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 Identifying the animals in ones
photographs be they fish, insects, mammals, birds, crabs, shrimps,
whatever is a daunting task and is done through the purchase and
use of specialized ID books or laboriously searching through
specialized online resources and websites.
But the whole process may get simpler in the future. In a
whale-sized project, the world's scientists plan to compile
everything they know about all of Earth's 1.8 million known
species and put it all on one Web site, open to everyone.
The effort, called the Encyclopedia of
Life, will include species descriptions, pictures, maps, videos,
sound, sightings by amateurs, and links to entire genomes and
 scientific journal papers. The project will take about 10 years to
finish.
"Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the
Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key
information about life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in
the world. Our goal is to create a constantly evolving encyclopedia
that lives on the Internet, with contributions from scientists and
amateurs alike. To transform the science of biology, and inspire a
new generation of scientists, by aggregating all known data about
every living species. And ultimately, to increase our collective
understanding of life on Earth, and safeguard the richest possible
spectrum of biodiversity." the blurb say and indeed it does look
impressive and they expect that the first set of authenticated
species pages available by the middle of 2008. So using this system
and resource is just around the corner.
To see the site visit here Encyclopedia of Life
Whilst we are waiting for it to come online there are currently
some excellent resources available to assist you in online ID of
creatures. Some of these sites are specific ID sites and some are
the work of photographers and enthusiasts that surpass formal ID
sites.:
Specifically for Thailand
John Moore's fantastic Thai Bugs site
Carl Johan Svensson's outstanding collection of Birds of Thailand photos
Peter Ericsson's excellent collection of birdlife photos
Nick Upton's excellent Thai Birding site
The most comprehensive bird ID site for asia - Oriental Bird Images
General ID sites
Great site for viewing and IDing Orchids
The amazing Goby Frontiers
Bug Guide is good for getting in the ballpark area of insect ID
Wikipedia is excellent if you already have a family name
Fishbase is excellent for fish
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