The Animal Species Database of China

JI Li-Qiang

Authors: JI Li-Qiang, QIAO Hui-Jie, and HAN Yan
Institute of Zoology , Chinese Academy of Sciences , China

The animal species database of China is being built up based on the animal inventory database of China and the Fauna of China. The database includes a species checklist, species distribution in China , the description information of some species, the information of new species and type specimen found in China in last 50 years, endangered species in China , etc. A search tree has been compiled based on the species description information from the Fauna of China and other references.

The check list is the largest one in China , which collects about 26000 species or subspecies inventory information, distribution by province and source references. About 1000 species, most are birds and mammals, have been chosen to collect their description information and compiled in the database for developing a search tree. In last 50 years, about 8000 species have been found in China and the type specimens are in museums of institutions and universities in China . Most of them are published in Chinese journals or monographs. The endangered species information are collected from a series of books, such as the Red Book of Endangered Animal in China , etc.

The database provides data via the Web of China Animal, an information platform for data sharing of animal species and specimen in China .

Keywords: animal species, database, China