Which species outnumber humans?

[Ponch8]

@GusNSpot

I heard we have the highest number of heart beats in an average life span than other animals. I define animals in my mind in such a way that mean warm blooded. So using that criteria, total number of heart beats, what warm blooded mammal / animal has the longest life time in # of heart beats?

I’d guess that certain macaw species would have many more heart beats. They can live to almost 100, and this website says large macaws’ heart rate is 275/minute (compared to maybe 60-80 for humans).

[NotDeadYet]

Ants, cockroaches, mosquetos, house flies, fleas, lice, … Lts and lots of things outnumber humans.

[TimeWinder]

@Bob_Blaylock

I heard, somewhere, that the average human being has about ten times as many bacterial cells in his body as human cells.

That can’t be right, can it? Aren’t most functional cells the same general size, give or take a bit (and ignoring a few outliers like massive single-cell funguses and the like)? I doubt I’m 90% bacteria by mass.

[Mangetout]

@TimeWinder

That can’t be right, can it? Aren’t most functional cells the same general size, give or take a bit (and ignoring a few outliers like massive single-cell funguses and the like)? I doubt I’m 90% bacteria by mass.

Bacteria are (generally) a lot smaller than our own cells - at least an order of magnitude smaller.

ETA: For example, thispage has a micrograph of a human blood cell and Staphylococcus together.

[Tamerlane]

@nearwildheaven

Birds, fish, small mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians - there are plenty of species that number more than 7 billion.

Leave out invertebrates and I don’t think there are many. At best some small baitfish that live in dense aggregates like some species of anchovy might qualify ( but remember there are 144 species of anchovy, not one ). Move beyond fish and domestic chickens are about it I expect.

[Bob_Blaylock]

@TimeWinder

That can’t be right, can it? Aren’t most functional cells the same general size, give or take a bit (and ignoring a few outliers like massive single-cell funguses and the like)? I doubt I’m 90% bacteria by mass.

No. Bacteria, in general, are much smaller and simpler than any human cells.

Take another look at this picture. The few larger red objects are, I think, human epithelial cells. Human cells vary somewhat in size, but I think these are about typical. You can see that they are much bigger than the bacteria, which are the vast majority of the cells in this picture.

[Filbert]

The most common wild species of bird is thought to be the red billed quelea- though it’s damn hard to find a good population estimate- numbers thrown around vary from 1.5 billion breeding adults (or maybe 1.5 billion pairs) to a possible maximum population of 10 billion individuals.

Possibly at certain times of year they could briefly outnumber humans, but I’m not volunteering to count.

[samclem]

MODERATOR NOTE

Bob Blaylock.

You’ve use your signature twice in this thread. One per thread is allowed, more is too much.

samclem, moderator

[pulykamell]

@IvoryTowerDenizen

Here’s an article that tries to address your question. The consensus is the brown rat, but they also conclude its really hard to estimate.

Along With Humans, Who Else Is In The 7 Billion Club? : The Two-Way : NPR

From the OP:

What is the next largest animal to humans that outnumbers humans?

Wouldn’t the answer be chickens from that source? Or are brown rats bigger than I’m imagining them?

[Longshanks]

Bed bugs probably.

[Chronos]

The thing about heartbeats applies only to mammals, and you probably read it in an Asimov essay.

[Gatopescado]

@Little_Nemo

So chickens have us outnumbered…

I hope they don’t find out! :eek: