Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory: Format of the Directory

The detailed contents and format of the Australian Faunal Directory are explained in the pages below. Most items also have a context-sensitive link accessed by clicking the in the heading bar.

• Checklist
• Icons
• Taxonomy - General
• Phylum to Subtribe Names
• Genus
• Species

Searches may be made on the whole contents of the Australian Faunal Directory or on a selected taxon or a selected section of a taxon. The Australian Faunal Directory may be searched also by Scientific and Common Name, Taxon/CAVS Biocode, or by one of a combination of names, taxonomic levels and free-text search terms.

The Australian Faunal Directory comprises a hierarchical Checklist of over 3,000 families known or believed to occur in Australia. The Checklist may be explored by expanding the whole or part of the list. Linked to this list at various taxonomic levels are databases to specific groups. These can be accessed through the icon on the Checklist, or the list of Groups, or the Search facility. The checklist is mostly complete, but some lower invertebrate groups have yet to be included. Revisions are ongoing.

Each database comprises the whole or part of a major group, such as Porifera (sponges) or Elateroidea ('click' beetles) or the Marsupialia (marsupials). The data available will vary from a simple checklist of valid names through to more comprehensive information (Catalogue) which may also include detailed taxonomic data, distribution, ecology and bibliographic references. To download a copy of the checklist for a selected group as a Rich Text file or HTML table click on the required format on the checklist page.

The hierarchical checklist to family was compiled from various sources. Due to the uncertain and changing status of many taxa, this checklist should be treated only as a guide and a means of presenting the data.

Icons represent the hierarchical level of taxa in the Australian Faunal Directory. Levels 1 - 9 are above family and may be defined by the compiler; level 1 is always present but levels 2 - 9 are optional.

Level 1	-  Levels 2-9	Family	Subfamily	Supertribe	Tribe	Subtribe
Genus	Subgenus	Species	Subspecies	Incertae sedis	Species Inquirenda	Available Name

Nomenclature in the Australian Faunal Directory adheres to the provisions established in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. A Glossary derived from the Code provides an explanation of terms used in the Australian Faunal Directory.

The author and date of genus and species group names appearing in the Australian Faunal Directory are presented so the user may understand the nature and relationships of the names. All names appear in their current legitimate form, which may differ from the form in their original presentation.

The valid genus and species group names and their allocation to families are determined by the contributors. No new taxa are described and no new taxonomic decisions are made in the Australian Faunal Directory. New distributional and other biological information may be included. Synonymies do not include combinational changes.

A useful overview of nomenclature, for both the specialist and the non-specialist, may be found in Cogger, H.G. (1987). Classification and Nomenclature. pp. 266-286 in Dyne, G.R. & Walton, D.W. (eds) Fauna of Australia. General Articles. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1A. For details consult the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

The following information may be included at the top level ( Level 1) of each selected database and further information may be given also at lower levels, especially Family.

Category	Explanatory Notes
Taxon Name	The icon indicates the level of the selected taxon, followed by the scientific name. The author and year of publication of the name may also be given. The top level in a database, Level 1, is indicated by the icon with the number 1.
Compiler / Reviser of Taxon	These may be cited at the Level 1 or at each lower level as appropriate.
Closing Date	The date(s) when entries were last made in the taxon selected given at Level 1 covers the rest of that taxon branch. Closing dates for individual sections may be listed also at lower levels.
Checklist for Taxon	Access to hierarchical checklist for the selected database.
Bibliography	A list of bibliographic references associated with the Level 1 taxon.
Taxonomic placement	Hierarchical placement of the taxon. The top level in a database, Level 1, is displayed first, with subsequent levels on separate lines.
Elements at next level	Taxa at the next hierarchical level.
Contents	Details available for the selected taxon. Contents will vary depending on data available.

The following data, if present, are listed under Contents. The number of items will depend on information included in the database.

The following are examples of data for a Genus Valid Name [with explanatory notes in brown text within parentheses]. Note that this is for example purposes only and that the information is not complete. Please see the actual database for complete data.

[The highest level to which this taxon is placed]

Part of the EUTHERIA database

[Australian Distibution]

Distribution by Drainage Basin, States and Marine areas. The States bordering these marine areas may also be highlighted.

[World Distribution]

Distribution by Zoogeographic Region. Some countries, e.g. China, Indonesia and Mexico, span two Regions.

[Hierarchical placement of the taxon within the Group. The highest level (Level 1) is displayed first, with subsequent levels on separate lines.]

