How to Search the CAS Ichthyology Collection Database
Input Types on the Form
Text Box, Single-Select List Box, Multi-Select List Box, Check Box, Radio Buttons
Taxonomic Fields
Family, Genus, Species, Subspecies, Type Status
Geographic Fields
Continent/Ocean, Country, State, County, Water Body, Island Group, Island, Drainage, Locality, Latitude/Longitude, Freshwater, Marine, Brackish
Specimen Characteristics, Identifiers, and Collection Data
Collection Code, Catalog Number, Field Number, Collector, Date Collected, ID By, Previous Number, Accession Number, Gear, Preparation Type, Vessel, Lot Remarks, Locality Remarks, Alcohol Count, Skeletal Count, C&S Count
Database Fields
Date Last Edited From/To, Date Cataloged From/To
Display Options
Page Style, Record Style
General Remarks
The query form enables you to retrieve specimen records by virtually any combination of fields present in the database.
Query feedback. The query parameters entered on the form are summarized in query language at the top of every result page. Read the query statement to be sure that the query being processed is what you intended. Some browsers have a tendency to "remember" parameters from previous queries. Press the Clear button between queries to clear previously used parameters.
Number of records. The number of records retrieved by the query is reported immediately after the query feedback (near the top of the page) while the results are formatted. If the number returned is much larger than you expected or want to wait for, press the "STOP" button on your browser to cancel the query. You can create a more restrictive query by adding additional criteria to the form.
Retrieval Limit. The number of records retrieved is limited to 1,000 to prevent excessive resource consumption by a single user and to prevent browser crashes; large result sets can cause some computers to lock up. Note that 1,000 records can amount to more than 1.5 MBs of data. If you need a result set larger than 1,000 records we will be happy to prepare a file for you and make it available via FTP. Please contact Dave Catania for assistance.
Input Types On The Form
- Text Box
- A simple text box accepts a string of alpha-numeric characters and compares it against values in the database. The input string must match the entire value, unless wildcard characters are used. Wildcard characters are the percent sign (%) and the question mark (?). The percent sign matches zero to many characters, whereas the question mark matches one and only one character. For example, searching the genus field with "rhino%" will match "Rhinobatos" and "Rhinogobius". "C?elorinchus" will match "Caelorinchus" and "Coelorinchus". Wildcards can also be combined. "C?elor%" will match "Caelorinchus", "Coelorinchus", and "Coelorhynchus".
- Single-Select List Box
- A single-select list box displays all the values that occur in the database, but allows only one value to be used in a given query. The default value, "[any]", causes the field to be ignored, i.e. searches for all values.
- Multi-Select List Box
- A multi-select list box displays all the values that occur in the database and allows multiple values to be used in a given query. Use Ctrl-Click to toggle individual selections on and off; i.e., hold the Control key down (Windows), or the Command key (Macintosh) when you click on a value. Note, clicking a value without holding down the control key (i.e., a simple click) clears all other selections in the list box and leaves the most recently clicked value as the only selection. Note also that some browsers "remember" selected values between queries even though the selected values are not visible in (i.e., have scrolled off) the list box. Press the Clear button to clear the form.
- Check Box
- A check box allows a particular criterion to be turned on or off (ignored).
- Radio Buttons
- A radio button must have one and only one selection chosen out of two or more choices.
Taxonomic Fields
- Family or Subfamily
- A text box. The scientific name of the family or subfamily in which a specimen is classified. Click on a letter below to list families that begin with the selected letter:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z - Genus
- A text box. The genus name applied to a specimen. Click on a letter below to list genera that begin with the selected letter:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z - Species
- A text box. The specific epithet of the scientific name currently applied to the specimen. Wild cards are allowed. If part of the taxon name is in question, use a percent sign (%) as a wildcard, e.g. "boyl%" instead of "boylii". Note that type specimens are identified according to the name for which they are the type rather than their current classification. Click on a letter below to list species that begin with the selected letter:
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z - Subspecies
- A text box. The subspecific epithet of the scientific name currently applied to the specimen. Wild cards are allowed.Click on a letter below to list subspecies that begin with the selected letter.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z - Type Status
- A text box. The type status, if any, of the lot. Valid values are Holotype, Paratype, Syntype, Lectotype, Paralectotype, and Neotype.
