World Register of Marine Species

The World Register of Marine Species ( WoRMS; German: Global Register of marine life ) is a database that wants to provide a reliable and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms are available. The dataset of the register is published and maintained by scientific specialists for each group of organisms. These taxonomists / systematists monitor the quality of information coming from different regional and taxon - specific databases. WoRMS maintains valid names of marine organisms, but also provides information on taxonomic synonyms and invalid / no longer valid names.

WoRMS was founded in 2008. It is mainly supported financially by the European Union and is based at the Flanders Marine Institute in Belgium. WoRMS has made formal agreements with various other biodiversity projects, including the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Encyclopedia of Life. Even if it will be an ongoing task to maintain the register as new species are discovered and described by scientists hoping WoRMS, clean, timely recording of all marine species, to have done until 2010, the year in which the Census of Marine Life will be complete.

WoRMS provides, inter alia, also the opportunity to match their own online data lists with the WoRMS data.