Fungi and flatworms? Scientists call for greater emoji biodiversity

Animal avatars – but there are emojis representing only 112 distinct organisms, the researchers found. Photograph: Aleksei Egorov/Alamy

When Stefano Mammola and Francesco Ficetola went to an ecology conference in Prague in 2021, they met a scientist with an unusual complaint. Jennifer Anderson, an expert in aquatic fungi, lamented that the subject of her research was not available in emoji form.

“If you are doing the important work of trying to save the 🐳, you can use graphics to help you communicate this in a very relatable way,” said Anderson, a microbial ecologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “If you are working to save the aquatic fungi, you first must let people know that yes, aquatic fungi exist, then describe in words what they look like – usually not like mushrooms.”