Smokies Species Tally

One of the most exciting elements of the ATBI is the ongoing discovery of organisms that are new to science or are new records for park.

Species Tally Chart Key:

  • "NEW TO SCIENCE": species have never been identified anywhere before.
  • "NEW TO THE PARK": species have never been identified in the Park before.
  • "HISTORIC RECORDS": species known to exist in the park prior to the ATBI.
  • Highlighted Title: this will link you to the scientific taxon page.
  • Highlighted '(map)': a click on these links will take you to a watershed distribution system for all species of this group.

(please note)

 
ORGANISM GROUP HISTORIC RECORDS NEW TO THE PARK NEW TO SCIENCE TOTAL DISCOVERED
Acanthocephala 0 1 0 1
Algae: 358 566 78 1,002
Annelids: Aquatic and Terrestrial Worms & Leeches 22 68 5 95
Arachnids: Harvestmen or Daddy Long-legs 1 21 2 24
Arachnids: Ticks 7 4 0 11
Arachnids: Mites 20 228 44 292
Arachnids: Scorpions and Pseudoscorpions 11 10 0 21
Arachnids: Spiders 228 262 41 531
Bryozoa 0 1 0 1
Chilopoda 19 41 0 60
Cnidaria 0 4 0 4
Coleoptera 549 1,952 61 2,562
Collembola 62 148 59 269

Crustaceans: 

 5 3 3 11
Crustaceans: 10 65 26 101
Dermaptera: Earwigs 2 0 0 2
Diplopoda 38 31 3 72
Diplura 4 5 5 14
Diptera: flies 800 1193 55 2,048
Ephemeroptera: Mayflies 75 51 8 134
Fungi 2,157 583 58 2,798
Hemiptera: Bugs and Hoppers 282 407 4 693
Hymenoptera: Bees and Ants, etc. 250 654 21 925
Isoptera: Termites 0 2 0 2
Lepidoptera: Moths and Butterflies 670 1,155 37 1,862
Lichens 343 451 37 831
Mecoptera: Scorpionflies 15 2 1 18
Microbes: Archaea 0 0 44 44
Microbes: Bacteria 0 206 270 476
Microbes: Microsporidia 0 3 5 8
Microbes: Protozoa 1 54 2 57
Microbes: Viruses 1 16 7 24
Microcoryphia: Jumping Bristletails 1 2 1 4
Molluscs: Clams and Snails 122 61 2 185
Myxomycetes (now part of Ameobozoa) 128 143 18 289
Nematodes 11 74 3 88
Nematomorpha 1 3 0 4
Nemertea 0 1 0 1
Neuroptera: Lacewings, Antlions, etc. 12 38 0 50
Odonata: Dragonflies and Damselflies 58 36 0 94
Orthoptera: Grasshoppers, Crickets, etc. 65 40 2 107
Orthopteroids (other) 6 7 0 13
Pauropoda 7 25 17 49
Phthiraptera - Lice 8 48 0 56
Plants: non-vascular 463 11 0 474
Plants: vascular 1,598 104 1 1,703
Platyhelminthes 5 38 7 50
Plecoptera - stoneflies 70 50 3 123
Porifera 0 2 0 2
Protura 7 9 10 26
Psocoptera 16 52 7 75
Siphonaptera 17 9 1 27
Symphyla 0 0 2 2
Tardigrades 3 59 18 80
Thysanoptera 0 48 0 48
Thysanura 1 0 0 1
Trichoptera 170 65 2 237
Vertebrates: Amphibians 41 3 0 44
Vertebrates: Aves 238 11 0 249
Vertebrates: Fishes 70 7 0 77
Vertebrates: Mammals 64 3 0 67
Vertebrates: Reptiles 38 2 0 40
TOTALS: 9,193 9,189 983 19,365

(figures last updated March 2016)

Consider this ...

  1. It is amazing to think there are living things all around us that have gone undetected.
  2. Finding new records is just the first step in this ambitious project aiming to document all life forms in the Park.
  3. So far, since 1998, we have discovered 970 species new to science and 9,140 species new to the Park.
  4. The ATBI provides understanding about distributions of organisms, as well as their abundance and ecological roles in the Park.
  5. From this inventory knowledge, the National Park Service builds monitoring, stewardship protection, education, and research efforts.  It is thus able to focus its limited resources on the most needy species.

Note: This tally of groups of organisms represents the total of all park records to date. Many of these records are still in the process of being entered into the park Biodiversity (ATBI) database. If you notice that there are more species tallied on this chart than is accessable from the database it is for the above reason. We are all hopeful that the remaining park records, historic and recent, will some day soon be included in, and accessable from the park's Biodiversity (ATBI) database by web users like you, and for more efficient access by the park's living natural resource management staff.

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