Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera

Last updated
Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera
AbbreviationIRMNG
Formation2006 (2006)
Headquarters Ostend, Belgium
Manager & curator
Tony Rees
Main organ
Website
Parent organization
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (2006–2014);
Flanders Marine Institute (2016–current)
Website www.irmng.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) is a taxonomic database which attempts to cover published genus names for all domains of life from 1758 in zoology (1753 in botany) up to the present, arranged in a single, internally consistent taxonomic hierarchy, for the benefit of Biodiversity Informatics initiatives plus general users of biodiversity (taxonomic) information. In addition to containing just over 500,000 published genus name instances as at May 2023 (also including subgeneric names in zoology), the database holds over 1.7 million species names (1.3 million listed as "accepted"), although this component of the data is not maintained in as current or complete state as the genus-level holdings. IRMNG can be queried online for access to the latest version of the dataset and is also made available as periodic snapshots or data dumps for import/upload into other systems as desired. The database was commenced in 2006 at the then CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research in Australia and, since 2016, has been hosted at the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Belgium.

Contents

Description

Example "fuzzy" genus search result on IRMNG, December 2023 IRMNG sample 1 Dec 2023 01.jpg
Example "fuzzy" genus search result on IRMNG, December 2023
Example genus-level taxon page on IRMNG, December 2023 IRMNG sample 2 Dec 2023.jpg
Example genus-level taxon page on IRMNG, December 2023

IRMNG contains scientific names (only) of the genera, a subset of species, and principal higher ranks of most plants, animals and other kingdoms, both living and extinct, within a standardized taxonomic hierarchy, with associated machine-readable information on habitat (e.g. marine/nonmarine) and extant/fossil status for the majority of entries. [1] The database aspires to provide complete coverage of both accepted and unaccepted genus names across all kingdoms, with a subset only of species names included as a secondary activity. In its May 2023 release, IRMNG contained 500,077 genus names, of which 240,625 were listed as "accepted", 127,971 "unaccepted", 7,932 of "other" status i.e. interim unpublished, nomen dubium, nomen nudum, taxon inquirendum or temporary name, and 123,552 as "uncertain" (unassessed for taxonomic status at this time). [2] The data originate from a range of (frequently domain-specific) print, online and database sources, including (among others) Nomenclator Zoologicus for animals and Index Nominum Genericorum for plants, and are reorganised into a common data structure to support a variety of online queries, generation of individual taxon pages, and bulk data supply to other biodiversity informatics projects. IRMNG content can be queried and displayed freely via the web, and download files of the data down to the taxonomic rank of genus as at specific dates are available in the Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) format. The data include homonyms (with their authorities), including both available (validly published) and selected unavailable names. [3] Since in zoology (only) names of subgenera are included, along with genera, in the "genus-group" and are deemed by the "principle of coordination" to have been simultaneously published at both ranks even if not explicitly so at the time of original publication, [4] they are included as available generic names in the IRMNG compilation but marked as "unaccepted names" (not currently used as the accepted name for a genus) unless they have subsequently been re-used at genus level in currently followed taxonomic treatments.

Estimates for "accepted names" as held at May 2023 are as follows, broken down by kingdom, following the methodology used in Rees et al., 2020 (updated using 2023 data):

IRMNG holdings: estimated accepted genus totals by kingdom - previous totals based on Rees et al., 2020 Estimated accepted genus totals by kingdom - based on Rees et al 2020.jpg
IRMNG holdings: estimated accepted genus totals by kingdom - previous totals based on Rees et al., 2020

Database location and hosting

IRMNG was initiated and designed by Australian biologist and data manager Tony Rees in 2006. [1] [5] For his work on this and other projects, GBIF awarded him the 2014 Ebbe Nielsen Prize. [5] From 2006 to 2014 IRMNG was located at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, and was moved to the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) over the period 2014–2016; from 2016 onwards all releases have been available via its new website www.irmng.org which is hosted by VLIZ. [1] [6] VLIZ also hosts the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), using a common infrastructure. [7]

