CatalogueOfLife
Actions12
Overview
The node integrates with the Catalogue of Life API, which is a comprehensive and authoritative global species database maintained by taxonomists. It allows users to retrieve detailed taxonomic data about species, names, synonyms, references, and related metadata.
For the Name Usage - Get operation specifically, this node fetches information about the usage of scientific names within the taxonomy. This can include details filtered by name usage ID, search queries, taxonomic rank, and pagination options.
Common scenarios:
- Retrieving detailed taxonomic information for a specific scientific name usage.
- Searching for name usages matching certain criteria such as rank or query string.
- Paging through large sets of name usage records for biodiversity data analysis.
Practical example:
A researcher wants to get all name usages classified under the genus "Panthera" (big cats). They can use this node with the Name Usage resource and Get operation, specifying the rank as "GENUS" and a query string "Panthera" to retrieve relevant taxonomic entries.
Properties
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Additional Fields | A collection of optional parameters to refine the request: |
| - ID | The unique identifier of the name usage to retrieve a specific record. |
| - Query (q) | A search string to filter name usages by matching text. |
| - Rank | The taxonomic rank to filter results by. Options include Domain, Kingdom, Genus, Species, etc. (see full list below). |
| - Offset | The paging offset to skip a number of results. |
| - Limit | Maximum number of results to return (minimum 1). |
Rank options (partial list)
Domain, Realm, Subrealm, Superkingdom, Kingdom, Subkingdom, Infrakingdom, Superphylum, Phylum, Subphylum, Infraphylum, Parvphylum, Microphylum, Nanophylum, Gigaclass, Megaclass, Superclass, Class, Subclass, Infraclass, Subterclass, Parvclass, Superdivision, Division, Subdivision, Infradivision, Superlegion, Legion, Sublegion, Infralegion, Megacohort, Supercohort, Cohort, Subcohort, Infracohort, Gigaorder, Magnorder, Grandorder, Mirorder, Superorder, Order, Nanorder, Hypoorder, Minorder, Suborder, Infraorder, Parvorder, Megafamily, Grandfamily, Superfamily, Epifamily, Family, Subfamily, Infrafamily, Supertribe, Tribe, Subtribe, Infratribe, Suprageneric Name, Genus, Subgenus, Infragenus, Supersection, Section, Subsection, Superseries, Series, Subseries, Infrageneric Name, Species Aggregate, Species, Infraspecific Name, Grex, Subspecies, Cultivar Group, Convariety, Infrasubspecific Name, Proles, Natio, Aberration, Morph, Variety, Subvariety, Form, Subform, Pathovar, Biovar, Chemovar, Morphovar, Phagovar, Serovar, Chemoform, Forma Specialis, Cultivar, Strain, Other, Unranked.
Output
The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing the retrieved name usage data from the Catalogue of Life API. Each object corresponds to a name usage record containing fields as returned by the API, such as identifiers, scientific names, ranks, and other taxonomic metadata.
No binary data output is produced by this operation.
Dependencies
- Requires internet access to call the Catalogue of Life public API at
https://api.checklistbank.org/dataset/3LR. - No authentication or API key is required for this endpoint.
- Uses standard HTTP GET requests with JSON responses.
Troubleshooting
- Empty results: Ensure that the query parameters are correct and that the specified ID or query matches existing data in the Catalogue of Life.
- Invalid rank value: Use one of the predefined rank options; invalid values may cause errors or empty responses.
- API downtime or network issues: The node depends on external API availability; network failures or API outages will cause request failures.
- Pagination issues: If too many results are requested without proper offset handling, the response might be large or incomplete; use offset and limit wisely.
Links and References
- Catalogue of Life API Documentation
- Catalogue of Life Website
- Taxonomic Ranks Reference (for understanding rank options)