eutaxa – Taxonomic Software

There are two ways to achieve certainty in identifying biological indicators: Firstly, by working as a specialist for several years, enhancing knowledge of morphological characteristics and distinguishing features of all species and secondly, by establishing a complete reference collection, which can be used to compare specimens and preparations in order to resolve taxonomic problems or to enhance one's knowledge.

One precondition is awareness of the morphology of all species, especially the rare ones, which is necessary to exclude errors and uncertainties in the taxonomic work. It requires an intensive examination of the whole organism group and the establishing of a reference collection (that often lacks many rare species, in spite of extensive sampling).

This challenging problem is solved by the eutaxa products, including a new taxonomic software for biological scientists that provides precise documentation of most species known from a certain geographic region. Eutaxa offers a complete virtual reference collection of a specific organism group, which can be used to compare morphological characteristics of species in any number and combination. As a special service to eutaxa customers, the website offers a series of updates that can be downloaded for free in order to update the software without any extra effort.

Advantages of an Electronic Reference Collection

1. Every species is precisely documented by a series of images. The user can study the differences between species by comparing the distinguishing features.

2. The collection includes even rare species, which are exclusively known to a few experts.

3. The program allows the user to combine and compare images of species and details in any number or size – a method that cannot be applied when studying preparations under the microscope.

4. The collection is always available, requires no maintenance or preparations that dry up; it is space-saving and can be transported to any location on a CD or notebook.

5. The collection can be refreshed or upgraded by downloading free updates from the Internet.

6. The reference collection is linked with the identification keys and can therefore be used to verify the results of the determination work.

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A special software program has now been developed, offering various applications for the identification of species and a complete reference collection, including thousands of high-quality microphotographic images. In addition, ecological, systematic and geographic data of every species can be queried from the database. When installed on the computer, the software may be updated on the Internet for free, so that the investment will soon pay off and the user always has access to the latest knowledge.

Because of its complexity, this software is not only a useful application for experts, but also a versatile training program for non-specialists and students. Moreover, it can be employed in identification courses and lectures to demonstrate the morphological specifications of an organism group or of individual species.

Eutaxa plans to extend the range of products in the coming years, in order to provide the convenience of using a virtual reference collection to other life-science experts as well.