FreshGEN: the Freshwater Gastropods of the European Neogene – a new thematic database

This FreshGEN database provides information on all fossil freshwater gastropod species described from the Miocene and Pliocene of Europe (23.03-2.588 million years). This includes all valid species-group taxa in their current combination as well as a large number of basionyms, junior synonyms and primary and secondary homonyms. Each taxon is accompanied by a full citation of its original description. Where the information is available, reference to page number and illustration are provided. First descriptions available as open-access full-text sources on the web were linked via hyperlink to the first page of the publication. Additionally, citations to the source of the record and its current status are provided. The data are based on an in-depth literature review and the investigation of selected faunas within the study area. Many taxa have been rarely studied again since their first description and are poorly documented – while some obviously erroneously placed taxa revised this is not and critical revision of all the species. Instead it presents the current status of knowledge as documented by the most recent paper available on each included taxon.
 
Expanding WoRMS and MolluscaBase with freshwater, fossil species contributes to the further development of the LifeWatch Taxonomic Backbone. The FreshGEN database was compiled within the project "Freshwater systems in the Neogene and Quaternary of Europe: Gastropod biodiversity, provinciality, and faunal gradients" funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF (Project no. P25365-B25) und the leadership of Mathias Harzhauser (NHM Vienna).