Hexacorallians of the World

A compilation of publications concerning taxonomy, nomenclature, and geographic
distribution of extant hexacorallians - members of cnidarian orders Actiniaria
(sea anemones in the strict sense), Antipatharia (black corals), Ceriantharia
(tube anemones), Corallimorpharia (sea anemones in the loose sense),
Ptychodactiaria (sea anemones in the loose sense), Scleractinia (hard or stony
corals), and Zoanthidea (sea anemones in the loose sense)

Funded largely by US National Science Foundation grants DEB95-21819 and
DEB99-78106 (in the program PEET - Partnerships to Enhance Expertise in
Taxonomy) and supplements in the REU program (Research Experience for
Undergraduates) to Daphne G. Fautin, and grant OCE00-03970 (in NOPP, the
National Oceanographic Partnership Program) to D.G.F. and Robert W. Buddemeier.

Sea Anemones of the World Data include:

* Bibliographic reference to the work in which each taxon was originally
described
* Synonymy of each taxon
* Taxonomic status of each taxon
* Images of many species - from the published literature as well as
previously unpublished ones
* Type specimens - by species and by museum
* Type locality of each species
* Published distribution of each species
* List of relevant publications by each author
* Classification schemes of Hexacorallia

Updates, including both additions and corrections, are being made continually
in all categories. Corrections are made as errors are found. Additions of data
and functionalities are made at intervals of several months; the date of the
current version is prominently displayed. Archival copies of previous versions
can be obtained upon request.

As of 31 January 2003, the inventory of genera and species was virtually
complete for Actiniaria, Antipatharia Ceriantharia, Corallimorpharia, and
Ptychodactiaria (now considered a component of Actiniaria), although not all
associated data are available for every species.

As bibliographic details for higher taxonomic levels are assembled, the
hierarchical placement of each taxon will be specified.

Data on type specimens are from two sources. A small number of records are from
listings in published type catalogs of two museums, and from original
descriptions that specified as repositories museums that have not been visited.
Most records are from examination of the specimens by Daphne Fautin in 40
natural history museums in Europe, the Pacific, and North America. The museums
that have been visited include those with large holdings of sea anemone type
specimens.

More information on the collections and temporal coverage of the data included
can be obtained at: http://hercules.kgs.ku.edu/hexacoral/anemone2/index.cfm