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Research help: how many species have there been?

As proofreading goes on chapter by chapter, I get my last chance to review references and properly site cite sources. It’s slow, tedious, and so little fun, I thought I’d throw some of it at you.

The question: How many species in the history of the planet have gone extinct?

The web has been surprisingly stingy. The wikipedia entry for extinction pointed me back at mediocre sources I already had.

Obviously I don’t need hard data as there isn’t much: but a ripe quote from an expert, or a summary of expert opinions would be perfect.

The prize: find me a reference that I’m willing to use in the book, and I’ll put your name in the book’s acknowledgments.