This document discusses the current and future prospects for taxonomic catalogs. It describes an online systematic catalog of plant bugs that provides nomenclature, classification, bibliography, host and geographic information. It allows for searching by name, taxonomy or other fields. The document outlines some challenges of relational database catalogs like synonymy management and homonymy recognition. It advocates engaging experts worldwide and continuous updating. It shows screenshots of the catalog's web-based data entry interface for tasks like creating names, references, host and synonymy data. It concludes that web-based catalogs are the future but challenges around software and standards remain.

1. The Current and Future
Prospects for Taxonomic
Catalogs
presented by
Randall T. Schuh
Curator and Chair
Division of Invertebrate Zoology
American Museum of Natural History, New York

2. Scale Insects

3. Scalenet Queries

4. Diptera

5. Spiders

6. Spiders

7. On-line Systematic Catalog of Plant Bugs
http://research.amnh.org/pbi/catalog
Features
• Nomenclature and classification
• Bibliography
• Annotated references
• Host information
• Geographic information
• Portal to other databases/features, such as:
– Specimen Database (also via www.discoverlife.org )
– Species mapping (also via www.discoverlife.org )
– Host data from specimens (also via www.discoverlife.org )
– Digital Library
– Species pages (via http:// www.discoverlife.org,
http://research.amnh.org/pbi/heteropteraspeciespages )
– Web-based identification (via www.discoverlife.org )

8. Simplified Relational Database Schema

9. Search by “name” or Taxonomic Hierarchy
Names
Regions,
places
Hosts
Bibliography
Introduction

10. Results of Search by “Europiella”

11. References and Hosts for “Europiella umbrina”

12. Names Competing in Homonymy in Psallus

13. Miridae Names Placed in “Lygaeus”

14. Results of Search for Psallus spp. in Nearctic

15. Results of Search by “Cactaceae”

16. Bibliographic Titles Containing “Halticus”

17. Taxa included in Henry, 1991

18. Hurdles of Relational Database Catalogs
•Development and maintenance of the database
•Management of synonymy
•Recognition and management of homonyms
•Creation of master bibliography, or not

19. Desirable Features
• Engage community of experts from around the
world in catalog development and maintenance
• Continuous updating of catalog will allow for up-
to-date contents
• Work flow follows organization of revisionary and
other taxonomic literature
Moving to Web-based Catalog Data Entry

20. Log-on Page

21. Select/Choose Bibliographic Entries

22. Select Taxon by “Drilling Down”

23. Genus-Group Names Documentation Screen

24. Create New Generic Name/Type Species

25. Genus-group Reference Screen

26. Search for Species-group Names

27. Species-group Reference Screen: Geography

28. Continue with Host Data Entry or Synonymy

29. Add New Host Genus

30. Synonymy Screen

31. Select Name of Junior Synonym

32. • Web-based catalogs are the way of the future
• Ongoing need for the recruitment of specialists
• Challenges exist for software acceptance and
maintenance
• Benefits to be gained from working on limited
number of compatible approaches
Long Term Prospects for Catalogs

33. Acknowledgments
Programming and Design
• Mark Breedlove
• Simon Chang
• Robert Raven
• Gary Shapiro
Development Assistance
• Christiane Weirauch (data-entry application)
Financial Support
•National Science Foundation
• American Museum of Natural History
•Global Biodiversity Information Facility
http://research.amnh.org/pbi/catalog