{"docs":{"name":"Species+/CITES Checklist API","info":"\n\u003cp\u003eAnother API description\u003c/p\u003e\n","copyright":"\u0026copy; 2026 UNEP-WCMC","doc_url":"/documentation/v1","api_url":"/api","resources":[{"doc_url":"/documentation/v1/taxon_concepts","id":"taxon_concepts","api_url":"/api","name":"Taxon Concepts","short_description":null,"full_description":"","version":"v1","formats":["JSON","XML"],"metadata":null,"methods":[{"doc_url":"/documentation/v1/taxon_concepts/index","name":"index","apis":[{"api_url":"api/v1/taxon_concepts","http_method":"GET","short_description":"Lists taxon concepts","deprecated":null}],"formats":["JSON","XML"],"full_description":"\n\u003cp\u003eThe following taxon concept fields are returned:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdl class=\"rdoc-list label-list\"\u003e\u003cdt\u003eid\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eunique identifier of a taxon concept\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003efull_name\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003escientific name [max 255 characters]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003eauthor_year\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eauthor and year (parentheses where applicable) [max 255 characters]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003erank\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eone of \u003ccode\u003eKINGDOM\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003ePHYLUM\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eCLASS\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eORDER\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eFAMILY\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eSUBFAMILY\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eGENUS\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eSPECIES\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eSUBSPECIES\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eVARIETY\u003c/code\u003e [max 255 characters]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003ename_status\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003eA\u003c/code\u003e for accepted names, \u003ccode\u003eS\u003c/code\u003e for synonyms (both types of names are taxon concepts in Species+) [max 255 characters]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003eupdated_at\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003etimestamp of last update to the taxon concept in Species+\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003eactive\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eif false, taxon concept has been deleted\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003esynonyms\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003elist of synonyms (only for accepted names, i.e. name_status == A) [full_name, author_year and rank follow the same length constraints as respective properties of the main taxon concept]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003ehigher_taxa\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eobject that gives scientific names of ancestors in the taxonomic tree (only for active accepted names) [higher taxa names follow the same length constraint as full_name of the main taxon concept]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003ecommon_names\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003elist of common names (with language given by ISO 639-1 code; only for accepted names) [name, language max 255 characters]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003ecites_listing\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003evalue of current CITES listing (as per CITES Checklist). When taxon concept is removed from appendices this becomes \u003ccode\u003eNC\u003c/code\u003e. When taxon is split listed it becomes a concatenation of appendix symbols, e.g. \u003ccode\u003eI/II/NC\u003c/code\u003e (only for accepted names) [max 255 characters]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003ecites_listings\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003elist of current CITES listings with annotations (there will be more than one element in this list in case of split listings; only for accepted names) [appendix max 255 characters; annotation, hash_annotation unlimited length]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003eeu_listing\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003evalue of current EU listing. When taxon concept is removed from annexes this becomes \u003ccode\u003eNC\u003c/code\u003e. When taxon is split listed it becomes a concatenation of annex symbols, e.g. \u003ccode\u003eA/B/NC\u003c/code\u003e (only for accepted names) [max 255 characters]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003eeu_listings\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003elist of current EU listings with annotations (there will be more than one element in this list in case of split listings; only for accepted