IRMNG usage

Content from IRMNG is used by several global Biodiversity Informatics projects including Open Tree of Life, [8] the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), [9] and the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), [10] in addition to others including the Atlas of Living Australia [11] and the Global Names Architecture (GNA)'s Global Names Resolver. [12] From 2018 onwards, IRMNG data are also being used to populate the taxonomic hierarchy and provide generic names for a range of taxa in the areas of protists (kingdoms Protozoa and Chromista) and plant algae (Charophyta, Chlorophyta, Glaucophyta and Rhodophyta) in the Catalogue of Life. [13]

Related Research Articles

Genus is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charales</span> Order of green algae in the division Charophyta

Charales is an order of freshwater green algae in the division Charophyta, class Charophyceae, commonly known as stoneworts. Depending on the treatment of the genus Nitellopsis, living (extant) species are placed into either one family (Characeae) or two. Further families are used for fossil members of the order. Linnaeus established the genus Chara in 1753.

Ebbe Schmidt Nielsen was a Danish entomologist influential in systematics and Lepidoptera research, and an early proponent of biodiversity informatics. The journal Invertebrate Systematics was established with significant contributions from Nielsen, and he assisted in the founding of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Nielsen wrote several books, published over eighty scientific papers, and was highly regarded within the scientific community. Following his death, the GBIF organised the Ebbe Nielsen Prize in his memory, awarded annually to promising researchers in the field of biodiversity informatics. The moth Pollanisus nielseni is named after Nielsen.

Biodiversity informatics is the application of informatics techniques to biodiversity information, such as taxonomy, biogeography or ecology. It is defined as the application of Information technology technologies to management, algorithmic exploration, analysis and interpretation of primary data regarding life, particularly at the species level organization. Modern computer techniques can yield new ways to view and analyze existing information, as well as predict future situations. Biodiversity informatics is a term that was only coined around 1992 but with rapidly increasing data sets has become useful in numerous studies and applications, such as the construction of taxonomic databases or geographic information systems. Biodiversity informatics contrasts with "bioinformatics", which is often used synonymously with the computerized handling of data in the specialized area of molecular biology.

The Catalogue of Life is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxonomic Information System. The Catalogue is used by research scientists, citizen scientists, educators, and policy makers. The Catalogue is also used by the Biodiversity Heritage Library, the Barcode of Life Data System, Encyclopedia of Life, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The Catalogue currently compiles data from 165 peer-reviewed taxonomic databases that are maintained by specialist institutions around the world. As of September 2022, the COL Checklist lists 2,067,951 of the world's 2.2m extant species known to taxonomists on the planet at present time.

The Tetrasporales are a formerly recognized order of green algae, specifically the Chlorophyceae, now included in Chlamydomonadales. AlgaeBase places Tetraspora and Tetrasporaceae in Chlamydomonadales.

<i>Hormotila</i> Genus of algae

Hormotila is a genus of green algae in the family Chaetophoraceae.

The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms.

<i>Iguanodectes</i> Genus of fishes

Iguanodectes is a genus of freshwater fish found in tropical South America, with eight currently described species. They are all small tetras, none longer than 5 inches, and often have attractive silvery or striped scales, which makes them a target for the ornamental fish industry. Alongside the genus Piabucus, it is in the subfamily Iguanodectinae, which in turn is in the family Iguanodectidae. The genus Bryconops, which is also in Iguanodectidae, makes up a sister clade to Iguanodectinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flanders Marine Institute</span> Organization in Flanders, northern Belgium that supports marine research

The Flanders Marine Institute provides a focal point for marine scientific research in Flanders, northern Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hirudinidae</span> Family of annelids

Hirudinidae is a family of leeches belonging to the order Arhynchobdellida.

Cloacina is a genus of parasitic nematodes in the family Chabertiidae. Species are parasites of marsupials in Australia.

