All the copyright are kept by the author. The author will take full responsibility of all taxonomic information. Anybody who quotes information from this website for publishing or any other purpose should get permission from the author. All the pictures and photos without source indication in this website were done by the author himself. Anybody can not use them without permission. As a noncommercial website, all pictures, photos, and other materials come from other resources have the citations. Any questions on copyright of these materials please contact the author at lannysummer@163.com.
About this website
This is a website for Chinese Odonatology research since December 1, 2010. The core of this website is a web-based database named LannyTree (a detialed introduction below). Aim of the website is to show the biodiversity of Chinese Odonata fauna. Classification system used here may be a little conservative since I try to list taxa without any taxonomic or phylogentic contradiction. Any comments and suggestions are sincerely welcome. Any opportunities for cooperation are especially welcome. Please contact me at lannysummer@163.com.
At September 9, 2013, the website changed its face firstly and divides Chinese and English edition into different parts.
What is LannyTree
In order to make my taxonomic work effective a web-based database is built up in 2003 when I was still a graduate student. With this database I try to integrate citations, photos, literatures, figures, descriptions and all other information. I call the database LannyTree for my English name is Lanny. LannyTree is really a website though it can also run on a personal computer just as other software. Day after day LannyTree has become more and more important to me in my study.
LannyTree is mainly composed of two parts, classification tree and literature list. For each part functions such as search, input and modification are supported. The classification tree is created by programs based on the database and can display on different taxa level, such as superfamily, family, subfamily, tribe, genus, species, and so on. The literature list provides each record a link to one PDF copy file if it exists in the database. LannyTree supports different management rights login, capability of expanding and remote management, its interface is friendly.
Web-based taxonomy seems a trend in today's world. So many comprehensive biodiversity websites emerged, such as Species 2000, Zipcodezoo, EOL and so on, which try to get global biodiversity information together. However, they encounter the same problems, no enough taxonomists to deal with such a huge information about global biodiversity and difficult to update its contents timely. After all, these websites or systems are not used by taxonomists as tools in their daily works. So this idea sometimes comes into my mind, if every taxonomist uses his/her own software or database which is web-based and can run on the internet just as a website then it can be true that all these independent websites are integrated as a whole. This integrated website or system can properly displays the global biodiversity and more importantly it is alive and can grow up, just like a coral in the sea. Such a tool (software or database or something alike) which taxonomists would like to use in their daily study works should be simple, ease to operate, interface friendly, and specialized for taxonomy. Presently, LannyTree may be not qualified as such a tool but a trial for my idea. However, just like an old saying in Chinese, I hope that my crude remarks may draw forth by abler people.
Presently, LannyTree only opens parts of its functions to internet users, services like advanced search, input, modification, and so on are available restricted in our intranet. And the number of species and literatures about Chinese Odonata in LannyTree is still far from complete, especially for Anisoptera. Any comments, criticisms, or suggestions about LannyTree are warmly welcome. Please contact me at Lannysummer@163.com.
Acknowledgements
Thank Slmok, Junxuan Zhao, Evan Bowen-Jones, K.D.P. Wilson and Matti Hämäläinen for sharing beautiful photos.
Thank Matti Hämäläinen for the valuable remarks on Caloptera part.