names) [appendix max 255 characters; annotation, hash_annotation unlimited length]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdt\u003eaccepted_names\n\u003cdd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003elist of accepted names (only for synonyms, i.e. name_status == S) [full_name, author_year and rank follow the same length constraints as respective properties of the main taxon concept]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/dd\u003e\u003c/dl\u003e\n\n\u003ch4 id=\"label-Note+on+deleted+taxon+concepts\"\u003eNote on deleted taxon concepts\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"#label-Note+on+deleted+taxon+concepts\"\u003e\u0026para;\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#top\"\u003e\u0026uarr;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the event of removal from CITES appendices, a taxon is not deleted from the Species+ DB. As a historically listed taxon it remains in the database, and in most cases the value of current CITES listing becomes ‘NC’. In some cases the value is affected by listed subspecies, e.g. \u003cem\u003ePseudomys fieldi\u003c/em\u003e has been removed from Appendix I, but since there is a listed subspecies, the current listing is ‘I/NC’.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTaxon concepts are deleted from the Species+ database only on rare occasions when they have been entered by mistake. API consumers can detect this event by checking the value of the ‘active’ flag, which is set to false in case of deleted taxa.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4 id=\"label-Note+on+updated_since\"\u003eNote on \u003ccode\u003eupdated_since\u003c/code\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"#label-Note+on+updated_since\"\u003e\u0026para;\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#top\"\u003e\u0026uarr;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ccode\u003eupdated_since\u003c/code\u003e parameter is intended to be used in order to allow API clients to only fetch taxon concepts updated since the last run of the synchronisation job. Those taxa will include:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaxa that have been newly added. This can be verified by checking against the list of existing identifiers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaxa that have been deleted. This can be inferred by the value of the active flag.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaxa that have been updated, and that includes changes to the taxon concept record as well as linked records (names, distribution, references, CITES or EU legislation). There is no way to infer which piece of information was changed and in such cases a full re-synchronisation of all infomation on that taxon concept is recommended.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch4 id=\"label-Note+on+pagination\"\u003eNote on pagination\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"#label-Note+on+pagination\"\u003e\u0026para;\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#top\"\u003e\u0026uarr;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhere more than 500 taxon concepts are returned, the request is paginated, showing 500 objects (or less by passing in an optional ‘per_page’ parameter) at a time. To fetch the remaining objects, you will need to make a new request and pass the optional ‘page’ parameter as below:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cpre\u003ehttps://api.speciesplus.net/api/v1/taxon_concepts?page=2\u0026amp;per_page=25\u003c/pre\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInformation about the remaining pages is provided in the Link header of the API response. For example, making the above request for page two, with a limit of 25 objects per page would return the following in the link header along with a total-count header:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cpre\u003eLink: \u0026lt;https://api.speciesplus.net/api/v1/taxon_concepts?page=3\u0026amp;per_page=25\u0026gt;; rel=\u0026quot;next\u0026quot;, \u0026lt;https://api.speciesplus.net/api/v1/taxon_concepts?page=2570\u0026amp;per_page=25\u0026gt;; rel=\u0026quot;last\u0026quot;\nTotal-Count: 64230\u003c/pre\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf there are additional pages, the link header will contain the URL for the next page of results, followed by the URL for the last page of results. The Total-Count header shows the total number of objects returned for this call, regardless of pagination.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor convenience, a ‘pagination’ meta object is also included in the body of the response.