(a): Spectral‐type distribution of the 2MASS L dwarf sample. (b) Temperature distribution predicted for ﹩\Psi ( M) \propto M^{0}﹩ —the vertical lines indicate our estimate of the L0–L8 temperature regime. (c) Temperature distribution predicted for ﹩\Psi ( M) \propto M^{-1}﹩. (d) Temperature distribution predicted for ﹩\Psi ( M) \propto M^{-2}﹩. In each case, the solid histogram outlines the total predicted numbers; the dotted line marks the contribution from objects with ﹩M> 0.07\,M_{\odot }﹩; the short‐dashed line corresponds to a division at 0.055 M_⊙; and the long‐dashed line to ﹩M=0.03\,M_{\odot }﹩. This illustrates the much greater contribution made by low‐mass brown dwarfs to the total if ﹩\Psi ( M) \propto M^{-2}﹩.