CatalogueOfLife icon

CatalogueOfLife

The most complete authoritative list of the world's species, maintained by hundreds of global taxonomists

Actions12

  • Decision Actions
  • Estimate Actions
  • Name Actions
  • Name Usage Actions
  • Name Usage Search Actions
  • Name Usage Suggest Actions
  • Reference Actions
  • Source Metadata Actions
  • Synonym Actions
  • Taxon Actions
  • Tree Actions
  • Vernacular Actions

Overview

This node integrates with the Catalogue of Life API, which is a comprehensive authoritative list of the world's species maintained by global taxonomists. Specifically, for the Synonym - Get operation, it retrieves synonym data related to species names or taxa from the Catalogue of Life dataset.

This node is beneficial when you need to:

  • Fetch synonyms for scientific names or taxa to understand alternative naming conventions.
  • Integrate taxonomic synonym data into biodiversity databases or research workflows.
  • Automate retrieval of taxonomic synonym information for ecological or biological data processing.

Example use case:
You have a species name and want to find all known synonyms to ensure your dataset includes all relevant records under different names.

Properties

Name Meaning
Additional Fields Optional parameters to refine the query:
- ID The ID for the synonym resource to retrieve a specific synonym record
- Offset The paging offset for results (default 0)
- Limit Maximum number of results to return (minimum 1, default 50)

These properties allow you to specify which synonym(s) to fetch and control pagination of the results.

Output

The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing the synonym data retrieved from the Catalogue of Life API. Each object corresponds to a synonym record and contains detailed taxonomic information as provided by the API.

The output does not include binary data; it is purely JSON structured data describing synonyms.

Dependencies

  • External API: Catalogue of Life API at https://api.checklistbank.org/dataset/3LR
  • No explicit credentials are required according to the source code, so the API appears to be publicly accessible.
  • The node uses standard HTTP GET requests with JSON responses.

Troubleshooting

  • Empty or no results: Ensure that the ID or other parameters are correct and correspond to existing synonyms in the Catalogue of Life dataset.
  • API request failures: Network issues or API downtime could cause errors. Verify internet connectivity and API availability.
  • Invalid parameter values: For example, setting limit below 1 may cause errors. Use valid numeric values for offset and limit.
  • Unexpected response format: If the API changes, the node might fail to parse results correctly. Check for updates or API documentation changes.

Links and References


This summary focuses on the Synonym resource with the Get operation as requested, based on static analysis of the provided source code and property definitions.

Discussion