Taxonomy and Classification Resources Guide
(a work in progress.)
The information sources and sites listed below were selected to aid students and researchers in determining the name of an organism, its status, and other characteristics. Identification keys are available for some organism groups. Books are listed in call number order, as they would appear on a shelf.
Originally sources highlighted in this guide were partly chosen on the basis of their labelling names so the user does not have to recognize which names correspond to a phylum, a class, an order, etc. This distinction was relaxed in some cases iin order to emphasize other useful features. Classification levels shown may include related sub or super level groups also.
| title \ info | species | genus | family | order | class | phylum | kingdom | maps, geogr range | illus | ID key | common names | area covered | notes |
| Five Kingdoms, L Margulis, 3rd ed. KSL Ref QH83+M36 1998 | some | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | |||||
| Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms, Ed.) SP Parker, KSL Ref QH83 +S89 1982 2 vols. | some | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | |||||
| Elsevier's Dictionary of the Genera of Life, Comp.) SA Tsur (Mansoor), M.D. KSL Ref QH83 T77X 1999 | y | y | some | y | |||||||||
| Variety of Life, C Tudge, KSL Ref QH83 T84X 2000 | some | some | y | y | y | y | y | some | y | some | int'l | all living organisms and their classification, including domains | |
| Describing Species: practical taxonomic procedure for biologists, JE Winston, KSL Ref QH83 W57X 1999 | a ref on this subject | ||||||||||||
| Marine Animals of Southern New England and NY, HM Weiss, KSL Ref QH105 C8 A2 115 | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | NY, southern New England | |||
| Student's Guide to the Seashore, JD Fish, S Fish, 2nd ed. KSL Ref QH137 F52X 1996 | y | y | some | y | some | multiple | some | y, black and white drawings | y | y | Gt Britain, Europe | keys emphasize simplicity,glossary, lit references with each group | |
| Elsevier's Dictionary of Plant Names and Their Origin, DC Watts, KSL Ref QK13 E565X 2000 (LC) | y | y | some | y | int'l | lit references | |||||||
| Scientific and Common Names of 7,000 Vascular Plants, L Brako, AY Rossman, DF Farr, KSL Ref QK96 +B68X 1995 | y | y | y | y | U.S. | vascular plants | |||||||
| Plants and Their Names, R Hyam, R Pankhurst, KSL Ref QK96 P35X 1995 | y | y | y | y | y | y | int'l | explanations of plant names; not for mosses, lichen, algae | |||||
| Muenscher's Keys to Woody Plants by EA Cope, KSL Ref QK115 C69X 2001 | y | y | one | some | y | y | eastern North America | 1st ed. published in 1922. Later eds. at several Yale libraries. | |||||
| Guide to Flowering Plant Families, WB Zomlefer, KSL Ref QK115 +Z65X 1994 | some | some | y | y | detailed | some | U.S., Canada | 115 flowering plant families, taxonomic issues, lit references | |||||
| An Illustrated Flora of the Northern U.S. and Canada, NL Britton, A Brown, KSL Ref QK117 B8 1970 | y | y | y | y | detailed | y | y | y | northern U.S. and Canada | some names labelled, lit references | |||
| Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Northeastern N.A., GE Crow, C Barre Hellquist, KSL Ref QK117 +C84X 2000 | y | y | y | y | y | some | y | y | ne N.A. | names not labelled, lit references | |||
| Gray's Manual of Botany, ML Fernald, KSL Ref QK117 G8 1950 | y | y | y | y | y | y | some | y | y | mid to eastern North America | a classic | ||
| Yeasts, a Taxonomic Study, CP Kurtzman, JW Fell, KSL Ref QK617.5 Y48X 2000 | y | y | some, black and white, photo or drawing | y | some synonymous names, glossary, significant species name lit references | ||||||||
| Larousse Encyclopedia of Animal Life, KSL Ref QL7 +L37 1967 | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | some | y | int'l | also suborders and subclasses | ||
| Latin Names Explained, AF Gotch, KSL Ref QL9 G67X 1996 | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | int'l | reptiles, birds, mammals | ||
