Towards a World Register of Marine Species
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The aim of a World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms, including information on synonymy. While highest priority goes to valid names, other names in use are included so that this register can serve as a guide to interpret taxonomic literature. The content of WoRMS is controlled by taxonomic experts, not by database managers. WoRMS has an editorial management system where each taxonomic group is represented by an expert who has the authority over the content, and is responsible for controlling the quality of the information. Each of these main taxonomic editors can invite several specialists of smaller groups within their area of responsibility to join them. This register of marine species grew out of the European Register of Marine Species (ERMS), and its combination with several other species registers maintained at the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). Rather than building separate registers for all projects, and to make sure taxonomy used in these different projects is consistent, VLIZ developed a consolidated database called ‘Aphia’. A list of marine species registers included in Aphia is available below. MarineSpecies.org is the web interface for this database. The WoRMS is an idea that is being developed, and will combine information from Aphia with other authoritative marine species lists which are maintained by others (e.g. AlgaeBase, FishBase, Hexacorallia, NeMys). Resources to build MarineSpecies.org and Aphia were provided mainly by the EU Network of Excellence ‘Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning’ (MarBEF), and also by the EU funded Species 2000 Europe and ERMS projects. Intellectual property rights of the European part of the register is managed through the Society for the Management of Electronic Biodiversity Data (SMEBD). Similar solutions are now being investigated for the other parts of the register. Aphia contains valid species names, synonyms and vernacular names, and extra information such as literature and biogeographic data. Besides species names, Aphia also contains the higher classification in which each scientific name is linked to its parent taxon. The classification used is a ‘compromise’ between established systems and recent changes. Its aim is to aid data management, rather than suggest any taxonomic or phylogenetic opinion on species relationships. Keeping WoRMS up-to-date is a continuous process. New information is entered daily by the taxonomic editors and by the members of our data management team. Often data also come in from contributions of large datasets, such as global or regional species lists. No database of this size is without errors and omissions. We can’t promise to make no errors, but we do promise to follow up and give feedback on any communications pointing out errors. Feedback is very welcome! Who is using WoRMS?An overview of who is using WoRMS and how WoRMS relates to other international species initiatives is available on our users webpage. Board of EditorsThe list of taxonomic experts can be found on editors. Go to map to view were the Editors are located. Steering CommitteeMark J. Costello (chair)University of Auckland, New Zealand Ward Appeltans (data manager) Flanders Marine Institute, Belgium Philippe Bouchet Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, France Geoff Boxshall The Natural History Museum, UK Dennis Gordon Aquatic Biodiversity & Biosecurity National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, New Zealand Bert Hoeksema National Museum of Natural History - Naturalis, The Netherlands Jan Mees Flanders Marine Institute, Belgium Gary C.B. Poore Museum Victoria, Australia Nicole J. de Voogd National Museum of Natural History - Naturalis, The Netherlands Sabine Stöhr Swedish Museum of Natural History; Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Sweden Chad Walter Smithsonian Institution, USA Geoff Read National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; Wellington, New Zealand Tammy Horton (ERMS coordinator) National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK Mary Kennedy (CaRMS coordinator) Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada Claude De Broyer (RAMS coordinator) Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Belgium IT DevelopmentsBart VanhoorneFlanders Marine Institute, Belgium WoRMS has a unique referencing system, so each record has a unique ID (called AphiaID). Existing records may be updated, but never overwritten with a complete new record. To retrieve these IDs you can match your species names (also higher ranks) with the Aphia database via the WoRMS Taxon match tool. WoRMS also has a webservice to dynamically link your systems to our database. WoRMS is backed-up every month and you may request a copy in compliance with the terms and conditions as outlined the request form. If you are interested in the structure of the database, we have created a view at WoRMS structure (best viewed on Internet Explorer). SponsorshipWoRMS maintenance and development relies on financial contributions, the time contributed by its editorial board, and support of its host institution VLIZ. Find out more at "how to fund WoRMS?".Terms of Use and CitationUnless otherwise stated, these web pages and associated information are free to use on condition that they are cited (CC-BY). A recommended citation style is provided on each page. We do not permit the re-distribution of the entire database unless by prior written agreement. Copies of the database may be requested using this form.
