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The database "Genets and Oyans"
(Carnivora, Viverridae, Genettinae) was built with the aim of making available a computer-assisted identification key for a wide spectrum of biodiversity actors.
Through this tool, we hope to promote the establishment of a network of field collaborators that will contribute to the regularly updated survey of the distribution ranges of these species in Africa.
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| This work was undertaken as part of a research program conducted by Philippe Gaubert (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement / Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris - France) in collaboration with 13 international museums: |
Natural History Museum, London (United Kingdom);
National Museum of Natural History, Leiden (Holland);
Musée Royal d'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren;
Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Bruxelles (Belgium);
Museum fur Naturkunde, Humboldt University, Berlin;
Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn (Germany);
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris (France);
Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm (Sweden);
Zoological Museum - University of Copenhagen (Denmark);
Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien (Austria);
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid (Spain);
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (USA);
American Museum of Natural History, New York (USA).
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This work was partially funded by 7 museum grants:
IHP Programme-2001 (Sys-Resource, London);
Travel Grant (Chicago), Collection Study Grant (New York) (2004);
SYNTHESYS-2005 (SE-TAF-468, Stockholm; AT-TAF-463, Wien; DK-TAF-469, Copenhagen; ES-TAF-465, Madrid).
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The database includes 17 species of genets (Genetta spp.) and 2 species of oyans (Poiana spp.).
It consists of 45 morphological characters ("descriptors") partitioned into 7 groups.
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Downloads
Descriptive sheets
Online identification (Need a Java Runtime Environment)
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| Contact Philippe Gaubert for information about the database and for the updating of species distribution.
Manual and FAQ about Xper are available together with a mailing list.
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