Species and taxonomic resources

We hold many printed floras, faunas, taxonomic journals and identification handbooks/keys at the library, by region, habitat, and taxonomic group. Come in, check Oria, or send us an email if you are looking for a specific region/habitat/group.

• A few examples:
  • Norsk Flora / Norsk-Svensk-Finsk Flora (Lid)
  • Norges Planter (Fægri)
  • Illustrierte Flora von Mittel-Europa (Hegi)
  • Fungi of temperate Europe (Læssøe)
  • Norges Dyr
  • Danmarks Fauna
  • Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe (Hayward and Ryland)
  • Seasearch guide to the Bryozoans and Hydroids of Britain and Ireland
  • Fauna Japonica, The Zoology of the Faroes, South African Animal Life...

• Encyclopedia of Life (EoL) - aims to gather all knowledge about a species in one place. The taxonomic backbone of EoL comes from the Catalogue of Life (CoL). Some of this information is imported from smaller databases (e.g. Fishbase, The Reptile Database). Coverage varies by group.
• World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) – Authoratative marine taxonomy, with photos and distributions. Taxonomic information is based on the work of a taxonomic team plus imports (e.g. from FishBase and AlgaeBase).
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System – North American database. Coverage varies by group.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) – Species occurrence records from publications and databases (including Artsobservasjoner in Norway).
• Artsdatabanken – Species and nature types in Norway, with redlists/blacklists. Connected to Artsobservasjoner (public species observations)
• IUCN Red list of threatened species

• The journal Nucleic Acids Research publishes a database list every year (e.g. genomes, microarray data, organelles, metabolic and signalling pathways)
• The Entrez database (National Center for Biotechnology Information, NCBI) is a tool for searching across literature (PubMed), nucelotide sequences (GenBank), genomes, protein sequences and structures, and taxonomy. Taxonomic information is maintained based on other broad (e.g. EOL) or group (e.g. Algaebase) databases.
• Barcode of Life Data system (BOLD) - online database of species genetic barcodes, searchable by geography, taxonomy, and depository. Partnered with the International Barcode of Life project (iBoL); the Norwegian project NorBOL is part of this.

• Viruses
  • International committee on taxonomy of viruses
     
• Algae
  • AlgaeBase - Taxonomic database, good for names/synonyms of seaweeds
  • Norwegian seaweeds - Image database of Norwegian species. Taxonomic information is not fully updated.
  • AlgaeVision – Image database of terrestrial and freshwater algae in Britain
  • Diatombase
     
• Fungi and Lichens
  • University of Oslo (NHM) databases of fungi and lichens, also with herbarium information
  • Fungi resources from Kew Gardens, including the Index Fungorum taxonomic database
  • Mycobank database - from the International Mycological Association
     
• Plants
  • The Bryophyte herbarium database and herbarium info from UiO (NHM)
  • Plant resources from Kew Gardens, such as Plants of the World Online (database of taxnonomy, distribution, images), the International Plant Names Index and the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.
  • World Plants and World Ferns - Checklists and distributions; floras (Germany, the Alps, Rhodes); Illustrated world compendium of Orchids.
  • Biological Flora of the British Isles Database - Includes bibliographic links to sources, and links to the EcoFlora database (taxonomy, ecological /morphological characteristics, distribution, associated insects and fungi.)
  • Den virtuella floran - Swedish online plant flora
  • Annotated checklist of pan-arctic flora vascular plants

• Fish
  • FishBase - Taxonomy, life history, trophic ecology, uses, historical data
     
• Amphibians
  • Amphibian Species of the World - a taxonomic database from the American Museum of Natural History, with English names and some distribution notes
  • AmphibiaWeb - Taxonomy, natural history and conservation status
     
• Reptiles
  • The Reptile Database - Comprehensive taxonomic database for reptiles (supplies information to EOL)
     
• Birds
  • Alive Handbook of the Birds of the World - Continuously updated (UiB access only)
  • Internet Bird Collection (IBC) – Free repository of bird images and sounds
  • Norske navn på verdens fugler - Norwegian, English and Latin names (& synonyms), from Norsk Navnekomité for Fugl