This is a list of biodiversity databases. Biodiversity databases store taxonomic information alone or more commonly also other information like distribution (spatial) data and ecological data, which provide information on the biodiversity of a particular area or group of living organisms. They may store specimen-level information, species-level information, information on nomenclature, or any combination of the above. Most are available online.

Specimen-focused databases contain data about individual specimens, as represented by vouchered museum specimens, collections of specimen photographs, data on field-based specimen observations and morphological or genetic data. Species-focused databases contain information summarised at the species-level. Some species-focused databases attempt to compile comprehensive data about particular species (FishBase), while others focus on particular species attributes, such as checklists of species in a given area (FEOW) or the conservation status of species (CITES or IUCN Red List). Nomenclators act as summaries of taxonomic revisions and set a key between specimen-focused and species-focused databases. They do this because taxonomic revisions use specimen data to determine species limits.

NameFocusGroups includedCollectionLink
PlantsFungiMammalsBirdsReptilesAmphi-biansFishArthro­podsOther Euk.Prok. & Vir.
ABRS DatabasesPlants, Animals and Ecosystems of AustraliaXXXXXXXXXA comprehensive list of databases for Australian Flora and Fauna
AlgaeBaseAlgae and other oxygenic photosynthesisers other than embryophyte land plantsXXXHigher taxonomy, scientific names, common names, images, distribution, references
All Catfish Species InventoryCatfishXinformation collated by genera, including estimated numbers of species, taxonomic experts
AmphibiaWebAmphibiansXInformation about almost 9,000 species of amphibians
AntWebAntsXSpecimen information, collection details, photographs, higher taxonomy
ArctosSpecimen holdings of several natural history museums, agencies, and accessible private collectionsXXXXXXXXXVertebrates, invertebrates, parasites, vascular and non-vascular plants, many with images and extensive usage data.
Avibase – the World Bird DatabaseBirds, distribution, taxonomyXAvibase is an extensive database information system about all birds of the world, containing over 27 million records about 10,000 species and 22,000 subspecies of birds, including distribution information for 20,000 regions, taxonomy, synonyms in several languages and more
ASEAN Biodiversity Information Sharing Service (BISS)Amphibians, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, edible plants, freshwater fishes, mammals, plants, reptiles and Malesian mosses of Southeast AsiaXXXXXXXXXXIUCN status, habitat, regional presence/absence, description, classification
BacDiveMetadatabase that provides strain-linked information about bacterial and archaeal biodiversity.XXDifferent kind of metadata like taxonomy, morphology, physiology, environment and molecular-biology
BioLib – Biological LibraryBioLib is an international encyclopedia of plants, fungi and animals.XXXXXXXXXXApart from taxonomic system you can visit the gallery, glossary, vernacular names dictionary, database of links and literature, systems of biotopes, discussion forum and several other functions related to biology
CITES species databaseAll species ever listed in CITES Appendices I, II or IIIXXXXXXXXXScientific names, higher taxonomy, distribution, photos and CITES quotas
Catalogue of Life (CoL)All forms of life and virusesXXXXXXXXXXHighly complete database with various information about known species
Collecting Missions BiodiversityCultivated PlantsXAn agricultural heritage of cultivated plants and their wild relatives with access to original passport data of more than 220.000 samples collected around the world during Bioversity International (before the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources) supported missions. Bioversity International. Available from www.bioversityinternational.org.
Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)All forms of life and virusesXXXXXXXXXXHighly complete database with various information about known species
Fauna EuropaeaEurope's main zoological taxonomic indexXXXXXXXQuality-checked data, 180,712 accepted taxon names, web portal also provide links to other key biodiversity services
Finnish Biodiversity Info FacilityAll kinds of life and viruses in FinlandXXXXXXXXXXTaxonomy, distribution, species descriptions.
FishBaseFishXHigher taxonomy, common names, distribution, IUCN Redlist status
FishNet 2FishXInformation about fish taxon distribution
Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (FEOW)Freshwater ecoregionsXXXXXXXXXXMaps of species and endemic numbers
Fulgoromorpha Lists On the Web (FLOW)Planthoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) – 15.000 speciesXTaxonomy and classification, nomenclature, type depository, bibliography, distribution, photos on actual and fossil planthoppers of the world and various associated biological information (host-plants, parasites, trophobiosis, etc.)
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)All forms of lifeXXXXXXXXXXAll forms of life and a map of known occurrences with data about such occurrences. Also taxonomy and links to other databases
Georgia Biodiversity DatabaseGeorgia (country) biodiversity websiteXXXXXXXXChecklists covering ca. 11,000 of plants and animals recorded for Georgia (Central and Western Caucasus)
