ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT The Medical Malacology Collection (Fiocruz-CMM) was inaugurated in 1993 and is located at the René Rachou Institute in Fiocruz (Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil). The collection has about 16,000 limnic mollusks of medical and veterinary importance. Information about each specimen is stored in an electronic Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and is available on the Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental (CRIA) webpage. A QR Code system was implemented for convenience: it can be printed in reduced format with flexible representation on different surfaces and has a low cost of implantation. A script in PHP language was developed to load the spreadsheet in XLS format using an open-license library, PHP-ExcelReader. A PHP script was created to read and process this spreadsheet line by line and generate individual HTML pages, which were formatted with the Bootstrap tool. Then, the PHP QR code was used to create the images of the QR codes corresponding to each specimen. The QR codes were printed and affixed to the lids of the bottles containing each specimen. Using a device with a camera and internet access, the QR code redirects to the file with the information for each mollusk. The use of QR codes at Fiocruz-CMM facilitates the organization of the collection and allows quick and easy access to information about each specimen.
ABSTRACT
Introduction Biological collections are depositories of information on different species and contribute to the knowledge, protection, conservation and maintenance of biodiversity. Methods A list of triatomine species currently included in the Collection of Chagas Disease Vectors (FIOCRUZ-COLVEC) was prepared from the database made available by the Reference Center on Environmental Information. Results COLVEC curatorship houses 4,778 specimens of triatomines, of which 811 come from other American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the United States of America, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) and 3,967 are autochthonous from Brazil. Altogether, 56 species of Chagas disease vectors are represented in the COLVEC: two species of the Tribe Cavernicolini Usinger, 1944; fifteen species of the tribe Rhodniini Pinto, 1926, of which 12 are of the genus Rhodnius and 3 are of the genus Psamolestes; and 39 species of the tribe Triatomini Jeannel, 1919, represented by the genus Dipetalogaster, two species of the genus Eratyrus, two of the genus Meccus, seven of the genus Panstrongylus and 27 of the genus Triatoma. Conclusions This list provides important data on the diversity of triatomines ...