|
Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates, JH Thorp, KSL Ref QL151 +E36 2001 (LC) |
y | y | y | some | y | North American freshwaters | invertebrates (porifera, cnidaria, flatworms, molluscs, annelids, nematodes, bryozoans, mites, copepods, brachiopods, and more; Voshell (below) is a useful complement. | ||||||
| Guide to Identification of Marine and Estuarine Invertebrates, KL Gosner, KSL Ref QL362.5 G67 1971 | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | northern US (Cape Hatteras to the Bay of Fundy) | ||||
| Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America, JR Voshell, Jr., KSL Ref QL365.4 A1 V67X 2002 | y | y | y | y | text | y | explanations | North American freshwaters | life histories, discussion of classification; good companion volume to Thorp (above) | ||||
| Systema Porifera: a guide to the classification of sponges, J NA Hooper, KSL Ref QL371 S96X | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | worldwide | living and fossil; brief literature references | ||
| Encyclopedia of Butterflies, J Feltwell, KSL Ref QL541.5 +F44X | y | y | y | y | y | y | int'l | ||||||
| American Insects, RH Arnett, Jr., KSL Ref QL474 +A76 2000 | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | y | U.S. | also extinct species | |
| Butterflies of the World, V Sbordoni, S. Forestiero, KSL Ref QL542 +S2613X 1998 | y | y | y | y | y | some | int'l | ||||||
| Common Names of North American Butterflies, JY Miller, KSL Ref QL548 C66X 1992 | y | y | y | y | N. America | ||||||||
| Bees of the World, CD Michener, KSL Ref QL566 M53X 2000 | y | y | y |
y some b&w photos, drawings |
y | int'l | tribes and subfamilies are identified | ||||||
| Encyclopedia of Fishes, Eds.) JR Paxton, WN Eschmeyer, 2nd ed. KSL Ref QL614.7 +E52 1998 | some | some | y | y | y | y | y | int'l | |||||
| Fishes of the World, A Wheeler, KSL Ref QL614.7 +W47 1975 Oversize | y | y | y | y | y | y | int'l | ||||||
| Fishes of the World, JS Nelson, KSL Ref QL618 N4 1994 | some | some | y | y | y | y | y | b&w drawings | int'l | ||||
| Amphibian Species of the World, Ed. DR Frost, KSL Ref QL 645 F76 1985 & Suppl. | y | y | y | y | y | one | one | y |
online only (see site below) |
int'l | lit references, updates Boulenger's catalogues in the British Museum | ||
| Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians, R Conant, JT Collins, KSL Ref QL651 C65 1998 | y | y | y | y | y | east, central North American | |||||||
| Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World, CG Sibley, BL Monroe, Jr., KSL Ref QL677.4 +S54 1990 | y | y | y | y | y | y | int'l | ||||||
| Walker's Mammals of the World, RM Nowak, 6th ed. KSL Ref QL703 W3 1999 | y | y | y | y | y | y | int'l | every genus that existed in the last 5000 yrs. | |||||
| Atlas of European Mammals, AJ Mitchell-Jones, G Amori, W Bogdanowicz, et al. KSL Ref QL726 +A85 | y | y | y | detailed maps | b&w drawings | in multiple languages | Europe |
Animal Diversity Web - http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu, from Phil Myers, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology and partly sponsored by the Homeland Foundation.
- Contains signed species accounts for approximately 1600 species. Gives kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, and common names. Illustrations and geographic range descriptions are included.
EcoPort - http://www.ecoport.org, a collaboration from the EcoPort Foundation, Inc.
- Name, reference, and picture searches are possible using this species-level Web resource.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) - http://www.itis.usda.gov, from U.S., Canadian, and Mexican sources.
- For North American flora and fauna, covering Animalia, Plantae, Monera, Protista, and Fungi. Choose Data Access to search. Provides kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, and common names along with author and year of published account.
Protist Image Data, from University of Montreal.
- This site is a source for pictures as well as taxonomy data.
