Emoji Library Lacks Biodiversity Representation, Scientists Argue

Current emoji catalog overrepresents vertebrates and underrepresents plants, fungi, and microorganisms, potentially hindering digital discussions on biodiversity and conservation.

• Scientists argue that the current emoji library does not accurately represent the biodiversity of life on Earth, with a bias towards animals, particularly vertebrates, and a lack of representation for plants, fungi, and microorganisms.
• Researchers categorized all emojis related to nature and animals and found that out of 112 distinct organisms represented, 92 are animals, 16 are plants, and only one each are a fungus and a microorganism.
• Within the animal kingdom, vertebrates are overrepresented while arthropods are underrepresented, despite there being over 1.3 million described species of arthropods compared to just 85,423 described species of vertebrates.
• The team argues that a more diverse and representative emoji catalog could aid conversations around biodiversity and its conservation in the digital era, and help raise awareness for less-known species.
• Emoji biodiversity has been increasing over the years, with the number of animal taxa represented rising from 45 in 2015 to 92 in 2022, and the addition of new categories like annelids and cnidarians.

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