June 15, 2009 (Vol. 29, No. 12)
URL:
http://porites.geology.uiowa.edu/index.htm
Rating:
Strong Points: Organization, Images
Weak Points: No background information
Summary:
If you have a hankering for tongue twisters, take a peek at NMiTA. Even if you don’t have an interest in searching the database, you can still have fun with your friends trying to say “Elasmobranchii teeth” or “Azooxanthellate Coral.” If you are interested in the actual content of the site, you’ll be pleased to find a number of images and information on taxa that have been used to study the evolution of biodiversity in Tropical America. The critters included on the site fall into one of five categories: corals, fish, ostracodes, molluscs, and brozoans. Unfortunately, if you don’t know what these classifications are, there isn’t any introductory material on the site. While this site is probably most useful to someone familiar with evolutionary paleontology, there are a number of interesting images that showcase the diversity of the organisms. One can also explore maps of the region to learn which species have been found where.