Scientists have called for greater biodiversity in emojis after finding that the "tree of life" is not accurately represented by the pictograms.
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Italian conservation biologists Stefano Mammola, Mattia Falaschi and Gentile Francesco Ficetola categorised the emojis related to nature and animals available on the online catalogue Emojipedia and then compared emoji biodiversity to real-world biodiversity.
Overall, they identified emojis representing 112 organisms - 92 animals, 16 plants, one fungus and one microorganism.
"Currently available emojis encompass a broad range of animal species, while plants, fungi, and microorganisms are under-represented," the biologists wrote in research published on Monday.
"Such strong taxonomic bias is in line with current societal awareness of biodiversity, which tends to prioritise animals over other taxa."
The researchers found that, "within animals, vertebrates are significantly over-represented compared to their actual richness, while arthropods are under-represented."
Mammola, Falaschi and Ficetola argue a more representative emoji catalogue could help conversations around biodiversity and its conservation.
The researchers did find a significant increase in emoji biodiversity, with animal taxa represented by emojis more than doubling from 2015 to 2022, with annelids gaining representation in 2020 - with the addition of the "worm" emoji - and cnidarians following suit in 2021 - with the addition of a red coral emoji.
"This increase in phylogenetic diversity driven by less-known taxa emphasises a positive trend of enhanced opportunities for emojifying biodiversity communication, allowing users of digital platforms to discuss a range of biodiversity-related topics and sentiments more effectively, beyond the icons depicting iconic species," the researchers write.
Australian Associated Press