Geographic Fields
Because the values in several geographic fields contain a suffix (e.g., "Co.", "Ids.", "Id.", "Div.", "Prov.", "Region", etc.) using just the place name as an exact match criterion will find no matching records. These fields are therefore configured to append a wildcard (%) automatically to the any value entered in the State, County, Drainage and Water Body fields.
- Continent / Ocean
- A multi-select listbox. Includes the continents and oceans and their major subregions. The Pacific, for instance, has been divided into NW & Central Pacific, NE Pacific, SE Pacific, South Pacific, and Indo-West Pacific. Major arms of the Atlantic Ocean have been given their own titles, such as the Baltic Sea, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico. North America has also been divided into Central America and West Indies.
- Country
- A multi-select listbox. The primary political unit where the specimen was collected. This follows current usage and does not necessarily reflect the names in use at the time of collection.
- Subcontinent / subocean
- A multi-select listbox. Includes geographical subsections of the ocean, including major seas, inlets, and gulfs. Note that the West Indies is primarily freshwater habitats and the Caribbean Sea is primarily marine habitats.
- Country
- A multi-select listbox. The primary political unit where the specimen was collected. This follows current usage and does not necessarily reflect the names in use at the time of collection.
- State
- A simple text box. The name of a secondary geopolitical unit, typically a state or province, where the specimen was collected. Our database usually has an abbreviation of the unit-type appended; e.g., "Dist." for District, or "Pref." for Prefecture. It is best to search just on the name and therefore a trailing wildcard (%) is automatically appended to any entered value.
- County
- A simple text box. The name of the tertiary political unit -- i.e., county, parish, district, etc -- when known. Most names in this field have an abbreviation appended indicating the type of political unit; e.g., "San Francisco Co.", "Shannan Pref.", etc. It is best to search just on the name and therefore a trailing wildcard (%) is automatically appended to any entered value.
- Water Body
- A simple text box. Includes rivers, lakes, ponds, seas, bays, gulfs, etc. For best results, do not include the words (or any abbreviations of) "River", "Lake", etc., but instead search solely on the name. A leading and trailing wildcard (%) is automatically appended to any entered value.
- Island Group
- A simple text box. The name of island groups (e.g., "Andaman Is."). For best results, do not include the word (or any abbreviation of) "Islands". A leading and trailing wildcard (%) is automatically appended to any entered value. Since names vary widely depending on language, "Islands" and its equivalents has been abbreviated to "Is." and "Island" to "I." in our database.
- Island
- A simple text box. The name of an Island (e.g., "Mindanao I."). A leading and trailing wildcard (%) is automatically appended to any entered value. Entering "Coco" will return "Coco I." and "Coco, I. del", two variations on the same name. Since names vary widely depending on language, "Islands" and its equivalents has been abbreviated to "Is." and "Island" to "I." in our database.
- Drainage
- A simple text box. Includes river systems, drainages, basins. Leading and trailing wildcards (%) are automatically appended to any entered value.
- Locality
- A simple text box. The textual description of where the specimen was collected; often includes one or more references to a named place and an offset -- direction and distance from the named place. Leading and trailing wildcards (%) are automatically appended to any entered value.
- Latitude/Longitude
- Two simple text boxes. Coordinates where specimens were caught, in decimal degrees. Search for negative coordinates by placing numbers within parentheses, e.g. (10). Positive latitudes are northern hemisphere, negative latitudes are southern hemisphere. Positive longitudes are eastern hemisphere, negative longitudes are western hemisphere. Ranges can be searched by separating values with a hyphen. Always place the lower value first, e.g. 8-10.3, (5)-5, (12.1)-(10.5). Coordinates are displayed in the records in the same format in which they were recorded.
- Water Type - Freshwater, Brackish, Marine
- Three check boxes. You may check any, all, or none of these boxes to narrow your search.
- Collection Code
- A single-select box. The Ichthyology Department houses both the CAS collection and the Stanford University collection (SU). Each collection has its own series of catalog numbers. The Indiana University collection (IU) and the George Vanderbilt Foundation collection (GVF) are included in the CAS collection and have been recataloged with CAS numbers. See the note below regarding the CAS and SU catalog numbers.
- Catalog Number
- A simple text box. All catalog numbers are integers. A single value or an inclusive range of values can be entered. Wildcards are not supported.
