Australian Faunal Directory: Search

Data in the Australian Faunal Directory may be accessed by using one of the following search options:

Notes

Wild-cards (either % or *) may be used in association with text strings.
If a species name cannot be found by searching for the species epithet, try replacing the ending with a wild card. The endings of species scientific names (species epithet) are subject to change. For example, a sponge first described as Stelospongus implexus was later transferred to the genus Dysidea. In this new combination, the name becomes Dysidea implexa.
The use of hyphens in common names is not consistent.

Name/Biocode Search

Use one field only.
To search for a species name, use the Scientific Name field and enter either the full scientific name or the species or subspecies epithet. Both valid and available names (which include synonyms) that match will be returned.
Only some groups, e.g. Pisces, include Common Names. For Groups that are covered by the Australian Faunal Directory all scientific names and synonymies are included, (although for some species only synonymies applied to the Australian fauna are included). It is at the author's / compiler's discretion as to whether Common Names are included.

Use one or more fields.
Enter any combination of search criteria, but to search for a species valid name, enter only the species or subspecies epithet (use the Advanced Search to search using the whole species or subspecies valid name).
The Search for field searches the whole Australian Faunal Directory i.e. all the fields such as Taxonomy: Available Names and Associated Data, Ecology, References etc. will be searched using that text string, not just the valid taxonomic name field. To restrict the search to specific areas of the Australian Faunal Directory, select also an item from the Taxon Level and/or Groups picklist.
The taxa levels returned are only valid taxa names. Available Names are not returned. Use the Name/Biocode or the Advanced Search to find Available Names.
The picklists may be used alone or in combination.

Enter a text string in one or more fields.
To restrict the search to specific taxa in the Australian Faunal Directory, select also from the Group picklist.
If a word contains a diacritic, search using the word up until the diacritic, e.g. for Condé, use Cond.
To return a full list for a Group, select that Group only.
To view details of the taxon, click on Taxon Details in the Report.
Lists may be saved for example, as a MS Word document.

Use the wild-card (either % or *) in association with text strings to make more general searches.

Enter a text string in one or more fields.
To restrict the search to specific taxa in the Australian Faunal Directory, select also from the Groups picklist.
If a word contains a diacritic, search using the word up until or after the diacritic, e.g. for Mémoires, use moires.
If using initials in the author field and no references are returned, check the order of the text string, e.g. Smith, A. verses A. Smith or use last name only.
Avoid using a text string that contains word(s) that may be formatted in a combination of roman and italics
To return the full bibliography for a taxon Group, select that Group only.
The list of bibliographic references returned may be saved, for example, as an MS Word document using Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 and Microsoft Word 97.
- Click on the search results page and save the page as refsearch.pl.
- Open refsearch.pl in MS Word 97 and save as a Word Document (*.doc).
Most references are currently without keywords and abstracts.