How to use Dyntaxa

Searching and finding names

Dyntaxa provides information about different groups of organisms – e.g. species, genera and families. It is possible to search both scientific and Swedish names, or explore the hierarchy. There is also information about synonyms and invalid names.

Relationships

In many cases, the Dyntaxa hierarchy mirrors actual relationships. However, keep in mind that this is not the main purpose of the database. Sometimes, there are gaps in our knowledge of relationships, with classification more becoming a tool for sorting and finding information. At other times, classification deviates from reflecting relationships because we prefer to maintain stability and facilitate communication.

Geographic distribution and reproductive status

All species have data on Swedish occurrence and reproductive status. Do not assume that all species in the database have been observed in Sweden. A relatively large number are listed for reason such as formerly (and erroneously) having been reported as Swedish, for having a name that has been used for a native species or because they have been found in a neighboring country.

Complete version

The search function found here at www.slu.se/dyntaxa is a stripped version of Dyntaxa. To gain access to more functionality, such as being able to navigate the hierarchy, use the complete version at www.dyntaxa.se.

Using the complete version it is also possible to compare (match) lists of your own with Dyntaxa, export different kinds of lists in Excel-format and access information about content updates.

How many species are there in the database?

One of the goals of The Swedish Species Information Centre is to have all Swedish organisms – focusing on multicellular ones – represented in Dyntaxa. This includes information about current scientific name, formerly used names (synonyms) and classification.

To date, Dyntaxa contains information on approx. 63,000 species (April 2012). More than 58,000 of those are Swedish, representing about 95% of the known ones. In addition, there are more than 150,000 names tied to these taxa.

References

Each taxon and each name is tied to a reference documenting the source of information. In general, these refer to lists compiled by experts – whether published or informal – rather than publications with original descriptions of organisms. Unless copyright imposes restrictions, we can easily share copies of digital files.