The mikrotax.org website currently hosts two main databases - Nannotax and pforams@mikrotax sharing the same system but with separate identities. We are interested to collaborate in development of other web-databases using the system,, and are currently working on systems for depp-sea benthic foraminifera, Cenozoic radiolaria and for acritarchs.
Nannotax is a website which has been developed over several years, by Jeremy Young with Paul Bown, Richard Howe and Jackie Lees, in order to allow online documentation of the taxonomy of modern coccolithophores and calcareous nannofossils. To achieve this, and especially to make an interface that worked the way we wanted it to, we found we had to write a new web application (based on php, mySQL and Javascript). This has been a major project but it is suitable for application to other groups.
With the help of funding from the UK NERC we have now applied the same system to create the pforams@mikrotax website, this project is lead by Bridget Wade, Brian Huber, Paul Bown and Jeremy Young. The content is primarily based on the work of various planktonic foraminifera taxonomic working groups. As part of this project we have further developed the system so that site development can be entirely carried out via web-interfaces.
Acritax is our newest development, dealing with Acritarchs, a mostly Palaeozoic microplankton group. This website being developed by Brian Pedder assisted by Jeremy Young. It currently provides access to a colossal card index of data on acritarchs compiled by John Williams and it is intended to develop it as a broader database of information on Acritarchs.
We liked the name microtax but the domain name had already been used by tax avoidance companies. By spelling it with a 'k' we made a unique name, which is very helpful for web searches. Also, mikro is the logical spelling in many languages.
The feature set of the system was designed for handling microfossil taxonomy, in which there is a rather large number of taxa with relatively limited amounts of data per taxon, where images are of central importance to practical use, and where statigraphic range data is of critical interest. It should be suitable for other groups with similar priorities. If you are interested in either helping with our current projects or developing new applications please contact Jeremy Young
Haydon Bailey Network Stratigraphic, UK |
Paul R. Bown University College London, UK |
John Gregory Petrostrat, UK |
Richard Howe Morgan Goodall Palaeo Pty Ltd, Australia |
Brian Huber Smithsonian Institute, Washington, USA |
David Lazarus Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany |
Jackie Lees Consultant, Houston, USA |
Bridget Wade University College London, UK |
Jeremy R. Young University College London, UK |
Claudia Agnini Università di Padova, Italy |
Kevin Cooper RPS Group, UK |
Tom Dunkley Jones University of Birmingham, UK |
Liam Gallagher Network Stratigraphic, UK |
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Matt Hampton Network Stratigraphic, UK |
Emanuela Mattioli Lyon University, France |
Dave Rutledge Petrostrat, UK |
Jamie Shamrock Exxon Mobil, Texas, USA |
David Watkins University of Nebraska, USA |
Tracy Aze University of Leeds UK |
Heather Birch PalaeoVision Ltd., UK |
Geert-Jan Brummer NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, NL |
Robert Campbell Shell, Texas, USA |
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Kirsty Edgar University of Birmingham, UK |
Isabel Fenton Natural History Museum, London, UK |
Felix Gradstein Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway |
Mark Leckie University of Massachusetts - Amherst, USA |
Lizette Leon-Rodriguez Exxon Mobil, Texas, USA |
Maria Rose Petrizzo Università di Milano, Italy |
Chris Poole University College London, UK |
Alessio Fabbrini University College London, UK |
Silvia Spezzaferri Université de Fribourg, Switzerland |