Joining HerpNET

HerpNET would like to invite all natural history museums in the world containing herpetological specimens to join our
network. By adding more North American and international collections we will meet our goals of making a collaborative
database of all herpetological collections available. Those wishing to join have at their disposal the data standards,
software and documentation that were developed for MaNIS, ORNIS, HerpNET, GBIF and BioGeomancer.

All that is needed for a collection to join is:

1) A commitment to maintain repositories of high-quality specimen data.

2) To make the accompanying data available for the benefit of all.

3) A server for making collections data available. If this server is not already in place, standards for purchasing a server can be found here .

4) Any further georeferencing of specimens will proceed following the MaNIS/HerpNET/ORNIS Guidelines and using BioGeomancer to increase efficiency.

5) The process of setting up a data provider compatible with the HerpNET system is explained on the GBIF web page How to Become a GBIF Data Provider. Of the provider options available, HerpNET currently supports the Distributed Generic Information Retrieval (DiGIR) protocol using the MaNIS version of the Darwin Core 2 conceptual schema. All HerpNET participants will also be made available on GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) to enhance chances that it will be discovered by potential users.


Please Contact the HerpNET Coordinator, Carol Spencer to join HerpNET.