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The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) is a provisional (or "interim") compilation of genus names (plus species in many cases) covering both living and extinct biota into a single system to support taxonomic and other queries, such as:

• Is this a known genus/species name?
• Is it spelled correctly?
• What is its approximate/detailed taxonomic position?
• Is this name used for multiple taxa, in either the same or different kingdoms?
• Is this taxon listed in IRMNG as marine or nonmarine, extant or fossil?
• What are the children/parents of this taxon?
• Who is the authority for this name, and (for genera in particular), where was it originally published?
• Does IRMNG presently have information on the taxonomic status of this name (e.g. valid name or synonym, if a synonym, of what?)
• I have a list of names, what can IRMNG tell me about them?

As at February 2014, IRMNG contains information on over 469,000 genus names (out of perhaps 500,000 ever published) and over 1.9 million species names (of perhaps 5 million+ published combinations), plus over 21,000 family names, from all taxonomic groups (i.e. animals, plants, fungi, protists, bacteria, archaea and viruses). For users interested in these aspects, taxonomic names in IRMNG are assigned flags to distinguish between marine vs. nonmarine, and extant vs. fossil, status; they are also arranged into a simple management hierarchy for navigation purposes, compilation of statistics per taxonomic group, and more. Fuzzy matching is also supported (using "Taxamatch") so that a misspelled name can in most instances be reconciled to a correctly held name at genus or species rank, where this is held.

Initial sources utilised for creation of IRMNG include the Nomenclator Zoologicus compilation of zoological genus names (1758-2004), the Index Nominum Genericorum compilation of botanical names (sensu lato), the Catalogue of Life compilation of species names (2006 version, to be updated in due course) and a range of others including both databases and print works. Frequently the required information on a given name is required to be assembled from multiple sources, for example Nomenclator Zoologicus gives names but not families or taxonomic status, Index Nominum Genericorum gives names and families (which may have subsequently changed) but not taxonomic status, and so on.

Contributors to this project to date include Tony Rees (former CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research), Nicolas Bailly and Deng Palomares (FishBase and SeaLifeBase projects), Sheila Brands (Systema Naturae 2000 / Taxonomicon project), Dennis Gordon and Don Robertson (New Zealand SP2k project), Gary Poore, Robin Wilson and Ely Wallis (Museum Victoria), Helen Morgan and Anna Povey (Bushways Australia), Edward Vanden Berghe (Flanders Marine Institute), and Ellen Farr (Smithsonian Institution). Extensive use has also been made of information from Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog. The project has also been assisted by two small grants from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and support from the Atlas of Living Australia. For additional status information including further offers of potential assistance, please contact OBISAU@csiro.au ; additional information on this project is also available via the database at TDWG "Biodiversity Information Projects of the World" .

Click here to go to the IRMNG search entry point . IRMNG genus lists by taxonomic group (e.g. phylum, class, etc.) can also be accessed via the links labelled "IRMNG genera list - group XXX" from the CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere's Biodiversity Resources page.

A brief presentation on IRMNG, presented to the Global Names workshop "sharing names and taxonomies" in Hawaii in March 2012, is available here. For a more extensive (2011) presentation on IRMNG, see the presentation "Towards a Hierarchical Classification of All Life" available on the Encyclopedia of Life website here.

An IRMNG FAQ (frequently asked questions) page is also available here.

Citation: The following citation can be used for IRMNG: Rees, T. (compiler), 2006-present. The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). Available at http://www.obis.org.au/irmng/ . (Date accessed: dd month yyyy)