Annelid Resources: Research Taxonomy Links - http://biodiversity.uno.edu/~worms/annelid.html, from Geoff Read of New Zealand.
- For geographical taxonomic lists for 9000 species of polycaetes, oligochaetes, leeches, and their "allies". Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, and some common names are given. For taxonomy information this resource links to ITIS (above). Author and year of original reference is included as is related biographical information and Linda A. Ward and Kristian Fauchald's literature on the Polychaeta (Annelida) 2nd ed., 1997 (covering 1705-1997). For illustrations, other resources must be used.
Fish Base - http://www.fishbase.org, from R. Froese and D. Pauly (Eds.).
- Information on 25,000 species of fish, with 22,000 pictures, is provided. Author and year of "main" reference are given. Class, order, family, genus, species, and common names are given at this site. Geographic information is included.
Amphibian Species of the World - http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html, from the American Museum of Natural History, Dept. of Herpetology.
- A "continuing work" on the taxonomy of species of amphibians from all over the world. Common and Latin names, taxonomic literature references, and distribution information is found here.
EMBL Reptile Database - http://www.embl-heidelberg.de/~uetz/LivingReptiles.html, supported by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.
- More than 7900 species of living reptiles, with more than 1000 photos, are featured at this site. Order, family, genus, species, and some common names are given. Distribution and more complete than usual literature references are provided.
NatureServe Explorer: an online encyclopedia of life - http://www.natureserve.org, from the Association for Biodiversity Information with the Natural Heritage Network and assistance from other organizations.
- Conservation information on >50,000 U.S. and Canadian plants and animals and 600 ecological communities. Includes 1700 images of plants and animals. Choose Comprehensive to see the classification of the searched species.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - http://redlist.org, from the IUCN Species Survival Commission.
- Taxonomic information (common name, species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom) and statistics on animal or plant species (terrestrial or aquatic) whose status is threatened. (Some of the data on plants may be added in the future.) Searchable database results provide distribution and status information. Tables of data with statistics on numbers of extinct or threatened species within a major taxonomic group are found here. The numbers of extinct or threatened species listed by country is also provided.
International Plant Names Index - http://www.ipni.org, from the Plant Names Project, a collaboration between The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Harvard University Herbaria, and the Australian National Herbarium, Canberra. Also supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Headley Trust, and the Reuters Foundation.
- A highly-abbreviated searchable database for names and literature references for all seed plants. Data originated in Index Kewensis, Gray Card Index, or Australian Plant Names Index. Plant names, author names, collector names, and literature references are found. No common names are included.
Virus Databases Online - http://life.anu.edu.au/viruses/welcome.html, from Australian National University and authorized by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.
- Includes the Universal Virus Database of approved virus names and descriptions which can be searched or browsed. Synonymous names and literature reference when first reported are given.
NCBI Taxonomy Homepage - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy, from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, of the National Library of Medicine.
- An organizing page especially for online data for some of the most commonly-used organisms in research.
Additional notes-
One method, which can sometimes provide some of the missing name information, is a search in the BIOSIS Previews database using the known name. Display the complete record to view the abstract as well as the biosystematic codes. The BIOSIS database can be accessed at: http://resources.library.yale.edu/online/dbsbysubjecthfxml_info.asp?searchfor=science&lookfor=YUL04543 .
In accessing keys within the periodical literature, one technique useful in the present online Zoological Record database is to search on the word key within the descriptor or the systematics field sections of the records. The accessing page is at: http://resources.library.yale.edu/online/dbsbysubjecthfxml_info.asp?searchfor=science&lookfor=YUL04523 .
A modern discussion of keys is found in Describing Species: practical taxonomic procedure for biologists, by JE Winston, Columbia University Press. Kline Reference Collection QH83 W57X.
outline
of biology resources page with additional links and pointers.
Created on: October 30, 2000; revised on: February 21, 2003, August 18, 25, and 28th of 2004, January 30 and March 21, and May 19, 2006
Science Reference Librarian & Biology Selector
Kline Science Library
Yale University
LB