What's common and what's not is the result of the peculiar chemistry of our planet. We live under an oxygen-rich atmosphere, so oxyanions in states with higher oxidation number tend to be more stable (and so more common) than those with lower oxidation number. If there were chemistry students indigenous to Io or Titan, they might memorize a different list of polyatomic ions.
A list of ions that should be learned in first semester chemistry is given in the Polyatomic Ions section.
Copyright © 1997-2010 by Fred Senese
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Last Revised 02/23/18.URL: http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/compounds/faq/print-ate-ending.shtml