Enter Meaning 25100 Catalog number 25100 25100- Catalog numbers 25100 and higher -25100 Catalog numbers 25100 and lower 25100-25200 Catalog numbers 25100 to 25200 (inclusive) Note: Because the Ichthyology collection includes the Stanford University (SU) collection, there has been some confusion regarding the catalog numbering system. When the Academy acquired the Stanford collection on permanent loan in the late 1960s, the Ichthyology department decided to retain the SU numbering sequence rather than recatalog everything with CAS numbers. During the early 1990s, however, the department began to use the Muse database program, which did not allow for separate numbering systems. In order to get both collections into the same database we added 100000 to the SU numbers and reserved numbers 100000-199999 strictly for the SU collection. These numbers were only to be used internally, but our loan invoices and printouts unfortunately printed the modified numbers. Thus SU specimens were sometimes cited as SU 112345 or CAS 112345 when in actuality they should have been cited as the original number, SU 12345. To clarify, any SU or CAS number in the range 100000-199999 is actually an SU lot and the leading '1' should be lopped off. SU lots may also be cited as CAS-SU.
- Field Number
- A simple text box. An internally assigned number to insure uniqueness among locality records. Collectors' field numbers are often used verbatim. Field numbers usually consist of the primary collector's initials, followed by the collection date in "dd-mm-yy" format, using Roman numerals for the months.
- Collector
- A simple text box. The collector of the specimen(s). Multiple collectors are separated by semi-colons. Leading and trailing wildcards are automatically appended.
- Date Collected
- A simple text box. Use the format mm/dd/yyyy. A single date or an inclusive range of dates can be entered. Wildcards are not supported.
Enter Meaning 6/1/1955 Beginning collection date is exactly June 1, 1955 6/1/1955- Collection date is on or after June 1, 1955 -6/1/1955 Collection date is on or before June 1, 1955 6/1/1955-6/30/1955 Collection dates fall between June 1, 1955 and June 30, 1955 or date range includes June 1, 1955 - June 30, 1955 6/1/1955-6/1/1955 All date ranges which include June 1, 1955
- ID By / Date
- A simple text box. The person who identified the taxon of the lot, followed by the date of identification in "dd mmm yyyy" format, although day is often omitted. Leading and trailing wildcards are automatically appended.
- Previous Number
- A simple text box. Includes previous catalog numbers, specimen numbers, and catalog numbers from other institutions.
- Accession Number
- A simple text box. Internally assigned number to identify a particular collection or acquisition. Consists of date of arrival in "yyyy-mm:dd" format with Roman numerals for the months.
- Gear
- A simple text box. Equipment and methods used to collect the specimens. Leading and trailing wildcards are automatically appended.
- Preparation Type
- A simple text box. Generally, the preservative in which the lot is stored.
- Vessel
- A simple text box. Name of the ship used to help collect the specimen. Vessel name is often included if it was part of an expedition even if the specimen was collected off board the vessel. Leading and trailing wildcards are automatically appended.
- Locality / Lot Remarks
- Two simple text boxes. Information that doesn't fit into the other fields. Lot Remarks includes data pertaining to the specific lot. Locality Remarks includes data pertaining generally to the location. Leading and trailing wildcards (%) are automatically appended to any entered value.
- Specimen count - Alcohol, Skeletal, Cleared & Stained
- Simple text boxes. The number of specimens for each preparation type. All numbers are integers. A single value or an inclusive range of values can be entered. Wildcards are not supported.
Enter Meaning 2 Exactly 2 specimens 10- 10 or more specimens -2 At most 2 specimens. 2-5 2 to 5 specimens (inclusive) - Date Last Edited From/To
- Date that the record was last edited. Entering just a "from" date will return all records including and after that date. Entering both "from" and "to" dates will return all records edited between and including those dates.
- Date Cataloged From/To
- Date that the record was cataloged into the database. Entering just a "from" date will return all records including and after that date. Entering both "from" and "to" dates will return all records cataloged between and including those dates.
- Page Style - Multiple Pages / Single Page
- A pair of radio buttons. Choose Multiple Pages if you would like the results displayed 40 per page, one page at a time. If you would like all the results displayed on one page, choose Single Page. Be aware that choosing Single Page and Full Records can take a long time to download if there are a large number of records.
- Record Style - Brief Records / Full Records
- A pair of radio buttons. Brief Records will display only a few fields of data for each record. Full Records will display all of the data for each record. Be warned that choosing Single Page and Full Records can take a long time to download if there are a large number of records.
Specimen Identifiers, Characteristics, and Collection Data