else-fails-men-turn-to-reason/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-commitment-must-be-much-deeper-to-let-no-species-knowingly-die-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Science is not marginal. Like art, it is a universal possession of humanity, and scientific knowledge has become a vital part of our species'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/science-is-not-marginal-like-art-it-is-a-universal-possession-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The living environment is the biosphere, the thin layer around the world of living organisms. We're part of that. Our existence is dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-living-environment-is-the-biosphere-the-thin-layer-around-the/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-biological-evolutionary-perception-of-life-and-of-human-qualities/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-preserve-every-scrap-of-biodiversity-as-priceless-while-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/in-many-environments-take-away-the-ants-and-there-would-be-partial/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/if-those-committed-to-the-quest-fail-they-will-be-forgiven-when-lost/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-extinctions-ongoing-worldwide-promise-to-be-at-least-as-great-as/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Because the living environment is what really sustains us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/because-the-living-environment-is-what-really-sustains-us/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The variety of genes on the planet in viruses exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-variety-of-genes-on-the-planet-in-viruses-exceeds-or-is-likely-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Character is in turn the enduring source of virtue. It stands by itself and excites admiration in others. It is not obedience to authority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/character-is-in-turn-the-enduring-source-of-virtue-it-stands-by/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Explore all 253 E. O. Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## More Anatomy quotes > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Descriptive anatomy is to physiology what geography is to history, and just as it is not enough to know the typography of a country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/descriptive-anatomy-is-to-physiology-what-geography-is-to-history-and/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“I feel your body, your sick and scared body. And I feel how it must be different from how it was, and how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-montross/i-feel-your-body-your-sick-and-scared-body-and-i-feel-how-it-must-be/) [Christine Montross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-montross/) > [“The pen is an extension of my anatomy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-pen-is-an-extension-of-my-anatomy/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I profess to learn and to teach anatomy not from books but from dissections, not from the tenets of Philosophers but from the fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-harvey/i-profess-to-learn-and-to-teach-anatomy-not-from-books-but-from/) [William Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-harvey/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [We all think we’re going to be great and we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren’t met. But sometimes our expectations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/we-all-think-we-re-going-to-be-great-and-we-feel-a-little-bit-robbed/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) > [Ultimately, the problem is that sex is perceived as a personal, intimate thing, not in the realm of science. But that's not true. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/ultimately-the-problem-is-that-sex-is-perceived-as-a-personal/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Grammar is to a writer what anatomy is to a sculptor, or the scales to a musician. You may loathe it, it may bore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-chute/grammar-is-to-a-writer-what-anatomy-is-to-a-sculptor-or-the-scales-to/) [B. J. Chute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-chute/) > [The whole aim of comparative anatomy is to discover what structures are homologous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libbie-hyman/the-whole-aim-of-comparative-anatomy-is-to-discover-what-structures/) [Libbie Hyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libbie-hyman/) > [I am sincerely trying now to create a dance technique based entirely upon corrective exercises, created with a knowledge of human anatomy; a technique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-horton/i-am-sincerely-trying-now-to-create-a-dance-technique-based-entirely/) [Lester Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-horton/) > [My philosophy is this: Do not tamper with the anatomy of a woman's body; do not camouflage it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/my-philosophy-is-this-do-not-tamper-with-the-anatomy-of-a-woman-s/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [My fundamental premise about the brain is that its workings - what we sometimes call "mind" - are a consequence of its anatomy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/my-fundamental-premise-about-the-brain-is-that-its-workings-what-we-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In my experience of these things, parties which shout about dirty tricks and the like tend to do so because they fear a direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mandelson/in-my-experience-of-these-things-parties-which-shout-about-dirty/) [Peter Mandelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mandelson/) [Browse all 273 Anatomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anatomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can give them each a scientific name and a diagnostic description. 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