Biologists Stefano Mammola, Mattia Falaschi and Gentile Francesco Ficetola categorized the emojis from the online library Emojipedia and then made the comparison with biodiversity in the real world. They found that there are 112 organisms represented in the catalogue: 92 animals, 16 plants, one fungus and one microorganism.
Among animals, vertebrates are significantly overrepresented. Arthropods are underrepresented, although 1.3 million species are known compared to only 85,000 among vertebrates.
In society, priority goes to animals when it comes to biodiversity, it is said. The scientists therefore argue that a more representative selection of emojis can help in the debate around biodiversity and its protection.