Learn English – With what does ‘far fewer’ compare in this example

comparative-constructionsmeaning-in-context

We've already found more than a million species, but unearthing the
rest was thought to be an impossible task.
But now it seems an army
of amateur scientists have taken up the cause. A new study concludes
that, thanks to them, we're in a golden age of discovery, with 20,000
new finds charted each year.

There could also be far fewer plants and animals left for them to
find. The researchers say rather than tens of millions of species
living on Earth, there could be between two and eight million.
(BBC
Learning English)

With what does ‘far fewer’ compare – far fewer than what?

Best Answer

There are far fewer than previously thought. It's not stated, but read the next sentence:

The researchers say rather than tens of millions of species living on Earth, there could be between two and eight million.

This suggests that the previous estimates were too high. Since we've only found "more than a million species" and we previously thought there were "tens of millions", it can't be that we've discovered that many; the numbers simply don't add up. If the differences were due to mass extinctions or some other apocalyptic event, the article would probably mention that, too. Therefore, the only reasonable interpretation is that the estimates have been revised down.

Therefore, researchers previously thought there were more; now they think there are far fewer.

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