HerpNETAmphibians and reptiles of Iowa, Minnesota and North DakotaXXAmphibian and reptile distributions
iAMFArbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Database for Phylogeny, Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Distribution in IndiaXDistribution, phylogeny and taxonomy database of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi was built in two phases: In the first phase of the study (2013–2015) occurrence of about 148 species of AM fungi was reported across 18 states of India namely: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal (Gupta et al. 2014, under Delhi University innovation project) . In the second phase under UGC project (2015 onwards) the study has been extended to three more states namely Delhi, Tripura and Manipur reporting occurrence of 161 species. rRNA sequence data for these fungi is added as Phylogenetic Map and distribution data is available as Google Map
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS)Plants of AustraliaXTaxonomic information, collection details, photographs
iNaturalistAll forms of lifeXXXXXXXXXXGeolocated observations, location checklists, taxonomic information, range maps
iSpotAll forms of life large enough to photographXXXXXXXXXGeolocated individual observations and other information produced by citizen science participants
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)All taxa of interest to North America, with other taxa included as availableXXXXXXXXXXTaxonomic information, including higher taxonomy
JACQSpecimens from various HerbariaXContains information about plant specimen taxonomy and collection information
Mammal Networked Information System (MaNIS)MammalsXThe original objectives of MaNIS were to 1) facilitate open access to combined specimen data from a web browser, 2) enhance the value of specimen collections, 3) conserve curatorial resources, and 4) use a design paradigm that can be easily adopted by other disciplines with similar needs. The system just as FishNet, HerpNET and ORNIS refers now to the VertNet portal. Available on manisnet.org, visited 29 May 2014.
MicrobeWikiMicrobesXXHigher taxonomic information, scientific/vernacular names, images, attributes, references
MolluscaBaseMolluscsXMolluscaBase is a taxonomically oriented database that aims to provide an authoritative, permanently updated account of all molluscan species – marine, freshwater, and terrestrial, extant and fossil, and across all classes.
Monarch Data PortalMuseum specimens (zoology, botany, geology)XXXXXXXXOpen access biodiversity data (taxonomy, geography, images)
Mosquito Taxonomic InventoryCulicidae family (mosquitoes)Taxonomy, literature, references
Natural History Information Systemall forms of life, biotopes, rocksXXXXXXXXXXFaunistic and floristic records (citizen science and other sources), phenology, ecology, biotopes, taxonomy, paleontology, stratigraphy
NaturdataPortuguese taxaXXXXXXXXXXChecklist of Portuguese species including mainland and islands with a page for each species including taxonomy, synonyms, vernacular names, images, videos and Portuguese distribution
NatureServeplants, animals, and ecosystems of the United States and CanadaXXXXXXXXSource for information on more than 70,000 plants, animals, and ecosystems of the United States and Canada, including rare and endangered species
New World FruitsFruits (Plants)XThe New World Fruits Database aims at providing easier access to some basic, but often difficult to obtain, information on fruits from the New World (North- and South America). Key information provided includes data on nomenclature, taxonomic and vernacular, on fruit and plant uses and on distribution and origin. Bioversity International. Available from www.bioversityinternational.org.
A Pan-European Species-directories Infrastructure (PESI)European taxaXXXXXXXXXAuthoritative taxonomic checklist of European species, including higher taxonomy, synonyms, vernacular names and European distribution
Pl@ntNetPlants identification, observation, imagesXPlant identification, observations, citizen science project, photographs, distribution
Reptile DatabaseReptilesXTaxonomic information, names, photos
ScaleNetScale insects (superfamily Coccoidea)XNomenclature, distribution, hosts, systematics, references
TropicosTaxonomy, distribution, and specimen data for Missouri Botanical Garden.XNearly 1.3 million scientific names and over 4.4 million specimen records, accumulated during the past 30 years
VertNetAll LifeXXXXXXXXXXVertNet is a collaborative project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that makes biodiversity data free and available on the web. VertNet is a tool designed to help people discover, capture, and publish biodiversity data. VertNET data portal (http://www.vertnet.org)
A Database of Plant Biodiversity of West Bengal (WBPBDIVDB)Plants of West BengalXrichness of floral diversity of West Bengal from Terai, Duars, Darjeeling, the eastern Himalayan region and in the mangrove forests of Sundarbans
Walter Reed Biosystematics UnitArthropod disease vectorsXTaxonomy, photos, identification keys, geospatial data
WikispeciesAll forms of lifeXXXXXXXXXXHigher taxonomy, synonyms, vernacular names, referenceshttps://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
World Spider CatalogSpidersXTaxonomy, literature, references
World Register of Marine SpeciesMarine organismsXXXHigher taxonomy, scientific names, synonyms, distribution, attributes, references

See also

External links