The crisis facing the conservation of biodiversity is reflected in a parallel crisis in alpha taxonomy. On one hand, there is an acute need from government and non-government organisations for large-scale and relatively stable species inventories on which to build major biodiversity information systems. On the other, molecular information will have an increasingly important impact on the evidential basis for delimiting species and is likely to result in greater scientific debate and controversy on their circumscription. This paper argues that alpha-taxonomy built on the Internet (alpha e-taxonomy) can provide a key component of the solution. Two main themes are considered: (1) the potential of e-taxonomic revisions for engaging both the specialist taxonomic community and a wider public in gathering taxonomic knowledge and deepening understanding of it, and (2) why alpha-species will continue to play an essential role in the conventional definition of species and what kinds of methodological development this implies for descriptive species taxonomy. The challenges and requirements for sustaining etaxonomic revisions in the long-term are discussed, with particular reference to models being developed by five initiatives with botanical exemplar websites: CATE (Creating a Taxonomic E-Science), Solanaceae Source, GrassBase and EDIT (European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy) exemplar groups and scratchpads. These projects give a clear indication of the crucially important role of the national and regional taxonomic organisations and their networks in providing both leadership and a fruitful and beneficial human and technical environment for taxonomists, both amateur and professional, to contribute their expertise towards a collective global enterprise.

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This paper provides an up‐to‐date linear sequence of monocot families and genera (excluding Orchidaceae and Poaceae) based on current phylogenetic evidence. The sequence is provided in a numbered list of each of the 1225 genera in 75 monocot families, together with a complementary alphabetical list. The sequence represents a standardized tool for the organisation of monocot herbarium collections.

Anthurium morii, A. raimundii, A. talmonii and A. zappiae are proposed as new species from the state of Bahia in north-eastern Brazil. A. raimundii occurs in the restinga vegetation of the Bahian Atlantic Forest region, while the other three species are from the seasonally dry campo rupestre vegetation of the interior of the state. Descriptions, illustrations and IUCN conservation ratings are provided for each species.

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