BioData Taxonomic System

Current Versions of the BioData Taxonomy

Complete BioData Taxonomy (includes current, deprecated, and retired taxa)

Previous Version of the BioData Taxonomy ( Fish | Invertebrate | Algae )

Naming Conventions for Conditional and Provisional Taxa

Citations used in BioData Taxonomy

This download includes all the Bench Taxon Name Reference Codes and their complete citations

Background

There are three important attributes (columns) that establish a taxon's identity (the "Taxon Concept") and whether the taxon is acceptable to the system for a data upload.

1. BenchTaxonName
2. BenchTaxonNameReferenceCode
3. TaxonConceptState

BioData uses the combination of BenchTaxonName and the "according to" BenchTaxonNameReferenceCode to establish the identity of a taxon. Each combination of name and reference code defines a distinct Taxon Concept. A concept that does not have a reference code is a "nominal" concept. BioData accepts many of these types of concepts, but the long-term value of data can be significantly enhanced by proper usage of a referenced concept.

Taxon Concepts can have one of three states (TaxonConceptState)

1. Current - meaning the concept is considered up-to-date and will be accepted in data
2. Deprecated - meaning the concept will be accepted in data but may be rejected in the near future
3. Retired - meaning the concept has been retired from use and will be rejected if used for incoming data

For more information please see the BioData Taxonomic System page.

Download format definitions

• CSV = Comma-separated values or comma delimited
• Tab-delimited (TSV) = Tab-separated values or tab delimited
• Excel 97/03 = Format used in Microsoft Excel 97- Excel 2003 workbooks, extension is .xls

• Excel 07 = Format used in Microsoft Excel 2007 - present workbooks, extension is .xlsx

• XML = Extensible Markup Language