Jim. Thibodeau, age 9, of Sioux City, Iowa, for his question:

How Many different animals are there?

You know about robins and reindeers, rats any' rattlesnakes, cats and caterpillars,  spiny porcupines. No doubt you could name a list of several hundred different animals  perhaps a thousand. But scientists have listed almost a million animals that share our world. more than three quarters of then are insects. So far about 600,000 different insects have been discovered. And more are being found all the time.

In our seas, lanes and streams there are about 31,101 different fishes large and shall. There are about 9,300 feathery birds, and not all of then are expert fliers. On the ground there are about 6,000 scaly reptiles, such as snakes and lizards. There are about 5,000 furry mammals, including cats and dogs, bears and beavers. And, living in moist places, there are about 3,000 frogs,  toads and. salamanders called amphibians.