Taxonomy

In our industry, Taxonomy can be defined as the field of science that encompasses the description, identification, nomenclature, and classification of organisms

Our taxonomy experts are based at Eurofins MITOX B.V. in Amsterdam (NL) and within the ecotox field groups at Eurofins Agroscience Services Ecotox GmbH in Niefern-Oeschelbronn (Southern Germany).

For Eurofins MITOX, the identification of terrestrial arthropods is their core business:

• Perform quantitative analyses of bulk samples
• Provide identification certificates, ecological information on species and prepare reference collections

Our staff are an established team of expert taxonomists. In addition to the general knowledge of all arthropod groups commonly encountered, they each have their own specialisms. Moreover, their knowledge is not only restricted to taxonomy but also covers abroad range of general biology and ecology. We are proud to say that our taxonomists are highly qualified and internationally acknowledged specialists which may well be one of the largest outside Natural History Museums.

In parallel to MITOX the taxonomy team in Niefern-Oeschelbronn specializes in earthworm and terrestrial arthropod taxonomy with a specialization towards soil inhabiting arthropods.

This taxonomical expertise can be called in for the processing of field samples collected by the  field teams of Eurofins' companies, but is also available for third parties, such as research institutes (NGO’s, etc.), educational organizations (secondary schools, universities, etc.) and governmental organizations (city councils, ministries, EC, etc.).

Summary of services:

Field Samples

Pre-sorting of larger samples to determine the desired level of identification is followed by the assessment of abundance and diversity for specific taxa. Data are summarized in any desired format and can be supplemented with additional data (e.g., biology and ecology), fact sheets and reference collections.

Our services can be employed for example in relation to:

• Shorter or longer term field trials to establish, for example, the effects of pesticides on both target and non-target organisms;
• Faunistic studies to establish species composition of a site (e.g., for Environmental Impact Assessments or the equivalent)
• Monitoring of species composition on sites (to be) subjected to changes in the environment

Identity verification

Many companies and research institutes initiate or maintain cultures of arthropods they use for their tests and experiments - we can verify the identity of these species and provide you with an appropriate certificate.

Starting cultures

When starting cultures, we can verify the species identity and assist in collecting strains from the field or setting up the culture.

Facilities

• Fully equipped taxonomic laboratories (to e-GLP) with all the necessary equipment for processing samples, identifying and counting specimens and storing reference material
• In house library plus access to one of the world's largest entomological libraries, that of the Netherlands Entomological Society

For more information, please contact contact us