Is it us? If not, what is it?
Bear in mind that it doesn't necessarily have to be an animal.
Is it us? If not, what is it?
Bear in mind that it doesn't necessarily have to be an animal.
Humans do pretty well when using biomass as a measure of success - though Antarctic krill may have us beat. Ants are a number of different species so shouldn't be counted together - cattle might also be counted as a group of species.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomass_(ecology)
Edit: Ok, I've only considered animals.
I didn't think to use mass I went straight for population. That article is really good and humbling in a sense- we and our domesticants are a massive influence but are dominated by fungi, plants, ants and bacteria. Not individual species but in terms of biomass or life.
Edit: I think cattle are considered 1 species like dogs.
I've heard there's some debate among biologists concerning whether cattle should be classed as one or a few species (Bos taurus, Bos primigenius, Bos indicus). Who cares.
This SciShow episode mentions some numerous animals though it doesn't give numbers for many but bacteria will probably outnumber any animals. Of course that's using population size as the measure of success..........
From the video:
Edit: Springtail math
Earth land - 148 000 000 sq km
In square meters - 148 000 000 000 000
100 000 per sq m - 14 800 000 000 000 000 000 individual springtails