Are Humans Wiping Out Some Species?

Grim “snail-pocalypse” discovery “shows humans are already causing mass extinction” of other species.

14:16 11 June 2015

A study conducted by a French scientist found that humans have already driven one in ten snail species into extinction. Claire Regnier claims that 10per cent of a total of 200 species of land snails have died out. 

 

Claire, who is from the National Museum of Natural History, said that the discovery proves that humans have tipped earth into its sixth period of mass extinction. 

 

"Invertebrates can and must be assessed if we are to obtain a more realistic picture of the sixth extinction crisis," she added.

 

"Since the 1980s, many have suggested we are in the midst of a massive extinction crisis, yet only 799 (0.04%) of the 1.9 million known recent species are recorded as extinct, questioning the reality of the crisis.

 

"This low figure is due to the fact that the status of very few invertebrates, which represent the bulk of biodiversity, have been evaluated."

 

Scientists welcomed Regnier's research.

 

"This is an important paper," said Julian Caley from the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences.