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ITIS

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Look up the authoritative names of plants, animals, fungi and microbes from ITIS, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System run by US federal agencies: search by common or scientific name, check whether a name is the accepted one, and get a taxon's common names, synonyms, native range and full classification. No account or API key required.

Actions

ActionWhat it does
Get classificationGet a taxon's place in the tree of life from its TSN: its kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species, every rank in between, and the taxa one rank below it (such as the species in a genus).
Get taxonGet everything ITIS records about one taxon from its TSN: its scientific name and author, rank, kingdom, whether the name is the accepted one (and which to use if not), its parent, common names in every language, synonyms, where it occurs and whether it is native there.
Search by common nameFind plants, animals and other organisms by a common name, in English, French, Spanish and the other languages ITIS records, e.g. 'blue jay' or 'monarch'.
Search by scientific nameFind taxa whose scientific name contains the words, e.g. 'Cyanocitta' finds the genus and every species and subspecies in it.

Get classification

Get a taxon's place in the tree of life from its TSN: its kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species, every rank in between, and the taxa one rank below it (such as the species in a genus). No API key required.

Inputs

TSNtsntextRequired
The taxon's ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number, e.g. 179680 for the Blue Jay. Search by common or scientific name to find one.

Outputs

child_countnumber
How many children it has.
childrenlist
The taxa one rank below it, e.g. the species in a genus.
classtext
Its class, e.g. 'Aves'.
familytext
Its family, e.g. 'Corvidae'.
foundtrue/false
True when ITIS has a classification for this TSN. False for an unknown TSN or a name not in use (look that up with Get taxon to find the accepted name).
genustext
Its genus, e.g. 'Cyanocitta'. Empty above genus level.
kingdomtext
Its kingdom, e.g. 'Animalia'.
lineagelist
Every rank from kingdom down to the taxon itself, in order.
ordertext
Its order, e.g. 'Passeriformes'.
pathtext
Every rank from kingdom down to the taxon, joined with ' > ', e.g. 'Animalia > ... > Cyanocitta > Cyanocitta cristata'.
phylumtext
Its phylum (a division, for plants), e.g. 'Chordata'.
ranktext
Its rank, e.g. 'Species'.
scientific_nametext
The taxon's name, e.g. 'Cyanocitta cristata'.
speciestext
Its species, e.g. 'Cyanocitta cristata'. Empty above species level.
tsntext
The TSN that was looked up.
Example output
{
  "child_count": 2,
  "children": [
    {
      "name": "Cyanocitta cristata",
      "rank": "Species",
      "tsn": "179680"
    },
    {
      "name": "Cyanocitta stelleri",
      "rank": "Species",
      "tsn": "179685"
    }
  ],
  "class": "Aves",
  "family": "Corvidae",
  "found": true,
  "genus": "Cyanocitta",
  "kingdom": "Animalia",
  "lineage": [
    {
      "name": "Animalia",
      "rank": "Kingdom",
      "tsn": "202423"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bilateria",
      "rank": "Subkingdom",
      "tsn": "914154"
    },
    {
      "name": "Deuterostomia",
      "rank": "Infrakingdom",
      "tsn": "914156"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chordata",
      "rank": "Phylum",
      "tsn": "158852"
    },
    {
      "name": "Vertebrata",
      "rank": "Subphylum",
      "tsn": "331030"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gnathostomata",
      "rank": "Infraphylum",
      "tsn": "914179"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tetrapoda",
      "rank": "Superclass",
      "tsn": "914181"
    },
    {
      "name": "Aves",
      "rank": "Class",
      "tsn": "174371"
    },
    {
      "name": "Passeriformes",
      "rank": "Order",
      "tsn": "178265"
    },
    {
      "name": "Corvidae",
      "rank": "Family",
      "tsn": "179665"
    },
    {
      "name": "Cyanocitta",
      "rank": "Genus",
      "tsn": "179679"
    }
  ],
  "order": "Passeriformes",
  "path": "Animalia > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Vertebrata > Gnathostomata > Tetrapoda > Aves > Passeriformes > Corvidae > Cyanocitta",
  "phylum": "Chordata",
  "rank": "Genus",
  "scientific_name": "Cyanocitta",
  "species": null,
  "tsn": "179679"
}

Get taxon

Get everything ITIS records about one taxon from its TSN: its scientific name and author, rank, kingdom, whether the name is the accepted one (and which to use if not), its parent, common names in every language, synonyms, where it occurs and whether it is native there. An unknown TSN comes back with 'found' set to false rather than failing the step. No API key required.

Inputs

TSNtsntextRequired
The taxon's ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number, e.g. 179680 for the Blue Jay. Search by common or scientific name to find one.

Outputs

accepted_nameslist
For a name not in use, the name(s) to use instead.
authortext
Who named it and when, e.g. '(Linnaeus, 1758)'.
common_nameslist
Its common names in every language ITIS records.
credibilitytext
How well reviewed the record is, e.g. 'TWG standards met' (checked by a taxonomic working group).
foundtrue/false
True when ITIS has a taxon with this TSN. False means it does not, and every other detail is empty.
geographic_divisionslist
The broad regions it is found in, e.g. 'North America'.
is_acceptedtrue/false
True when the name is the one currently in use.
itis_urltext
The taxon's page on itis.gov.
jurisdictionslist
Where it occurs in North America and whether it is native there.
kingdomtext
The kingdom, e.g. 'Animalia' or 'Plantae'.
last_updatedtext
When ITIS last changed the record, YYYY-MM-DD.
parent_nametext
The name of the taxon one rank up, e.g. 'Cyanocitta'.
parent_tsntext
The TSN of the taxon one rank up, e.g. its genus.
ranktext
The taxonomic rank, e.g. 'Species', 'Genus' or 'Family'.
scientific_nametext
The scientific name, e.g. 'Cyanocitta cristata'.
summarytext
One line about the taxon, e.g. 'Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758), species in Animalia: Blue Jay'.
synonymslist
Older or alternative scientific names for this taxon.
tsntext
The TSN that was looked up.
unaccepted_reasontext
Why a name is not in use, e.g. 'synonym' or 'original name/combination'. Empty for an accepted name.
usagetext
ITIS's rating of the name: 'valid' or 'accepted' for a name in use, 'invalid' or 'not accepted' for one that is not.
Example output
{
  "accepted_names": [],
  "author": "(Linnaeus, 1758)",
  "common_names": [
    {
      "language": "French",
      "name": "Geai bleu"
    },
    {
      "language": "Portuguese",
      "name": "gaio-azul"
    },
    {
      "language": "Spanish",
      "name": "Chara azul"
    },
    {
      "language": "English",
      "name": "Blue Jay"
    }
  ],
  "credibility": "TWG standards met",
  "found": true,
  "geographic_divisions": [
    "North America"
  ],
  "is_accepted": true,
  "itis_url": "https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=179680",
  "jurisdictions": [
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Canada",
      "origin": "Native"
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "Continental US",
      "origin": "Native"
    }
  ],
  "kingdom": "Animalia",
  "last_updated": "2025-12-18",
  "parent_name": "Cyanocitta",
  "parent_tsn": "179679",
  "rank": "Species",
  "scientific_name": "Cyanocitta cristata",
  "summary": "Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758), species in Animalia: Blue Jay",
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "author": null,
      "scientific_name": "Corvus cristatus",
      "tsn": "1276170"
    }
  ],
  "tsn": "179680",
  "unaccepted_reason": null,
  "usage": "valid"
}

Search by common name

Find plants, animals and other organisms by a common name, in English, French, Spanish and the other languages ITIS records, e.g. 'blue jay' or 'monarch'. Each match carries the TSN to look the taxon up with. No API key required.

Inputs

Common namenametextRequired
The name or words to look for, e.g. blue jay.
Matchmatchtext
Whether the name should contain, begin with or end with the words. Defaults to contains.One of: contains (Contains the words), begins_with (Begins with the words), ends_with (Ends with the words).
Number of resultslimitnumber
How many matches to return, 1 to 200. Defaults to 25. Exact matches come first.From 1 to 200.

Outputs

countnumber
How many are in this result (at most the limit).
matchtext
How names were matched: contains, begins_with or ends_with.
matcheslist
The matching names, exact matches first.
querytext
The words that were searched for.
total_matchesnumber
How many names ITIS matched in all.
Example output
{
  "count": 2,
  "match": "contains",
  "matches": [
    {
      "common_name": "Blue Jay",
      "language": "English",
      "tsn": "179680"
    },
    {
      "common_name": "Blue Jays",
      "language": "English",
      "tsn": "179679"
    }
  ],
  "query": "blue jay",
  "total_matches": 2
}

Search by scientific name

Find taxa whose scientific name contains the words, e.g. 'Cyanocitta' finds the genus and every species and subspecies in it. Each match carries its author, kingdom and the TSN to look it up with. No API key required.

Inputs

Scientific namenametextRequired
The scientific name or part of it, e.g. Cyanocitta cristata.
Number of resultslimitnumber
How many matches to return, 1 to 200. Defaults to 25. Exact matches come first.From 1 to 200.

Outputs

countnumber
How many are in this result (at most the limit).
matcheslist
The matching names, exact matches first.
querytext
The words that were searched for.
total_matchesnumber
How many names ITIS matched in all.
Example output
{
  "count": 2,
  "matches": [
    {
      "author": "(Linnaeus, 1758)",
      "kingdom": "Animalia",
      "scientific_name": "Cyanocitta cristata",
      "tsn": "179680"
    },
    {
      "author": "Oberholser, 1921",
      "kingdom": "Animalia",
      "scientific_name": "Cyanocitta cristata bromia",
      "tsn": "179681"
    }
  ],
  "query": "Cyanocitta cristata",
  "total_matches": 5
}

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