Table 2 Probability of inadvertently describing sequence-based, voucherless taxa that already have names available, depending on predicted global species richness of Fungi, based on a random sample of environmental sequences. The calculations assumes 120 000 accepted species, 240 000 total names described (i.e. 120 000 synonyms and orphaned names), 60 000 potentially good species hidden among synonyms and orphaned names, and 35 000 species already sequenced.
| Â | A | B | C | D | B + C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Predicted global species richness | Proportion of accepted, sequenced species | Proportion of accepted, not sequenced species | Proportion of species hidden among synonyms | Proportion genuinely novel taxa | Estimated error rate |
712 000 | 4.9% | 11.9% | 8.4% | 74.7% | 20.4% |
1 000 000 | 3.5% | 8.5% | 6.0% | 82.0% | 14.5% |
1 500 000 | 2.3% | 5.7% | 4.0% | 88.0% | 9.7% |
2 000 000 | 1.8% | 4.3% | 3.0% | 91.0% | 7.3% |
2 200 000 | 1.6% | 3.9% | 2.7% | 91.8% | 6.6% |
3 000 000 | 1.2% | 2.8% | 2.0% | 94.0% | 4.8% |
3 800 000 | 0.9% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 95.3% | 3.8% |
5 000 000 | 0.7% | 1.7% | 1.2% | 96.4% | 2.9% |
10 000 000 | 0.4% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 98.2% | 1.5% |