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ISIS Taxonomy standards:

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ISIS Taxonomic List Purposes:

1. To provide a wide standard to help the community put the right animals together – as mates and as populations – both of which have taxonomy as a criterion.

2. To provide local flexibility to meet local needs (taxonomic local preference option).

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What would be the ideal for ISIS taxonomic standards?

be scientifically sound

but of course scientific opinion varies over time as new data and new interpretations are proposed.be reasonably stable be compatible with IUCNbe compatible with CITESBe compatible with national regulatory /permitting bodiesBe compatible with state and local regulatory / permit bodies

But of course these independent organizations taxonomies are NOT compatible with each other……..

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Taxonomic standards - challenges ISIS faces:

o There is no completely accepted global standard for taxonomy.

o For example, IUCN and CITES are not fully compatible with each other (and national lists of course differ).

o Species standard lists usually do NOT address “valid” subspecies – as these are seen as somewhat arbitrary by most modern science.

o Most sources do NOT provide just “updates”, but rather a full list we have to scan for changes.

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So what does ISIS do?o At class and higher

level, ISIS tries to follow the most globally adopted, authoritative and available lists.

o ISIS staff member Laurie Bingaman Lackey maintains ISIS taxonomic lists (and has added 10,000 entries in recent years).

o A major consideration is staying reasonably compatible with IUCN, the World Conservation Union (source of the Red List).

o IUCN mostly follows global lists, but makes its own exceptions.

o ISIS is an international NGO member of IUCN

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Which lists?

o ISIS taxonomy standard references:

Mammals: o Mammals of the World, 3rd

edition, Wilson & Reeder, Smithsonian Institution, 2005.     http://vertebrates.si.edu/mammals/msw/

o Common Names of Mammals of the World, Wilson & Cole, Smithsonian Institution, 2000.  

 o  o For birds:  o       The most comprehensive

website available is Avibase http://www.bsc-eoc.org/avibase/avibase.jsp which is hosted by Bird Studies Canada & Birdlife International.  The Handbook of the Birds of the World series, which has published 15 of the expected 16 volumes so far, is an emerging standard, and is often used by the zoo world.

o  o The Australasian region uses these

sources as well: o Higgins P J (Ed), Handbook of

Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Oxford University Press, Melbourne

o Schodde R  Mason I J 1999, The Directory of Australian Birds. Passerines.  SIRO Publishing.  

o  o  o For reptiles: o Institute for Genomic Research,

Peter Uetz    http://www.jcvi.org/reptiles/search.php

o Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Cogger, Reed 1988 

o Crocodilian, Tuatara and Turtle Species of the World, King & Burke, ASC 1989

o Snake Species of the World, McDiarmid 1999 Vol 1 

o Living Snakes of the World, Mehrtens, Sterling 1987

o Checklist of Chelonians of the World, Fritz & Havas 2007

o http://globiz.sachsen.de/snsd/publikationen/vertebrate-zoology/vz57-2/57-2_Contents.pdf

o  o

For amphibians: o Amphibian Species of the World,

Frost, ASC 1985      http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html

o Amphibian Species of the World: Additions and corrections, Duellman, Univ Kansas 1993  

o  o For fish: 

      Catalog of Fishes, William Eschmeyer, California Academy of Sciences 1998      www.fishbase.org

o  o  o For invertebrates: o Note that ISIS does not recognize

dealer lists as authoritative.o References recommended by the

Invertebrate division of the Smithsonian Institution when the initial ISIS database was assembled:

o Synopsis & Classification of Living Organisms, Sybil Parker, ed. McGraw-Hill 1982 (the basis of the higher-level taxonomy)

o The Common Insects of North America, Lester Sean & Charles Papp. Harper & Row 1972

o Caribbean Reed Invertebrates & Plants, Patrick Colin.  TFH Publications 1978

o A Functional Biology of Echinoderms, John Lawrence.  Johns Hopkins 1987

o The Insect Societies, Edward O Wilson. Belknap Press, Harvard 1987

o The Ants, Bert Holldobler & Edward O Wilson.  Belknap Press, Harvard 1990

o Intertidal Invertebrates of California, Morris, Abbott & Haderlie.  Stanford University Press 1980

o Shrimps, Lobsters & Crabs of the Atlantic Coast of the Eastern United States, Austin Williams.  Smithsonian Institution Press 1984

o Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Raymond Moore, ed.  Univ of Kansas Press 1956 Part Coelenterata

o A Survey of the Ptychodactiara, Corallimorpharia & Actiniaria, Oskar Carlgren.  Almquist & Wiksells: Stockholm 1949

o  o Others: o Invertebrate Working Group of the

NFZG o Grasshopper Country, David Rentz. 

CSIRO Division of Entomology, Canberra. Published by UNSW Press, 1996. ISBN 0 86840 063 7.

o The CSIRO invert list from Australia  http://www.ento.csiro.au/aicn/

o The OBIS Indo-Pacific Marine Mollusk list   http://data.acnatsci.org/obis/    

o Hexacorallians of the World     http://hercules.kgs.ku.edu/hexacoral/anemone2/index.cfm

o The Phasmid Study Group   http://phasmid-study-group.org/ 

o The World Spider Catalog, Version 9.5, Norman I. Platnick, The American Museum of Natural History    http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/INTRO1.html 

o The World Register of Marine Species – WoRMS  www.marinespecies.org

o  o  o For domestic animal breeds:

World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity, 3rd edition, Scherf, FAO Rome 2000   http://dad.fao.org/

o  o Two excellent general web

sources are:o Catalogue of Life/Species 2000   

http://www.catalogueoflife.org/dynamic-checklist/search.php

o Integrated Taxonomic Information System - ITIS    http://www.itis.gov/

o  o  o Please note that ISIS does not

attempt to remain on the "cutting edge" of  taxonomy, as defined by any particular journal, research group or committee.  ISIS treats taxonomic updates conservatively, preferring to wait until changes are generally accepted in the literature and made available world-wide, preferably on-line, in multi-language format, i.e. FishBase.   Frequent taxonomic changes - and often revision back to a former name -  would otherwise be a major logistical challenge, as the current use of Arks is dependent on individual users updating each individual computer.   ZIMS will allow immediate updating of taxonomy (and institution lists) to all users.

