The Internet offers a marvellous opportunity for sharing data with a global audience. In most cases it also enables more data to be presented than in a conventional printed scientific paper.
This Atlas of Antarctic Bryozoa is the result of several years working on different collections distributed between several institutions and countries. It includes numerous electron micrographs; such images of both type and non-type material are invaluable to bryozoan researchers. The goal of this web-based tool is also to present comprehensive information about each species, including scans of the original print descriptions (or a link to the original description if available online), type specimen repository information, detailed distributional records, subsequently published literature citations etc.
We believe that this atlas can serve as an identification tool for a wide range of researchers and students. Moreover, we hope that it will prove useful for specialized taxonomic work, allowing taxonomists to gain a rapid appreciation of the bryozoan species known from the Antarctic without the need to access type material held in numerous institutions around the world.
We would welcome any comments about the content of the website, including ideas for improvement and correction of mistakes.