A semantic model for species description applied to the ensign wasps (hymenoptera: evaniidae) of New Caledonia.

ABSTRACT: 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 comb

SUBMITTER: Balhoff JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3739881 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature