News
Showing readers what species look like
Added on: 2010-12-10 10:30:00 by Appeltans, Ward
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and associated databases are an index to the book of life, but our further goal is for every species to have its face on the web. ...
The Canadian Register of Marine Species is now available online
Added on: 2010-11-23 17:24:15 by Kennedy, Mary
CaRMS is one of the regional species registers in WoRMS, containing authoritative species distribution records for marine areas of interest to Canadian researchers and includes taxa found in three oceans: the Atlantic, the Arctic and the Pacific. ...
NEW World Ascidiacea Database
Added on: 2010-10-19 15:47:08 by Shenkar, Noa
The "World Ascidiacea Database" has just gone online as a part of the World Register of Marine Species initiative. ...
First reference list of toxic micro algae online
Added on: 2010-10-19 15:31:13 by Appeltans, Ward
We recently held our 1st meeting of the editorial board of the IOC taxonomic reference list of harmful micro algae (11-13 October 2010 in Hillerød, Denmark). The reference list is an integral part of the World Register of Marine Species database and is actively maintained by nine taxonomic experts. This taxonomic reference list is an initiative of the UNESCO IOC programme on harmful algal blooms. ...
Belgian Register of Marine Species online
Added on: 2010-10-01 11:41:50 by Vandepitte, Leen
The Belgian Register of Marine Species is now available online. It contains all currently accepted scientific names for all sea creatures appearing in the Belgian part of the North Sea, mainly based on the knowledge of field experts and – for some taxonomic groups – complemented with available literature. ...
LSIDs implemented
Added on: 2010-09-24 18:02:28 by Vanhoorne, Bart
WoRMS has now implemented persistent & resolvable LSIDs for taxa. For more information, click on 'webservices'. ...
Mangrove database in Plant Ecology and Evolution
Added on: 2010-09-14 10:34:26 by Appeltans, Ward
The journal Plant Ecology and Evolution has recently published a paper on the ‘Mangrove Reference Database and Herbarium’, which is an integral part of the World Register of Marine Species, hosted by the Flanders Marine Institute. ...
NEW World Echinoidea Database
Added on: 2010-09-10 15:38:06 by Kroh, Andreas
The World Echinoidea Database has just gone online. It contains all currently accepted scientific names for sea urchins and is progressively extended to include all published combinations of echinoid names, allowing both specialists and non-specialists to find the currently accepted name for extant sea urchins.
NEW Littoral myriapods website
Added on: 2010-07-20 16:00:57 by Barber, Tony
Centipedes and millipedes seem unlikely animals to find on seashores but in fact there are several species of millipede and more than forty centipedes (notably the geophilomorphs or “wire centipedes”) that are known from around high water or below on beaches around the world and there are certainly other species to be recorded from such sites. ...New version of taxon match online
Added on: 2010-07-19 12:55:49 by Appeltans, Ward
VLIZ has implemented a more powerful semi-automated tool to cross-check species lists against the WoRMS database (called Aphia). Click on Match taxa in the menu. You can upload a list of species names and the system will return your file matched with the species names in WoRMS. It notifies when the name is an unaccepted synonym, if the spelling is not exact (phonetic or near matches), the authority and publication date, the hierarchical classification, quality status (expert validated or not), the persistent WoRMS LSID and citation for each name. When there are multiple matches the system provides a pick-list. ...
The International Institute of Species Exploration reports 1,922,710 living species on Earth.
Added on: 2010-05-26 15:30:51 by Appeltans, Ward
Their 2010 annual report "State of Observed Species (SOS)" makes on overview of nearly two million species of which one million are insects. In 2008, 18,225 living species and 2,140 animal fossil species were described as new to science. WoRMS is now an official data partner.
WoRMS collaborating with the Census of Marine Life
Added on: 2010-02-03 16:53:17 by Mark Costello, Ward Appeltans
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is pleased to announce funding from the Census of Marine Life (CoML) Synthesis group at Memorial University to help complete draft species lists for gaps in taxon coverage in WoRMS. ...
WoRMS participates in the Global Names Index initiative
Added on: 2009-11-06 12:42:29 by Costello, Mark
WoRMS is contributing to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the development of international biodiversity informatics science through participating in the Global Names Index (GNI) initiative (www.globalnames.org). ...1,000,000 hits every month...
Added on: 2009-10-06 11:54:54 by Appeltans, Ward
The number of visitors to the WoRMS website is increasing. September was the third month already showing over one million hits. On a regular week day, there are more than 2,000 visits. For 2009, we are approaching 200,000 unique visitors (on the basis of the IP address). If WoRMS could help each of these researchers to save on average one working day per year to find the currently valid name or correct spelling, then this would mean a total gain of 1,000 full time equivalents this year only (not to mention a.o. the scientific benefit). ...
NEW World Hydrozoa Database
Added on: 2009-08-24 15:51:44 by Schuchert, Peter
Hydrozoa are among the most diverse group of cnidarians. The World Hydrozoa database includes all extant hydrozoan species and is intended to act as a tool for anyone needing correct taxonomic information, both specialists and non-specialists alike. Visit: www.marinespecies.org/hydrozoa. ...
NEW World Placozoa Database
Added on: 2009-07-29 12:28:44 by Bernd Schierwater
This is the smallest of all animal databases yet; it contains a single valid species, Trichoplax adhaerens. This actual situation is soon to change radically. The World Placozoa Database is online at www.marinespecies.org/placozoa. ...
The Antarctic Register of Marine Species in Nature
Added on: 2009-05-07 16:15:12 by Ward Appeltans
In February 2009, an editorial appeared in Nature 'The way ahead for polar science'. The authors stressed that, although the 4th International Polar Year (IPY) has come to an end, polar research should remain a top priority. They also urged for setting up an open archive to collect all the data generated by IPY and to make these publicly available for further research. ...
NEW World Cetacea Database
Added on: 2009-03-17 11:00:56 by Bill Perrin
The World Cetacea Database containing all currently accepted scientific names for whales, dolphins and porpoises is now up and running. Visit www.marinespecies.org/cetacea. ...
NEW World Remipedia database
Added on: 2009-03-16 15:56:09 by Koenemann, Stefan
The Remipedia DB has been launched and is running on www.marinespecies.org/remipedia. It contains all currently known and recognized species (and higher taxa). ...GBIF welcomes SMEBD
Added on: 2009-03-06 13:55:11 by Costello, Mark
The Society for the Management of Electronic Data (SMEBD) was pleased to become an Associate Participant of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) on 6 March 2009. The SMEBD Chair, Mark J. Costello, and a member of SMEBD Council, Dr Thomas Pape, are the SMEBD representatives to the GBIF Governing Board.[Add]
