Taxonomy In India In The 21st Century: Call For A Digital Revival

Abstract

The Biodiversity of the planet is under threat due to various reasons. For the conservation and management of the bio-resources we need to precisely identify a species, so that the species can be accessed and managed accordingly. This is the very first basic step every taxonomist has to take. Though Traditional taxonomy has been used in systematics for over 250 years with the identification of more than 1.75 million species, in many countries as in India, traditional taxonomy is yet to adopt the latest molecular techniques available for a better and accurate identification of taxa. Enhanced taxonomic infrastructure and research tools can certainly allow Indian taxonomists to speed up the process of species exploration, description and classification which will enable the World scientific community to get access to India's flora and fauna dynamically without excuses of reduced funding or dearth of taxonomists for not mapping the biological diversity of India. This article overviews the latest digital advancements to revolutionize taxonomical research in India in the current century.