eviews the global and national scenario. We share our experience of developing web -interfaced ECAT of known Indian fauna (IndFauna). Accessible at http://www.ncbi.org.in, this catalogue raises several issues concerned with taxonomy or systematics and information technology in biodiversity information management. Baseline information on more than 93% of the 90,000 known fanal species in India has been documented in IndFauna, which demonstrates a model of collaboration between domai n experts and IT managers. It is our belief that such ECATs would be effective in overcoming tax o- nomic impediments as well as better sustainable use and conservation of our biotic resources. THE most striking feature of the earth is the exi stence of life, and the most striking feature of life is its dive rsity, popularly known as 'biodiversity ' 1 . The most practical and widely applicable measure of this biodiversity is 'species'. They are the common currency for biodiversity research and management, and the only measure of bi o- diversity with a well -established standardized code of nomenclature. The presence of a species can indicate the habitats present, environmental quality, and state of knowledge of biodiversity such as rates of discovery, and extinctions. The relative richness of species in compar a- ble samples can be a good indicator of environmental health. The most important aspect of biodiversity is sp e- cies composition. From checklists of species taken over time the rates of emigration, extinction and tu rnover of species in a community can be measured and modelled. The dynamics measure the stability of biodiversity in ecosystems. Species names or scientific names are thus at the foundation of quality control in biological studies 2 . Further, scientific names are fundamental to biod iversity research as they are a means of communicating informa- tion across the globe. About 1.8 million species are 'known' to the world so far, in the sense that they have been described and named by taxonomists 3 ; however, it is estimated that anywhere from three million to more than 100 million species exist in the world today 4 . Spatial and temporal patterns in bi o- diversity distribution can be analysed by linking these names with information on nomenclature, taxonomy, ecology, distribution and abundance. Creating a single repository for such information is vital for future studies in biodiversity. Electronic cataloguing (ECAT) provides an effective tool for collation, analysis and dissemination of i nformation about biological diversity. Such national, regional and global ECATs can be used for effective bi o- diversity management and policy making 5 . Here we attempt to emphasize the importance and ur- gency of developing such ECATs of known Indian life. While we review the global and national scenario of d e- velopment of ECATs, we share our experience of deve - loping web-interfaced ECAT of known Indian fauna (IndFauna).
[1]
W. F..
The Fauna of British India
,
1888,
Nature.
[2]
W. L. Distant.
The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Rhynchota.
,
1904
.
[3]
L. Stejneger,et al.
The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma
,
1908,
Nature.
[4]
M. L. Roonwel,et al.
Fauna of India
,
1977
.
[5]
L. M. Russell,et al.
The Fauna of India and the Adjacent Countries, Homoptera: Aphidoidea
,
1984
.
[6]
D. Banerjee,et al.
On the Diptera of Nayachar Island, West Bengal
,
2002
.
[7]
P. Maiti,et al.
The fauna of India and the adjacent countries. Scolytidae: Coleoptera (bark and ambrosia beetles): Volume I (part 1) introduction and tribe Xleborini.
,
2004
.