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taxon * Taxonomic status of each taxon * Images of many species - from the published literature as well as previously unpublished ones * Type specimens - by species and by museum * Type locality of each species * Published distribution of each species * List of relevant publications by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