\u003c/p\u003e\n","errors":[{"code":400,"description":"Bad Request","metadata":null},{"code":401,"description":"Unauthorized","metadata":null},{"code":404,"description":"Not Found","metadata":null},{"code":422,"description":"Unprocessable Entity","metadata":null},{"code":500,"description":"Internal Server Error","metadata":null}],"params":[{"name":"page","full_name":"page","description":"\n\u003cp\u003ePage number for paginated responses\u003c/p\u003e\n","required":false,"allow_nil":false,"allow_blank":false,"validator":"Must be a String","expected_type":"string","metadata":null,"show":true,"validations":[],"deprecated":false},{"name":"per_page","full_name":"per_page","description":"\n\u003cp\u003eLimit for how many objects returned per page for paginated responses. If not specificed it will default to the maximum value of 500\u003c/p\u003e\n","required":false,"allow_nil":false,"allow_blank":false,"validator":"Must be a String","expected_type":"string","metadata":null,"show":true,"validations":[],"deprecated":false},{"name":"updated_since","full_name":"updated_since","description":"\n\u003cp\u003ePull only objects updated after (and including) the specified timestamp in ISO8601 format (UTC time).\u003c/p\u003e\n","required":false,"allow_nil":false,"allow_blank":false,"validator":"Must be a String","expected_type":"string","metadata":null,"show":true,"validations":[],"deprecated":false},{"name":"name","full_name":"name","description":"\n\u003cp\u003eFilter taxon concepts by name\u003c/p\u003e\n","required":false,"allow_nil":false,"allow_blank":false,"validator":"Must be a String","expected_type":"string","metadata":null,"show":true,"validations":[],"deprecated":false},{"name":"with_descendants","full_name":"with_descendants","description":"\n\u003cp\u003eBroadens the above search by name to include higher taxa. Value must be true or false\u003c/p\u003e\n","required":false,"allow_nil":false,"allow_blank":false,"validator":"Must be a String","expected_type":"string","metadata":null,"show":true,"validations":[],"deprecated":false},{"name":"taxonomy","full_name":"taxonomy","description":"\n\u003cp\u003eFilter taxon concepts by taxonomy, accepts either CITES or CMS as its value. Defaults to CITES if no value is specified\u003c/p\u003e\n","required":false,"allow_nil":false,"allow_blank":false,"validator":"Must be a String","expected_type":"string","metadata":null,"show":true,"validations":[],"deprecated":false},{"name":"language","full_name":"language","description":"\n\u003cp\u003eFilter languages returned for common names. Value should be a single country code or a comma separated string of country codes (e.g. language=EN,PL,IT). Defaults to showing all available languages if no language parameter is specified\u003c/p\u003e\n","required":false,"allow_nil":false,"allow_blank":false,"validator":"Must be a String","expected_type":"string","metadata":null,"show":true,"validations":[],"deprecated":false},{"name":"with_eu_listings","full_name":"with_eu_listings","description":"\n\u003cp\u003eInclude EU listing data. Value must be true or false, defaults to false\u003c/p\u003e\n","required":false,"allow_nil":false,"allow_blank":false,"validator":"Must be a String","expected_type":"string","metadata":null,"show":true,"validations":[],"deprecated":false}],"returns":[],"examples":["{\n  \"pagination\":{\n    \"current_page\":1,\n    \"per_page\":500,\n    \"total_entries\":1\n  },\n  \"taxon_concepts\":[\n    {\n      \"id\":4521,\n      \"full_name\":\"Loxodonta africana\",\n      \"author_year\":\"(Blumenbach, 1797)\",\n      \"rank\":\"SPECIES\",\n      \"name_status\":\"A\",\n      \"updated_at\":\"2014-12-11T15:39:51.620Z\",\n      \"active\":true,\n      \"cites_listing\":\"I/II\",\n      \"higher_taxa\":{\n        \"kingdom\":\"Animalia\",\n        \"phylum\":\"Chordata\",\n        \"class\":\"Mammalia\",\n        \"order\":\"Proboscidea\",\n        \"family\":\"Elephantidae\"\n      },\n      \"synonyms\":[\n        {\n          \"id\":37069,\n          \"full_name\":\"Loxodonta cyclotis\",\n          \"author_year\":\"(Matschie, 1900)\",\n          \"rank\":\"SPECIES\"\n        }\n      ],\n      \"common_names\":[\n        {\n          \"name\":\"African Elephant\",\n          \"language\":\"EN\"\n        },\n        {\n          \"name\":\"African Savannah Elephant\",\n          \"language\":\"EN\"\n        },\n        {\n          \"name\":\"Eléphant d'Afrique\",\n          \"language\":\"FR\"\n        },\n        {\n          \"name\":\"Eléphant africain\",\n          \"language\":\"FR\"\n        }\n      ],\n      \"cites_listings\":[\n        {\n          \"appendix\":\"II\",\n          \"annotation\":\"The populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are listed in Appendix II for the exclusive purpose of allowing: [...]\",\n          \"hash_annotation\":null\n        },\n        {\n          \"appendix\":\"I\",\n          \"annotation\":\"Included in Appendix I, except the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, which are included in Appendix II.\",\n          \"hash_annotation\":null\n        }\n      ],\n      \"eu_listings\":[\n        {\n          \"id\":\"32796\"\n          \"annex\":\"A\"\n          \"annotation\":\"Except for the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, which are included in Annex B.