• EUTHERIA
  • RODENTIA
    • MURIDAE

[Genus Available Name, Author, year of publication, and work and page where the name was first made available. This is followed by the Type species of the genus available name given in its original combination, followed if necessary by the form used by the nominator, and followed by the method of designation. If no type species was designated or indicated, the names of all originally included species are listed in chronological order. Genus Available Names, in synonymy, are listed in chronological order. Each name is given in its legitimate form, without diacritic marks or hyphenation, except as defined by the ICZN. Published names judged to be not available may be included in the synonymies where clarification is needed to preclude confusion on the status of these names. Qualifications, if any, concerning the name are given in brackets "[qualifications]" after the bibliographic citation.]

Rattus Fischer, G. (1803). Das National museum der Naturgeschichte zu Paris. Von seinem ersten Ursprunge bis zu seinem jetzigen Glanze. Zweiter Band. Schilderung der naturhistorischen Sammlungen. Frankfurt am. Main : F. Esslinger pp. 426-4 pls [128] [as Ruttus].
Type species: Mus decumanus Pallas, 1779 (Thomas, O. (1916). On the generic names Rattus and Phyllomys.Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.(8)18: 240 mistakenly identified Mus rattus as the type species of Rattus, see Hollister, N. (1916). The type species of Rattus. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 29: 206-207) by monotypy.

Epimys Trouessart, E.-L. (1881). Catalogue des mammifères vivants et fossiles. Rodentia (suite). Bull. Soc. Étud. Sci. Angers 10: 105-212 [117] [originally made available as a subgenus of Mus Linnaeus, 1758 (as Mus Linnaeus, 1766) nom. nov. for Rattus Fischer, 1803].

Christomys Sody, H.J.V. (1941). On a collection of rats from the Indo-Malayan and Indo-Australian regions With descriptions of 43 new genera, species and subspecies. Treubia 18: 255--325 [nom. nud.].
Compiled from secondary source: Musser, G.G. & Carleton, M.D.(1993). Family Muridae. pp. 501-756 in Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D-A (eds) Mammal Species of the World. Washington: Smithsonian Institution 1206 pp. [649].

[Bibliographic reference(s) to the taxonomic decision for synonymy adopted by the author(s) of the database.]

Taxonomic decision for synonymy: Mahoney, J.A. in Walton, D.W. (ed.) (1988). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 5 Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service x 274 pp. [180]; Musser, G.G. & Carleton, M.D. (1993).Family Muridae. pp. 501-756 in Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D-A. (eds) Mammal Species of the World. Washington : Smithsonian Institution 1206 pp. [649]

[Distribution data given in the Australian Faunal Directory are by political and geographic region descriptors and serve as a guide to the distribution of a taxon. Extralimital distribution and qualifications about the distribution may also be recorded. The distribution descriptors for each species are collated to genus group level. The political and geographic region descriptors are given in the Maps. An asterisk (*) implies that the information is unconfirmed but, in the opinion of the author(s), likely to be correct. Additional information, if any, follows the keywords separated by a semicolon. For details of a taxon's distribution, the reader should consult the cited references.]

Australian Region-Australia: 200 m bathymetric (S Gulfs coast), New South Wales (Bulloo River basin, Lake Eyre Basin, Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal), Northern Territory (Lake Eyre Basin, N coastal, N Gulf, W Plateau), Queensland (Bulloo River basin, Lake Eyre Basin, Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal), South Australia (Lake Eyre Basin, Murray-Darling basin, S Gulfs, SE coastal, W Plateau), Tasmania, Victoria (Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal), Western Australia (N coastal, NW coastal, SW coastal, W Plateau); Christmas Island; Hawaii; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Solomon Islands
Neotropical Region-Easter Islands

[Extralimital distribution: If a species contained in the genus occurs outside Australia, a brief descriptive phrase of its distribution is given together with a bibliographic reference to a work which leads the reader to literature defining that distribution.]

Oriental Region-Bangladesh; Burma (= Myanmar); Indonesia; Malaysia; Philippines; Thailand
World-wide by introduction, but apparently native only to Asia, SE Asian islands, Philippine Ils, New Guinea and Solomon Ils

[References related to the world distribution data.]
See:
Menzies, J.I. & Dennis, E. (1979). Handbook of New Guinea Rodents. Handbook No. 6. Wau : Wau Ecology Institute vi 68 pp. 8 pls

Taylor, J.M., Calaby, J.H. & Van Deusen, H.M. (1982). A revision of the genus Rattus (Rodentia, Muridae) in the New Guinean region. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 173: 177-336

Musser, G.G. & Newcomb, C. (1983). Malaysian murids and the giant rat of Sumatra. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 174: 327-598

[Reference(s) for further information on the taxon.]

