Editing Tetrapod (section)

==Biodiversity==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Biodiversity of Tetrapods by Sahney Benton and Ferry.gif|thumb|left|400px|''[[Biodiversity of Tetrapods]]'']] -->
Tetrapoda includes the four traditional living [[Class (biology)|classes]]: amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Overall, the biodiversity of [[lissamphibian]]s,<ref name=M&L08>{{cite journal | last1 = Marjanović | first1 = D. | last2 = Laurin | first2 = M. | name-list-style = vanc | year = 2008 | title = Assessing confidence intervals for stratigraphic ranges of higher taxa: the case of Lissamphibia | journal = Acta Palaeontologica Polonica | volume = 53 | issue = 3 | pages = 413–432 | doi = 10.4202/app.2008.0305 | s2cid = 53592421 | url = http://app.pan.pl/archive/published/app53/app53-413.pdf | access-date = 2013-01-17 | archive-date = 2013-10-29 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190341/http://app.pan.pl/archive/published/app53/app53-413.pdf | url-status = live | doi-access = free }}</ref> as well as of tetrapods generally,<ref name="SahneyBentonFerry2010LinksDiversityVertebrates">{{cite journal | last1=Sahney |first1=S. |last2=Benton |first2=M.J. |last3=Ferry |first3=P.A. | date=August 2010 | title=Links between global taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity and the expansion of vertebrates on land | journal=Biology Letters | doi=10.1098/rsbl.2009.1024 | volume = 6 | pages = 544–547 | pmc=2936204 | issue=4 | pmid=20106856 }}</ref> has grown exponentially over time; the more than 30,000 species living today are descended from a single amphibian group in the Early to Middle Devonian. However, that diversification process was interrupted at least a few times by major biological crises, such as the [[Permian–Triassic extinction event]], which at least affected amniotes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ward |first1=P.D. |last2=Botha |first2=J. |last3=Buick |first3=R. |last4=Kock |first4=M.O. |last5=Erwin |first5=D.H. |last6=Garrisson |first6=G.H. |last7=Kirschvink |first7=J.L. |last8=Smith |first8=R. |date=4 February 2005 |title=Abrupt and gradual extinction among late Permian land vertebrates in the Karoo Basin, South Africa |journal=Science |volume=307 |pages=709–714 |doi=10.1126/science.1107068 |pmid=15661973 |issue=5710 |bibcode=2005Sci...307..709W |url=http://www.gps.caltech.edu/users/jkirschvink/pdfs/WardKarooScienceFinal.pdf |citeseerx=10.1.1.503.2065 |s2cid=46198018 |access-date=28 October 2017 |archive-date=13 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813061414/http://www.gps.caltech.edu/users/jkirschvink/pdfs/WardKarooScienceFinal.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The overall composition of biodiversity was driven primarily by amphibians in the Palaeozoic, dominated by reptiles in the Mesozoic and expanded by the explosive growth of birds and mammals in the Cenozoic. As biodiversity has grown, so has the number of species and the number of niches that tetrapods have occupied. The first tetrapods were aquatic and fed primarily on fish. Today, the Earth supports a great diversity of tetrapods that live in many habitats and subsist on a variety of diets.<ref name=SahneyBentonFerry2010LinksDiversityVertebrates/> The following table shows summary estimates for each tetrapod class from the ''[[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]]'', 2014.3, for the number of [[Extant taxa|extant species]] that have been described in the literature, as well as the number of [[threatened species]].<ref name=IUCN2023>{{cite web |website=[[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] |version=2023.1 |title=Summary Statistics |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/summary-statistics |access-date=5 February 2024}} Table 1a: [https://nc.iucnredlist.org/redlist/content/attachment_files/2023-1_RL_Table_1a.pdf Number of species evaluated in relation to the overall number of described species, and numbers of threatened species by major groups of organisms]
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{| class="wikitable"
|+[[IUCN]] global summary estimates for extant tetrapod species as of 2023<ref name=IUCN2023 />
|-
! Tetrapod group
! Image
! [[Class (biology)|Class]]
! Estimated number of<br />described species<ref name=IUCN2023 />{{Efn|The estimates for amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals were respectively taken from [[Amphibian Species of the World|Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference]] (version 6.2, 1 December 2023), the [[Reptile Database]] (accessed: 0 December 2023), [[Handbook of the Birds of the World]] and [[BirdLife International]] digital checklist of the birds of the world (version 8; accessed: 11 December 2023) and the [[American Society of Mammalogists#Mammal Diversity Database|Mammal Diversity Database]]] (version 1.11, released 15 April 2023; accessed 01 December 2023).<ref name=IUCN2023 />}}
! Number of species <br /> evaluated for Red List<ref name=IUCN2023 />
! Share of described<br />species evaluated<br /> for Red List<ref name=IUCN2023 />
! Threatened species<br />in [[IUCN Red List|Red List]]<ref name=IUCN2023 />
! Best estimate<br />of percent of<br />threatened species<ref name=IUCN2023 />
|-
! [[Anamniote]]s<br /><small>lay eggs in water</small>
| [[File:Lithobates pipiens.jpg|100px]] 
| [[Amphibian]]s
| align=center | 8,707
| align=center | 8,020
| align=center | 92%
| align=center | 2,876
| align=center | 41%
|-
! rowspan="3" | [[Amniote]]s<br /><small>adapted to lay eggs<br />on land</small>
| [[File:Florida Box Turtle Digon3.jpg|100px]] 
| [[Reptile]]s
| align=center | 12,060
| align=center | 10,254
| align=center | 85%
| align=center | 1,848
| align=center | 21%
|-
| [[File:Cuvier-33-Moineau_domestique.jpg|100px]]
| [[Bird]]s
| align=center | 11,197
| align=center | 11,197
| align=center | 100%
| align=center | 1,354
| align="center" | 12%
|-
| [[File:Squirrel (PSF).png|100px]] 
| [[Mammal]]
| align=center | 6,631
| align=center | 5,980
| align=center | 90%
| align=center | 1,339
| align=center | 26%
|-
! colspan=3 style="background:#ddf8f8;" | Overall 
! align=center style="background:#ddf8f8;" | 38,595
! align=center style="background:#ddf8f8;" | 35,451
! align=center style="background:#ddf8f8;" | 92%
! align=center style="background:#ddf8f8;" | 7,417
! align=center style="background:#ddf8f8;" | 
|}
{{notelist}}