- Email: [email protected]
Zoology www guide
Zoology 104 (2001): 75–76 © by Urban & Fischer Verlag http://www.urbanfischer.de/journals/zoology
Zoology www guide Thomas C. G. Bosch In almost every branch of zoology the internet is now a vital place for posting up-to-date status reports on all kind of animal groups and research areas. Many websites not only provide the latest on taxonomy, ecology and distribution, but also include valuable background information and details of experimental procedures as well as discussion forums. For the zoologist the online world seems to hold everything from acarology to otoliths. To show what impressive things can be done in communicating and facilitating research in zoology, given a little initiative and perseverance, we will introduce websites that find fresh ways to approach their subjects and that may, in some way or another, inspire zoologists. Readers are welcome to join in this process for future editions of Zoology www guides and should send their website suggestions to [email protected]. In this issue the focus is on molluscs.
snails & sea slugs: molluscs (http://www.austmus.gov.au/science/division/invert/mal /index.htm )
Molluscs are the second largest animal phylum with more than 90,000 known species and an estimated 150,000 –200,000 living species. Of great concern is the fact that for molluscs there are more extinctions recorded than for any other animal group. Documentation of these extinctions is only well known for a very small number of countries. The Mollusc Resources page is leading the way toward this animal
phylum. Created by Australian malacologist Winston Ponder and hosted by the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia, the site provides researchers with the latest on mollusc classification, diversity and phylogeny. The site includes links to other popular mollusc websites and to Mollia, the international mollusc server. Since Winston Ponder is also co-chairing together with Mary Seddon the Mollusc Specialist Group of IUCN, the World Conservation Union, an especially valuable feature of the site are the “Fact sheets”, which focus on endangered snails and mollusc conservation.
Cephalopods (www.cephbase.dal.ca )
This highly interactive web site is maintained by James B. Wood at the National Resource Center for Cephalopods (NRCC), Galveston, Texas, and Catriona L. Day, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. The site provides life history and distribution data and includes a complete taxonomy and synonymy of all living cephalopods. Also valuable is the International Directory of Cephalopod Workers as well as the links to related sites.
0944-2006/01/104/01-075 $ 15.00/0
www.guide
Ophisthobranch molluscs (www.slugsite.tierranet.com)
For a fascinating roundup of nudibranch diversity, stunning photos, a systematic list of ophisthobranchs with more than 8000 entries and approximate systematic position of each taxon, or a bibliography – taxon search, pay a visit to the Slug Site, maintained by Michael D. Miller with support from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The sea slug site also includes links to related sites and allows e mail correspondence relating to ophistobranchs.
76
Zoology 104 (2001) 1
Zoology www guide Thomas C. G. Bosch In almost every branch of zoology the internet is now a vital place for posting up-to-date status reports on all kind of animal groups and research areas. Many websites not only provide the latest on taxonomy, ecology and distribution, but also include valuable background information and details of experimental procedures as well as discussion forums. For the zoologist the online world seems to hold everything from acarology to otoliths. To show what impressive things can be done in communicating and facilitating research in zoology, given a little initiative and perseverance, we will introduce websites that find fresh ways to approach their subjects and that may, in some way or another, inspire zoologists. Readers are welcome to join in this process for future editions of Zoology www guides and should send their website suggestions to [email protected]. In this issue the focus is on molluscs.
snails & sea slugs: molluscs (http://www.austmus.gov.au/science/division/invert/mal /index.htm )
Molluscs are the second largest animal phylum with more than 90,000 known species and an estimated 150,000 –200,000 living species. Of great concern is the fact that for molluscs there are more extinctions recorded than for any other animal group. Documentation of these extinctions is only well known for a very small number of countries. The Mollusc Resources page is leading the way toward this animal
phylum. Created by Australian malacologist Winston Ponder and hosted by the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia, the site provides researchers with the latest on mollusc classification, diversity and phylogeny. The site includes links to other popular mollusc websites and to Mollia, the international mollusc server. Since Winston Ponder is also co-chairing together with Mary Seddon the Mollusc Specialist Group of IUCN, the World Conservation Union, an especially valuable feature of the site are the “Fact sheets”, which focus on endangered snails and mollusc conservation.
Cephalopods (www.cephbase.dal.ca )
This highly interactive web site is maintained by James B. Wood at the National Resource Center for Cephalopods (NRCC), Galveston, Texas, and Catriona L. Day, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. The site provides life history and distribution data and includes a complete taxonomy and synonymy of all living cephalopods. Also valuable is the International Directory of Cephalopod Workers as well as the links to related sites.
0944-2006/01/104/01-075 $ 15.00/0
www.guide
Ophisthobranch molluscs (www.slugsite.tierranet.com)
For a fascinating roundup of nudibranch diversity, stunning photos, a systematic list of ophisthobranchs with more than 8000 entries and approximate systematic position of each taxon, or a bibliography – taxon search, pay a visit to the Slug Site, maintained by Michael D. Miller with support from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The sea slug site also includes links to related sites and allows e mail correspondence relating to ophistobranchs.
76
Zoology 104 (2001) 1