TaxaGloss is an illustrated multilingual glossary to help biodive
rsity researchers and conservation practitioners understand the technical terms used to describe marine organisms.
One of the great
est challenges in using taxonomic keys and other resources to identifyorganisms is learning the complex vocabularies used to describe their morphology.
This is made more difficult by the fact that taxonomic documentation of the world's biodiversity is an international endeavour. Engl
ish-speaking taxonomists often have difficulty understanding original species descriptions from the classical literature, which was often publ
ished in other European languages. Modern taxonomists are more often based in non-English speaking countries and yet recent literature is virtua
lly entirely in English.
TaxaGloss can be used to create an illustrated glossary in a single language to h
elp understand terms. It can also be used to create custom translation tables between different languages. Many terms have different definit
ions depending on the group of organisms they are applied to. Users first select the taxon and language, and can then browse terms or create a
printable glossary.
TaxaGloss is a living database compiled by an international community of
experts. To report errors or contribute images or translations please co
ntact us.