The Genus Level Examination will be administered with actual specimens that are mature and relatively intact. Chironomidae larvae and Oligochaeta will be slide-mounted and all others will be alcohol-preserved, with slide-mounted parts as needed. For insects, only benthic larvae or adults (not eggs or pupae) will be included. For Annelida, only sexually mature specimens will be included; for Mollusca, only mature specimens will be included. For each taxonomic group, specimens of 20 genera will be provided. These will be selected at random from a list of genera for which specimens are available. The distribution of genera in the pool will be weighted by frequency, representative of the overall frequency that each genus occurs in the region. 

Test specimens will not include any rare or endangered species

Every attempt has been made to provide high quality specimens.  To provide some guidance we are providing a list of genera for each group from which the test specimens have been seleted. 

Nomenclature is an ongoing issue for taxonomists and there are continuing debates in some groups concerning taxa names.  The TCC identified ITIS as the standard for the program's nomenclature.  However, for some groups this is inappropriate because of the delay in updating some groups on ITIS.  In those cases we also consider the current view of experts as well as the commonly used keys.  In some cases and where necessary we have provided synonyms (because of ongoing debate in the taxonomic literature or lack of current consensus) or synonyms that will be accepted as correct answers.  Check the lists for the various groups (below) to obtain this information.

Warning/Disclaimer

The taxa lists below should be used as a guide only of what may appear in a test.  These lists have been developed from specimens in inventory. This may change in the time between posting of the list and establishment of the test set.

Group 1 East (other arthropods)

Group 1 West (other arthropods)

Group 2 East (EPT)

Group 2 West (EPT)

Group 3 East (Chironomidae)

Group 3 West (Chironomidae)

Group 4 (Annelida - Oligochaeta)

Group 5 (Mollusca) - not yet available