You can also cite the individual global or regional species lists as appropriate. Their citations are shown on their web pages. The database as a whole is to be cited as follows: Citations (Google scholar)
Citations for "World Register of Marine Species": 572
Cited publications: 87 H-Index: 11 [view publications] |
WoRMS integrates: Global Species Databases (GSD) World List of Porifera World List of Proseriata and Kalyptorhynchia - Rhabditophora World List of Cumacea World List of Brachiopoda World List of Phoronida World List of Pycnogonida World List of Ophiuroidea World List of Isopoda World List of Copepoda World List of Asteroidea World List of Remipedia World List of Cetacea World List of Mangroves World List of Hydrozoa World List of Placozoa World List of littoral Myriapoda World List of Echinoidea World List of Hemichordata World List of Ascidiacea World List of Foraminifera World List of Polychaeta World List of Lophogastrida, Stygiomysida and Mysida World List of Euphausiacea World List of Nemertea World List of Tanaidacea World List of marine Hirudinea World List of Priapulida World List of Nematomorpha World List of marine & brackish water Branchiopoda World List of Ciliophora World List of Acanthocephala World List of Bochusacea World List of Sipuncula World List of Sirenia World List of Thermosbaenacea World List of Chaetognatha World List of Lophogastrida World List of Merostomata World List of Mystacocarida World List of Tantulocarida World List of Podocopa World List of marine Carnivora World List of Achelata World List of Axiidea World List of Gebiidea World List of Brachypoda World List of Brachyura World List of Bryozoa World List of marine Reptilia World List of Gnathostomulida World List of marine Oligochaeta World List of Polychelida World List of Polyplacophora World List of Scaphopoda World List of Solenogastres World List of Dendrobranchiata World List of Caridea World List of Aspidogastrea World List of Marine Insecta World List of Radiolaria World List of Stenopodidea World List of Holothuroidea World List of Amphipoda World List of marine Acarina World List of Actiniaria World List of Astacidea World List of Larvacea World List of Mesozoa World List of Pentastomida World List of Anomura World List of Pennatulacea World List of Staurozoa World List of Leptostraca World List of sea birds Under construction Alcyonacea, Antipatharia, Branchiura, Ceriantharia, Corallimorpharia, Gorgonacea, Helioporacea, Thecostraca, Crinoidea, Digenea, Echiura, Entoprocta, Gastrotricha, Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Monogenea, Nematoda (parasitic), Myxozoa, Myodocopa, Scleractinia, Scyphozoa, Zoanthidea, Cirripedia Regional Species Databases (RSD) [map] Canadian Register of Marine Species (CaRMS) European Register of Marine Species (ERMS) Register of Antarctic Marine Species (RAMS) North Atlantic Register for Marine Species (NARMS) Marine Species Database for Eastern Africa (MASDEA) Arctic Register of Marine Species (ARMS) Belgian Register of Marine Species (BeRMS) Marine Species of the British Isles and Adjacent Seas (MSBIAS) Gulf of Mexico Register of Marine Species New Zealand Register of Marine Species (volume I) Checklist Greece Checklist Israel Checklist Poland Checklist Ireland Checklist Azores Checklist Iberian Under construction African Register of Marine Species Thematic Species Databases (TSD) IOC-UNESCO Taxonomic Reference List of Harmful Micro Algae (HAB) Unesco Register of Marine Organisms (URMO) ICES North Sea Benthos Project (NSBP) Macrobenthos of the Belgian Continental Shelf (MACROBEL) Under construction Marine Invasive Species ULB Herbarium, Mangrove specimen collection World Register of Deepsea Species External Global Species Databases World list of marine Fungi (from Index Fungorum) World list of Marine Pisces (from FishBase) World list of Algae (from AlgaeBase) World list of free-living Nematodes – NeMys World list of Marine Rotifers (from FADA) World list of marine reptiles (From Reptile Database) World list of Turbellaria (from Turbellarian Taxonomic Database) World list of Recent and Fossil Bryozoa World list of Ctenophora Biogeoinformatics of the Hexacorals |
Disclaimer
The editorial board maintains this register, but is aware that it is not complete and undoubtedly contains errors. The board cannot be made responsible for any errors or misuse of data contained in this register. Comments from our users are more than welcome, so if you come across any error or incomplete information or you are willing to contribute to this initiative please contact us at info@marinespecies.org.