<i>× Oncostele</i> Genus of orchids

× Oncostele, abbreviated Ons., is a hybrid genus of orchids, used for greges containing at least one ancestor species from the genera Oncidium (Onc.) and Rhynchostele (Rst.). The nothogenus was defined in 2003 by J. M. H. Shaw.

<i>Nomenclator Zoologicus</i>

Nomenclator Zoologicus is one of the major compendia in the field of zoological nomenclature, compiled by Sheffield Airey Neave and his successors and published in 9 volumes over the period 1939–1994, under the auspices of the Zoological Society of London; a tenth, electronic-only volume was also produced before the project ceased. It contains over 340,000 published name instances with their authorities and details of their original publication, certain nomenclatural notes and cross references, and an indication of the taxonomic group to which each is assigned. An electronic (digitised) version of volumes 1-10 was released online by the uBio project, based at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, in 2004–2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean Biodiversity Information System</span> Online marine biology database

The Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), formerly Ocean Biogeographic Information System, is a web-based access point to information about the distribution and abundance of living species in the ocean. It was developed as the information management component of the ten year Census of Marine Life (CoML) (2001-2010), but is not limited to CoML-derived data, and aims to provide an integrated view of all marine biodiversity data that may be made available to it on an open access basis by respective data custodians. According to its web site as at July 2018, OBIS "is a global open-access data and information clearing-house on marine biodiversity for science, conservation and sustainable development." 8 specific objectives are listed in the OBIS site, of which the leading item is to "Provide [the] world's largest scientific knowledge base on the diversity, distribution and abundance of all marine organisms in an integrated and standardized format".

Compsosaurus is an extinct genus of phytosaur, a crocodile-like reptile that lived during the Triassic. Its fossils have been found in North Carolina. The type species, Compsosaurus priscus, was named by American paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1856, although other sources say 1857. Compsosaurus may have been the same animal as the related Belodon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Rees (scientist)</span>

Anthony J. J. ("Tony") Rees is a British-born software developer, data manager and biologist resident in Australia since 1986, and previously a data manager with CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. He is responsible for developing a number of software systems currently used in science data management, including c-squares, Taxamatch, and IRMNG, the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera. He has also been closely involved with the development of other biodiversity informatics initiatives including the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), AquaMaps, and the iPlant Taxonomic Name Resolution Service (TNRS).

Haementeria is a genus of leeches in the family Glossiphoniidae. The genus was described in 1849 by Filippo De Filippi.

<i>Laxta friedmani</i> Species of cockroach

Laxta friedmani, the flat cockroach, is a species of Blaberidae occurring in Australia. The habitat is under loose back of eucalyptus trees, and fallen leaf litter on the ground. Length is up to 25 mm, a flattened creature, resembling a trilobite, sometimes found in small groups. Females are wingless, adult males with wings.

<i>Pentacheles</i> Genus of crustaceans

Pentacheles is a genus of crustaceans of the class Malacostraca.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "IRMNG - Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera". IRMNG. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  2. "IRMNG - Download". IRMNG. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  3. "IRMNG: Homonyms". IRMNG. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  4. Refer ICZN, 1999, "The Code Online", relevant portions are Article 42: The Genus Group and Article 43: Principle of Coordination
  5. 1 2 "CSIRO's Tony Rees named 2014 Ebbe Nielsen Prize winner". GBIF . Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  6. "The Interim Register for Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) will move from CSIRO to VLIZ". marinespecies.org. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  7. "Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG)". Lifewatch regional portal. LifeWatch. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  8. Open Tree of Life developers. "Taxonomy release ott3.0 -". Open Tree of Life . Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  9. "The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera". GBIF. 2018. doi:10.15468/6tkudz . Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  10. "IRMNG". Encyclopedia of Life. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018.
  11. ala-name-matching on GitHub
  12. "Global Names Resolver: Names Data Sources" . Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  13. "IRMNG". Catalogue of Life. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.

Further reading