Computer Aided Identification (CAI) systems provide
users with the resources to relate morpho-anatomic observations with
names of taxa, and to subsequently access other knowledge about
the organisms. Xper² version 2.1 is one of the most user-friendly
software in its category. It provides a complete environment dedicated
to taxonomic descriptions management. While assisting taxonomists
with knowledge acquisition for identification keys, it also helps with
the publication of descriptive data by providing a large panel of tools,
including analysis facilities (comparison of taxa or descriptors used),
full traceability of information and knowledge (by adding references
or external links). Xper² provides excellent support for automatic online
publication of descriptive data and free access keys, as well as
for exporting of datasets for phylogenetic and systematic research.
It focuses on interoperability between systems and can import and
export into structured descriptive data format (TDWG-SDD), and
export to HTML and Nexus formats. Written in Java, it is available
on Windows™ Mac™ or Linux in French, English, and Spanish, and
a new Chinese version can also be downloaded. With its intuitive
interface, Xper² is aimed at professional taxonomists as well as
naturalists who merely want to identify specimens using a readymade
application. Xper² is free of charge. It can be downloaded at:
http://lis-upmc.snv.jussieu.fr/lis/?q=en/resources/softwares/xper2.
