In 2002, after 63 years, a new Checklist of the Diptera of the Netherlands was published. It listed nearly 5000 species of Diptera and we anticipated it would be only a matter of a few years until we would pass that 5000 mark. Despite our wish to publish annual or bi-annual updates, no comprehensive updates were published for the whole list. At the time the digital age had already started and the printed version was complemented with a CD that contained all information on the list, including a search engine, etc.
A combination of the need to continuously be able to compile updates (additional species, taxonomic changes, synonymizations, deleted species), to have a platform to publish these and the printed version being taken out-of-print by the publisher made it more than logical to publish the whole list, inluding all updates, online.
The platform used for publishing the list is a content management system with modules that were specifically programmed to manage a taxonomical checklist. While static html pages or pdf documents are perfectly suitable for presenting information, the dynamic nature of checklists requires the use of dynamic content and thus the use of a database. As a result it is now much easier to make both minor and major adjustments in the list, add notes and automate species counts.
Early 2024 the species count has reached almost 5500 indigenous species but we know of more than 100 species occurring in the Netherlands that have not yet been formally recorded. Those who contributed to the printed version of 2002 are still listed as family authors but new specialists can join in the maintenance of this online checklist.
I hope it will be of good use!
Paul L. Th. Beuk (editor and webmaster)
PS: Let it be noted that the checklist only covers the European part of the Netherlands and does not include the species occurring on the Carribean islands that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
29,789,964 unique visits