The Project

Hybridae was started by me (Felipe Nóbrega) during the final year of my PhD in Neotropical Biodiversity at the Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. The project combines a curated database of hybridization records with a taxonomic framework derived from the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. While studying natural hybridization, I frequently encountered reports of hybridization events scattered across thousands of publications, making it difficult to obtain a comprehensive overview of the available evidence. I also noticed the lack of an accessible, centralized, and properly referenced database dedicated to natural hybridization records.

To address this gap, I created Hybridae, a curated database dedicated to documenting natural hybridization events across the tree of life. The project aims to bring together information dispersed throughout the scientific literature into a unified and accessible resource, providing researchers with geographic, taxonomic, and methodological data on hybridization. By centralizing these records and linking them to their original sources, Hybridae seeks to facilitate research, improve data accessibility, and promote open science.

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Scope and Coverage

Hybridae focuses exclusively on cases of natural hybridization reported in the scientific literature. The decision to restrict the database to natural hybridization reflects the original motivation of the project: to provide a centralized resource for studying hybridization as an evolutionary and ecological process occurring under mostly natural conditions.

Records resulting exclusively from artificial crosses, captive breeding programs, agricultural breeding, or experimental hybridization are currently excluded. Hybridization events involving introduced species are included if the hybridization occurs without direct human intervention and has been documented under free-living conditions. While artificial and experimentally induced hybrids are scientifically valuable, they involve distinct biological and methodological contexts that fall outside the current scope of the database.

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Taxonomic Framework

The taxonomic framework used throughout Hybridae is based on the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, developed and maintained by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Scientific names, taxonomic hierarchies, and higher-level classifications available within the database are derived from this backbone to promote consistency, interoperability, and integration with other biodiversity informatics resources.

GBIF Backbone Taxonomy citation:

GBIFSecretariat (2026). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei

Users interested in the taxonomic framework underlying individual records are encouraged to consult the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and associated documentation.

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Community Contributions

The initial version of Hybridae was built through a comprehensive literature review. However, the project is designed to be a collaborative effort, and contributions from the scientific community are essential for its growth and accuracy. Users are encouraged to submit new records, suggest corrections, and provide feedback to help improve the database.

Newly submitted records are immediately added to the database and marked with a Pending status. This approach allows the database to grow through community contributions while maintaining transparency regarding the review status of each record.

Pending records remain publicly visible and searchable, but their status indicates that the associated references and information have not yet been formally reviewed. During the review process, references and associated data are checked for consistency with the original source. Once verified, the record status is updated to Approved.

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How to Cite

If you use data from Hybridae in your research, please cite the database as follows:

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Disclaimer of Liability

The data provided within Hybridae is compiled from peer-reviewed literature and user contributions. While every effort is made to maintain accuracy and consistency, the information is provided "as is" and without warranty of any kind.

The project maintainer is not liable for any errors, omissions, taxonomic inaccuracies, or interpretations arising from the use of the database, nor for any direct or indirect damages resulting from its use. Users are strongly encouraged to verify hybridization events by consulting the original referenced publications whenever possible.