Data from: A semantic model for species description applied to the ensign wasps (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae) of New Caledonia

Taxonomic descriptions are unparalleled sources of knowledge of life's phenotypic diversity. As natural language prose, these data sets are largely refractory to computation and integration with other sources of phenotypic data. By formalizing taxonomic descriptions using ontology-based semantic representation, we aim to increase the reusability and computability of taxonomists' primary data. Here, we present a revision of the ensign wasp (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae) fauna of New Caledonia using this new model for species description. Descriptive matrices, specimen data, and taxonomic nomenclature are gathered in a unified Web-based application, mx, then exported as both traditional taxonomic treatments and semantic statements using the OWL Web Ontology Language. Character:character-state combinations are then annotated following the entity–quality phenotype model, originally developed to represent mutant model organism phenotype data; concepts of anatomy are drawn from the Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology and linked to phenotype descriptors from the Phenotypic Quality Ontology. The resulting set of semantic statements is provided in Resource Description Framework format. Applying the model to real data, that is, specimens, taxonomic names, diagnoses, descriptions, and redescriptions, provides us with a foundation to discuss limitations and potential benefits such as automated data integration and reasoner-driven queries. Four species of ensign wasp are now known to occur in New Caledonia: Szepligetella levipetiolata, Szepligetella deercreeki Deans and Mikó sp. nov., Szepligetella irwini Deans and Mikó sp. nov., and the nearly cosmopolitan Evania appendigaster. A fifth species, Szepligetella sericea, including Szepligetella impressa, syn. nov., has not yet been collected in New Caledonia but can be found on islands throughout the Pacific and so is included in the diagnostic key.

分类学描述（taxonomic descriptions）是获取生命表型多样性（phenotypic diversity）知识的无可比拟的宝贵资源。作为自然语言文本形式的数据集，此类数据大多难以实现计算处理以及与其他表型数据源的整合。我们通过基于本体论（ontology）的语义表示方法对分类学描述进行形式化处理，以期提升分类学家原始数据的可复用性与可计算性。在此，我们依托这一全新的物种描述模型，对新喀里多尼亚的旗腹蜂（ensign wasp，膜翅目Hymenoptera: 旗腹蜂科Evaniidae）类群进行了修订。描述性矩阵、标本数据与分类学命名信息被整合至一款基于网页的统一应用程序mx中，随后可导出为传统分类学处理文本，以及采用OWL网络本体语言（OWL Web Ontology Language）编写的语义陈述。性状-性状状态组合随后将遵循实体-性状表型模型（entity–quality phenotype model）进行注释——该模型最初用于构建模式生物的突变体表型数据；解剖学概念取自膜翅目解剖学本体（Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology），并与表型质量本体（Phenotypic Quality Ontology）中的表型描述符相关联。最终生成的语义陈述集将以资源描述框架（Resource Description Framework）格式提供。将该模型应用于实际数据（包括标本、分类学名称、鉴别特征、物种描述及修订描述），为我们探讨其局限性与潜在优势（如自动化数据整合与推理驱动查询）奠定了基础。目前已知新喀里多尼亚分布有4种旗腹蜂：Szepligetella levipetiolata、Szepligetella deercreeki Deans和Mikó sp. nov.、Szepligetella irwini Deans和Mikó sp. nov.，以及近乎全球性分布的Evania appendigaster。另有第五个物种Szepligetella sericea（含新异名Szepligetella impressa syn. nov.），目前尚未在新喀里多尼亚采集到，但在太平洋诸岛均有分布，因此被纳入鉴别检索表中。