\"\n          \"hash_annotation\":nil\n          \"effective_at\":\"2022-01-19\"\n          \"party\":nil\n        },\n        {\n          \"id\":\"34129\"\n          \"annex\":\"B\"\n          \"annotation\":\"Only the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe; all other populations are included in Annex A. [...]\"\n          \"hash_annotation\":nil\n          \"effective_at\":\"2022-01-19\"\n          \"party\":nil\n        }\n      ]\n    }\n  ]\n}\n","\u003c?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?\u003e\n\u003chash\u003e\n  \u003cpagination\u003e\n    \u003ccurrent-page type=\"integer\"\u003e1\u003c/current-page\u003e\n    \u003cper-page type=\"integer\"\u003e500\u003c/per-page\u003e\n    \u003ctotal-entries type=\"integer\"\u003e1\u003c/total-entries\u003e\n  \u003c/pagination\u003e\n  \u003ctaxon-concepts type=\"array\"\u003e\n    \u003ctaxon-concept\u003e\n      \u003cid type=\"integer\"\u003e4521\u003c/id\u003e\n      \u003cfull-name\u003eLoxodonta africana\u003c/full-name\u003e\n      \u003cauthor-year\u003e(Blumenbach, 1797)\u003c/author-year\u003e\n      \u003crank\u003eSPECIES\u003c/rank\u003e\n      \u003cname-status\u003eA\u003c/name-status\u003e\n      \u003cupdated-at type=\"dateTime\"\u003e2014-12-11T15:39:51Z\u003c/updated-at\u003e\n      \u003cactive type=\"boolean\"\u003etrue\u003c/active\u003e\n      \u003ccites-listing\u003eI/II\u003c/cites-listing\u003e\n      \u003chigher-taxa\u003e\n        \u003ckingdom\u003eAnimalia\u003c/kingdom\u003e\n        \u003cphylum\u003eChordata\u003c/phylum\u003e\n        \u003cclass\u003eMammalia\u003c/class\u003e\n        \u003corder\u003eProboscidea\u003c/order\u003e\n        \u003cfamily\u003eElephantidae\u003c/family\u003e\n      \u003c/higher-taxa\u003e\n      \u003csynonyms type=\"array\"\u003e\n        \u003csynonym\u003e\n          \u003cid type=\"integer\"\u003e37069\u003c/id\u003e\n          \u003cfull-name\u003eLoxodonta cyclotis\u003c/full-name\u003e\n          \u003cauthor-year\u003e(Matschie, 1900)\u003c/author-year\u003e\n          \u003crank\u003eSPECIES\u003c/rank\u003e\n        \u003c/synonym\u003e\n      \u003c/synonyms\u003e\n      \u003ccommon-names type=\"array\"\u003e\n        \u003ccommon-name\u003e\n          \u003cname\u003eAfrican Elephant\u003c/name\u003e\n          \u003clanguage\u003eEN\u003c/language\u003e\n        \u003c/common-name\u003es\n        \u003ccommon-name\u003e\n          \u003cname\u003eAfrican Savannah Elephant\u003c/name\u003e\n          \u003clanguage\u003eEN\u003c/language\u003e\n        \u003c/common-name\u003e\n        \u003ccommon-name\u003e\n          \u003cname\u003eEléphant d'Afrique\u003c/name\u003e\n          \u003clanguage\u003eFR\u003c/language\u003e\n        \u003c/common-name\u003e\n        \u003ccommon-name\u003e\n          \u003cname\u003eEléphant africain\u003c/name\u003e\n          \u003clanguage\u003eFR\u003c/language\u003e\n        \u003c/common-name\u003e\n      \u003c/common-names\u003e\n      \u003ccites-listings type=\"array\"\u003e\n        \u003ccites-listing\u003e\n          \u003cappendix\u003eII\u003c/appendix\u003e\n          \u003cannotation\u003eThe populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are listed in Appendix II for the exclusive purpose of allowing: [...]\u003c/annotation\u003e\n          \u003chash-annotation nil=\"true\"/\u003e\n        \u003c/cites-listing\u003e\n        \u003ccites-listing\u003e\n          \u003cappendix\u003eI\u003c/appendix\u003e\n          \u003cannotation\u003eIncluded in Appendix I, except the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, which are included in Appendix II.\u003c/annotation\u003e\n          \u003chash-annotation nil=\"true\"/\u003e\n        \u003c/cites-listing\u003e\n      \u003c/cites-listings\u003e\n      \u003ceu-listings\u003e\n        \u003ceu-listing\u003e\n          \u003cid type=\"integer\"\u003e32796\u003c/id\u003e\n          \u003cannex\u003eA\u003c/annex\u003e\n          \u003cannotation\u003eExcept for the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, which are [...]\u003c/annotation\u003e\n          \u003chash-annotation inl=\"true\"/\u003e\n          \u003ceffective-at\u003e2022-01-19\u003c/effective-at\u003e\n          \u003cparty nil=\"true\"/\u003e\n        \u003c/eu-listing\u003e\n        \u003ceu-listing\u003e\n          \u003cid type=\"integer\"\u003e34129\u003c/id\u003e\n          \u003cannex\u003eB\u003c/annex\u003e\n          \u003cannotation\u003eOnly the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe; all other populations are [...]\u003c/annotation\u003e\n          \u003chash-annotation inl=\"true\"/\u003e\n          \u003ceffective-at\u003e2022-01-19\u003c/effective-at\u003e\n          \u003cparty nil=\"true\"/\u003e\n        \u003c/eu-listing\u003e\n      \u003c/eu-listings\u003e\n    \u003c/taxon-concept\u003e\n  \u003c/taxon-concepts\u003e\n\u003c/hash\u003e\n"],"metadata":null,"see":[],"headers":[],"show":true}],"headers":[],"deprecated":false}]}}