Musser, G.G. & Carleton, M.D. (1993). Family Muridae. pp 501-756 in Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D-A. (eds) Mammal Species of the World. Washington : Smithsonian Institution 1206 pp. [649] (considers Christomys to be a nom. nud.)

The following are examples of data for a Species Valid Name [with explanatory notes in brown text within parentheses]. Note that this is for example purposes only and that the information is not complete. Please see the actual database for complete data.

[Australian Distibution]

Distribution by Drainage Basin, States and Marine areas. The States bordering these marine areas may also be highlighted.

[World Distribution]

Distribution by Zoogeographic Region. Some countries, e.g. China, Indonesia and Mexico, span two Regions.

[Hierarchical placement of the taxon within the Group. The highest level (Level 1) is displayed first, with subsequent levels on separate lines.]

• EUTHERIA
  • RODENTIA
    • MURIDAE

[Species Available Name, Author, year of publication, and work and page where the name was first made available. Species Available Names, in synonymy, are listed in chronological order. Each name is given in its legitimate form, without diacritic marks or hyphenation, except as defined by the ICZN. Published names judged to be not available may be included in the synonymies where clarification is needed to preclude confusion on the status of these names. Qualifications, if any, concerning the name are given in brackets after the bibliographic citation.]

Mus (Hapalotis) tompsoni Ramsay, E.P. (1882). Description of a supposed new species of rat from the interior of New South Wales. Proc. Linn. Soc. NSW 6: 763-765 [763][publication date established from Fletcher, J.J. (1896). On the dates of publication of the early volumes of the Society's Proceedings. Proc. Linn. Soc. NSW (2)10: 533-536 [535]; as Mu. (Hapalotis?) tompsoni].

[Type data includes nature of type specimen(s) and institution(s) in which the type(s) is held. An asterisk (*) indicates that the type(s) has not been examined and its identity established personally by the author. The museum acronyms, and the institutions to which they refer, are listed at the Level 1 of the database. If the primary type is a lectotype or neotype, a reference to the subsequent designation follows.]

Type data: holotype MMUS M787 skin wet, skull not extracted (a label with MMus M787 identified this specimen as the type; Ramsay, op. cit., calls the holotype a female, but MMus M787 is a male; Waterview was the Wagga Wagga residence of Mr F.A. Thompson, see Swan, K. (1970). A History of Wagga Wagga. Wagga Wagga : City of Wagga Wagga xxiv 218 pp. 36 pls [37]).

[Type locality is the place(s) where the primary type(s) (includes lectotype and neotype) was collected. Geographical place names are given in their modern form wherever possible, followed by the original name if different.]

Type locality: Waterview, Wagga Wagga (as Waterview near Wagga Wagga), NSW.

[Bibliographic reference(s) to alternative taxonomic arrangement adopted by the author of the database.]

Taxonomic decision for synonymy: Mahoney, J.A. in Walton, D.W. (ed.) (1988). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 5 Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service x 274 pp. [186]

Introduced (from Europe and the Orient)

[Distribution data given in the Australian Faunal Directory are by political and geographic region descriptors and serve as a guide to the distribution of a taxon. The distribution descriptors for each species/subspecies are collated to genus group level. The political and geographic region descriptors are given in the Maps. An asterisk (*) implies that the information is unconfirmed but, in the opinion of the author(s), likely to be correct. Additional information, if any, follows the keywords separated by a semicolon. For details of a taxon's distribution, the reader should consult the cited references.]

Australian Region-Australia: New South Wales (SE coastal), Northern Territory (N coastal, N Gulf), Queensland (NE coastal), South Australia (S Gulfs, SE coastal), Tasmania, Victoria (SE coastal), Western Australia (N coastal, NW coastal, SW coastal)

[Extralimital distribution and qualifications about the distribution may also be recorded.]

Worldwide in tropics and warm temperate zones

[Ecological descriptors or keywords are general terms used to indicate the ecology of each species and are defined in the Glossary. An asterisk (*) implies that the information is unconfirmed but, in the opinion of the author(s), likely to be correct. Additional information, if any, follows the keywords on the following line. Host-taxon associations, if any, are also shown and are collated and listed at the top level (Level 1) for the selected group.]

Necrophagous, omnivore, subtropical, terrestrial, peridomestic
Good swimmer

[Reference(s) for further information on the taxon.]

Hinton, M.A.C. (1916). A History of British Mammals. Pts XVIII-XIX. London : Gurney & Jackson

Dunstan, C.E. & Fox, B.J. (1996). The effects of fragmentation and disturbance of rainforest on ground-dwelling small mammals on the Robertson Plateau, New South Wales, Australia. J. Biogeogr. 23: 187-201