Animal Diversity Web

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The Animal Diversity Web (ADW) is a non-profit group that hosts an online database site that collects natural history, classification, species characteristics, conservation biology, and distribution information on species of animals. The website includes photographs, sound clips, and a virtual museum.

Contents

The local, relational database is written and maintained by staff and student contributors from the University of Michigan. [1] It can be accessed through the web and mobile apps. [2] It offers resources for K–12 instructors, [3] [4] and functions as a virtual museum containing mostly mammals and a collection of skulls that can be virtually handled.

Background

The ADW was created in 1995 by Philip Myers, a former biology professor at the University of Michigan. [5] As of June 2022, the site contained records for approximately 2,150 animal species, represented by 11,500 images and 725 sounds. [6] The ADW has over 250 accounts of higher taxonomic groups. [4]

Most of the contributors to the website are undergraduate students. ADW has collaborated with 30 colleges and universities across the United States. The undergraduate students often submit reports on species as part of their course requirements. [7] Each account is edited by both the professors and the staff at the ADW. [7] As of November 2017, the Animal Diversity Web had 3,675 contributors. [4]

Partnerships

ADW has partnered with the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). [8] The BioKIDS Critter Catalog, created by the University of Michigan, provides a simplified version of the animal accounts. [9] AmphibiaWeb is a partner that provides information on amphibian species. [10]

Staff

The current staff of the Animal Diversity Web is employed at the University of Michigan (as of 2017):

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autarchoglossa</span> Clade of lizards

Autarchoglossa is a clade of squamates that includes skinks, anguimorphs, snakes, and relatives. Autarchoglossa is supported as a monophyletic grouping by morphological features in living and extinct lizards and snakes. Some phylogenetic analyses based on molecular features such as DNA sequences in living squamates do not support Autarchoglossa.

<i>Eutropis rugifera</i> Species of lizard

Eutropis rugifera, variously known as Nicobar Island skink or rough-scaled sun skink, is a species of skink from southeastern Asia.

<i>Jaculus</i> (rodent) Genus of rodents

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Rana zhengi is a species of frog in the family Ranidae that is endemic to Sichuan, China.

<i>Paleosuchus</i> Genus of reptiles

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<i>Soyedina</i> Genus of stoneflies

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<i>Procapra</i> Genus of mammals

Procapra is a genus of Asian gazelles, including three living species:

<i>Draco melanopogon</i> Species of lizard

Draco melanopogon, commonly known as the black-bearded gliding lizard or black-barbed flying dragon, is a species of agamid "flying lizard" endemic to Southeast Asia. It is a typically forest-dwelling arboreal lizard. It preys on small invertebrates like ants and is oviparous. They are notable for relying solely on dewlap-mediated communication, instead of conveying signals via both headbobbing and employing dewlaps, as is typical for lizards with dewlaps.

<i>Agathiopsis</i> Genus of geometer moths

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<i>Valencia</i> (fish) Genus of fishes

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Eugamandus jamaicensis is a species of longhorn beetles of the subfamily Lamiinae. It was described by Vitali in 2003, and is known from Jamaica, from which its species epithet is derived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaniulidae</span> Family of millipedes

Blaniulidae is a family of millipedes in the order Julida. Members are long and thin, with a length:width ratio of up to 30:1. Eyes may be present or absent, and members have distinctive spots on each segment: the ozadenes or odiferous glands. The family contains the following genera:

Dasysphinx ockendeni is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It was described by Walter Rothschild in 1910. It is found in Peru. It is named after George Richard Ockenden, who collected the holotype.

<i>Streblote cristata</i> Species of moth

Streblote cristata is a species of moth in the family Lasiocampidae, the so-called eggars, snout moths or lappet moths. The species was first described by Caspar Stoll in 1782.

Tropidion breviusculum is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Thomson in 1867.

<i>Exaerete frontalis</i> Species of bee

Exaerete frontalis is a kleptoparasitic species of euglossine bees.

<i>Otobius</i> Genus of ticks

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Paraepepeotes guttatus is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville in 1844, originally under the genus Monohammus. It is known from India and China.

Cyphomenes infernalis is a species of insect in the genus Cyphomenes and the family Eumenidae native to Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Peru first described by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure in 1875. As of 2017 there is one subspecies listed in the Catalogue of Life, Cyphomenes infernalis weyrauchi.

References

  1. ↑ "ADW: About Us". animaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  2. ↑ Tarng, Wermhuar, et al. “The Development of a Virtual Marine Museum for Educational Applications.” Journal of Educational Technology Systems, vol. 37, no. 1, 2008, pp. 39–59., doi:10.2190/et.37.1.d.
  3. ↑ Animal Diversity Web, www.learnnc.org/lp/external/1798?style=print.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 The Animal Diversity Web Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2017.
  5. ↑ Erickson, Jim (4 January 2013). "Revamped Animal Diversity Web reaching millions worldwide 18 years after launch". The University Record. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "ADW: Statistics and Facts". animaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  7. 1 2 Parr, CS; Espinosa, R.; Dewey, T.; Hammond, G.; Myers, P. (2005). "Building a biodiversity content management system for science, education, and outreach". Data Science Journal. 4: 1–11. doi: 10.2481/dsj.4.1 .
  8. ↑ “Animal Diversity Web.” Encyclopedia of Life, eol.org/content_partners/8.
  9. ↑ “Critter Catalog.” BioKIDS - Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species, Critter Catalog, www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/.
  10. ↑ “AmphibiaWeb.” AmphibiaWeb, amphibiaweb.org/.
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