In a wide ranging review Mark Costello and co-authors review the efforts needed to be able to name the earth’s species before they go extinct. Catalogue of Life is cited as the first reference in this paper.
Science 339, 413 (2013); Mark J. Costello et al.
Can We Name Earth’s Species Before They Go Extinct?
The authors conclude that it is possible, with a modestly increased effort in taxonomy to discover and describe most species in time to protect them from extinction..