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ISIS BirdsTHE MOST COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITE AVAILABLE IS AVIBASE HTTP://WWW.BSC-EOC.ORG/AVIBASE/AVIBASE.JSP WHICH IS HOSTED BY BIRD STUDIES CANADA & BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL .  THE HANDBOOK OF THE BIRDS OF THE WORLD SERIES, WHICH HAS PUBLISHED 15 OF THE EXPECTED 16 VOLUMES SO FAR, IS AN EMERGING STANDARD, AND IS OFTEN USED BY THE ZOO WORLD.

 THE AUSTRALASIAN REGION USES THESE SOURCES AS WELL:

HIGGINS P J (ED), HANDBOOK OF AUSTRALIAN, NEW ZEALAND AND ANTARCTIC BIRDS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, MELBOURNE SCHODDE R  MASON I J 1999, THE DIRECTORY OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. PASSERINES.  SIRO PUBLISHING.  

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ISIS Reptiles

o Institute for Genomic Research, Peter Uetz    http://www.jcvi.org/reptiles/search.php

o Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Cogger, Reed 1988 

o Crocodilian, Tuatara and Turtle Species of the World, King & Burke, ASC 1989

o Snake Species of the World, McDiarmid 1999 Vol 1 

o Living Snakes of the World, Mehrtens, Sterling 1987

o Checklist of Chelonians of the World, Fritz & Havas 2007

o http://globiz.sachsen.de/snsd/publikationen/vertebrate-zoology/vz57-2/57-2_Contents.pdf

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ISIS Amphibians

o Amphibian Species of the World, Frost, ASC 1985      http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html

o Amphibian Species of the World: Additions and corrections, Duellman, Univ Kansas 1993

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ISIS Fish

o Catalog of Fishes, William Eschmeyer, California Academy of Sciences 1998      

o FISHBASE. www.fishbase.org

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ISIS Invertebrates

o Synopsis & Classification of Living Organisms, Sybil Parker, ed. McGraw-Hill 1982 (the basis of the higher-level taxonomy)

o The Common Insects of North America, Lester Sean & Charles Papp. Harper & Row 1972 o Caribbean Reed Invertebrates & Plants, Patrick Colin.  TFH Publications 1978 o A Functional Biology of Echinoderms, John Lawrence.  Johns Hopkins 1987 o The Insect Societies, Edward O Wilson. Belknap Press, Harvard 1987 o The Ants, Bert Holldobler & Edward O Wilson.  Belknap Press, Harvard 1990 o Intertidal Invertebrates of California, Morris, Abbott & Haderlie.  Stanford University Press 1980 o Shrimps, Lobsters & Crabs of the Atlantic Coast of the Eastern United States, Austin Williams. 

Smithsonian Institution Press 1984 o Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Raymond Moore, ed.  Univ of Kansas Press 1956 Part

Coelenterata o A Survey of the Ptychodactiara, Corallimorpharia & Actiniaria, Oskar Carlgren.  Almquist & Wiksells:

Stockholm 1949 o  o Others: o Invertebrate Working Group of the NFZG o Grasshopper Country, David Rentz.  CSIRO Division of Entomology, Canberra. Published by UNSW

Press, 1996. ISBN 0 86840 063 7. o The CSIRO invert list from Australia  http://www.ento.csiro.au/aicn/ o The OBIS Indo-Pacific Marine Mollusk list   http://data.acnatsci.org/obis/     o Hexacorallians of the World     http://hercules.kgs.ku.edu/hexacoral/anemone2/index.cfm o The Phasmid Study Group   http://phasmid-study-group.org/  o The World Spider Catalog, Version 9.5, Norman I. Platnick, The American Museum of Natural History   

http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/INTRO1.html  o The World Register of Marine Species – WoRMS  www.marinespecies.org

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ISIS Breeds(treated as trinomials)

World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity, 3rd edition, Scherf, FAO Rome 2000   http://dad.fao.org/

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So ISIS provides ~100,000 taxonomic names.

What rules apply to using them?

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Taxonomic names: ISIS ZIMS Rules:

o Birth or capture facility (or earliest reporting holder - closest to the first) usually has the best information on origin and taxonomy – so their taxonomic choice is generally the one ISIS displays as the global taxonomy for an animal.

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Exception to first one “wins”:Sometimes there is modern genetic evidence available to document that an animal is best assigned a taxonomy other than than recorded by the first reporting holder. In that case, and lonely in that case, if the institution is willing to share this information, ISIS ZIMS allows them to change the global taxonomy displayed for this animal.

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ZIMS Taxonomic Rules

o Taxonomic consistency is enforced for one generation (like ARKS) – babies are the lowest common denominator of their parents’ taxonomies.

o This is simply a biological fact.o However, what about the

parents’ parents???

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Future Challenges

Sooner or later, taxonomic (in)consistency up the increasingly deep pedigrees available from ISIS, should be made more

visible and be reviewed.