Using the Species API to Mine the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Here's how to get tons of info from GBIF.

Check out the Species API.

First step is to locate the taxon in the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, often called the Nub taxonomy, is a single synthetic management classification with the goal of covering all names GBIF is dealing with.

You can search GBIF manually by going to http://www.gbif.org/species and entering a scientific name or common name. The magic number you are looking for is the GBIF ID.

Alternatively, you can use the Species API: http://api.gbif.org/v1/species/search?q=lawn%20armyworm&rank=SPECIES. This will return info encoded as JSON. The magic number in this case is nubKey.

Once we have the GBIF ID, which is 5109848 for Spodoptera mauritia, we can harvest more data: