GBIF Scraper

Extract biodiversity data from GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) — the world's most comprehensive open-access biodiversity database with 2.7 billion+ occurrence records and 10 million+ species. No API key required.

What Does GBIF Scraper Do?

GBIF Scraper gives you structured access to the GBIF public API. You can:

• Search species across the GBIF taxonomic backbone — by name, rank, or kingdom
• Search occurrences — individual biodiversity observations from museums, citizen science, and research institutions worldwide
• Search datasets — find contributing data providers and observation datasets
• Fetch species details — full taxonomy plus vernacular (common) names in many languages

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Output Fields

Species Records (modes: searchSpecies, bySpeciesKey)

Field	Type	Description
taxonKey	Integer	GBIF taxon key (unique species identifier)
scientificName	String	Full scientific name with authorship
canonicalName	String	Canonical scientific name (no authorship)
vernacularName	String	Primary vernacular/common name
vernacularNames	Array	All vernacular names (mode=bySpeciesKey only)
authorship	String	Taxonomic authorship
rank	String	Taxonomic rank (KINGDOM, SPECIES, etc.)
kingdom	String	Kingdom classification
phylum	String	Phylum classification
taxonClass	String	Class classification
order	String	Order classification
family	String	Family classification
genus	String	Genus classification
species	String	Species binomial name
taxonomicStatus	String	Accepted, synonym, etc.
numOccurrences	Integer	Total occurrence count in GBIF
numDescendants	Integer	Number of child taxa
habitat	String	Habitat type
threatStatuses	Array	IUCN threat status codes
synonym	Boolean	Whether this is a synonym
gbifSpeciesUrl	String	Direct GBIF species page URL

Occurrence Records (mode: searchOccurrences)

Field	Type	Description
occurrenceKey	Integer	GBIF occurrence key
speciesKey	Integer	GBIF species key
scientificName	String	Scientific name of observed organism
decimalLatitude	Float	Latitude (WGS84)
decimalLongitude	Float	Longitude (WGS84)
country	String	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
stateProvince	String	State or province
locality	String	Locality description
year	Integer	Year of observation
month	Integer	Month of observation
day	Integer	Day of observation
basisOfRecord	String	How the occurrence was recorded
institutionCode	String	Contributing institution code
datasetKey	String	Contributing dataset key
gbifOccurrenceUrl	String	Direct GBIF occurrence page URL

Dataset Records (mode: searchDatasets)

Field	Type	Description
datasetKey	String	GBIF dataset UUID
title	String	Dataset title
type	String	Dataset type
publishingOrganizationTitle	String	Publishing organization name
license	String	Dataset license
description	String	Dataset description
recordCount	Integer	Total record count
gbifDatasetUrl	String	Direct GBIF dataset page URL

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Input Configuration

Modes

Mode	Description
searchSpecies	Search the GBIF taxonomic backbone
searchOccurrences	Search biodiversity occurrence records
searchDatasets	Search contributing datasets
bySpeciesKey	Fetch full species detail with vernacular names

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
mode	Enum	searchSpecies	Operating mode
query	String	—	Scientific or common name query
rank	Enum	Any	Taxonomic rank filter (SPECIES, GENUS, etc.)
kingdom	Enum	Any	Kingdom filter (ANIMALIA, PLANTAE, etc.)
taxonKey	Integer	—	GBIF taxon key for occurrence filtering
country	String	—	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
fromYear	Integer	—	Filter occurrences from this year
toYear	Integer	—	Filter occurrences until this year
basisOfRecord	Enum	Any	How the occurrence was recorded
datasetType	Enum	Any	Dataset type filter
speciesKey	Integer	—	GBIF species key (mode=bySpeciesKey)
maxItems	Integer	50	Maximum number of records (1–1000)

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Example Inputs

Search for lion taxonomy

{
  "mode": "searchSpecies",
  "query": "Panthera leo",
  "maxItems": 10
}

Find all lion occurrences in South Africa

{
  "mode": "searchOccurrences",
  "taxonKey": 5219404,
  "country": "ZA",
  "maxItems": 100
}

Fetch full species detail with vernacular names

{
  "mode": "bySpeciesKey",
  "speciesKey": 5219404
}

Search oak tree species

{
  "mode": "searchSpecies",
  "query": "Quercus",
  "rank": "GENUS",
  "kingdom": "PLANTAE",
  "maxItems": 50
}

Search occurrence datasets

{
  "mode": "searchDatasets",
  "query": "bird",
  "datasetType": "OCCURRENCE",
  "maxItems": 20
}

Get recent bird observations in the US

{
  "mode": "searchOccurrences",
  "query": "Corvus",
  "country": "US",
  "fromYear": 2020,
  "toYear": 2024,
  "basisOfRecord": "HUMAN_OBSERVATION",
  "maxItems": 200
}

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Use Cases

• Biodiversity research: Aggregate species distribution data for ecological analysis
• Conservation planning: Identify species ranges, threat statuses, and occurrence hotspots
• Citizen science analytics: Analyze iNaturalist and eBird observation patterns
• Museum data mining: Access digitized natural history collection records
• Environmental impact assessment: Map species presence in geographic areas
• Species distribution modeling: Collect training data for SDM algorithms
• Education: Explore taxonomy, biogeography, and biodiversity patterns

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a GBIF account? No. GBIF's public API is freely accessible without registration.

How current is the data? GBIF continuously ingests new occurrence data from partners. The API reflects the current state of the database.

What does taxonKey mean? Each species or taxon in GBIF has a unique numeric key. You can find a species key via searchSpecies and use it in searchOccurrences to get all observations of that species.

What are basis of record types?

• HUMAN_OBSERVATION: Sighted and recorded by a person (e.g., iNaturalist)
• PRESERVED_SPECIMEN: Museum or herbarium specimen
• MACHINE_OBSERVATION: Sensor, camera trap, or acoustic monitor
• FOSSIL_SPECIMEN: Paleontological specimen

Can I filter by specific geographic regions? Yes — use the country field with a 2-letter ISO country code (e.g., US, GB, ZA).

What is coordinateUncertaintyInMeters? The radius around the given coordinates within which the true location lies. Lower values indicate more precise georeferencing.

Are vernacular names available in multiple languages? Yes — use mode=bySpeciesKey to retrieve vernacular names across all languages registered in GBIF for that species.