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Welcome to the Catalogue of Life website. The gateway to our online database of the world's known species of animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms.

There are two distinct versions of the Catalogue: the Catalogue of Life monthly edition and the Catalogue of Life Annual Checklist. Choose the version most suited to your needs.

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Catalogue of Life: May 2017

Monthly edition

Next update: June 2017

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Catalogue of Life: 2017 Annual Checklist

A referenceable snapshot once per year

Next publication date: April 2018

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FAQ

What is the Catalogue of Life?

The Catalogue of Life is the most comprehensive and authoritative global index of species currently available. It consists of a single integrated species checklist and taxonomic hierarchy. The Catalogue holds essential information on the names, relationships and distributions of over 1.6 million species. This figure continues to rise as information is compiled from diverse sources around the world.
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Why is it important?

There is currently no single, universal and complete reference to what species we think are alive today. Without this we can not sustainably use, explore, monitor, manage and protect biodiversity resources.
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Which version is right for me?

The Dynamic Edition is a constantly evolving version of the Catalogue of Life. Anything can change as the list develops: names, their associated details, and their content providers and there is no tracking of those changes. For that reason, the Dynamic Edition is not the one to quote if you wish to cite a verifiable source. It is, however, a great 'expert system', helping those at the forefront of their science to track, and contribute to the development of taxonomy. Periodic issues are progressively enhanced, in what will evolve as a dynamically developing system, made available online and as web-services.

The Annual Checklist is a snapshot of the entire Catalogue of Life: a fixed imprint. If you quote an organism from this version, others will be able to turn to that same reference - at any point in the future. All editions of the Annual Checklist to date are available online, and deposited in libraries around the world. Partner programmes, that link online to the Catalogue of Life, will reference the Annual Checklist.

How do I know the data are reliable?

The content of the Catalogue of Life is supplied by an array of over one hundred expert taxonomic databases world-wide with contributions from over 3,000 taxonomic specialists.
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Why is my taxon missing?

The Catalogue of Life whilst growing all the time, is not yet complete and currently covers about 84% of world diversity.
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I am a taxonomist - can I help?

Yes! If you have a taxonomic database and would like to join the Species 2000 federation of databases in the Catalogue of Life please contact us. We are especially interested in taxonomists that are working in our gap areas.
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Progress

Total Species: > 1,6 M
Total contributing databases: 156

84%

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Case Studies

GBIF

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) enables free and open access to biodiversity data online.

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Encyclopedia of Life

The EoL uses the CoL Annual Checklist as its taxonomic backbone.

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IUCN

The IUCN Redlist is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.

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Dictionary of Natural Products

The Catalogue of Life has been used to support commercial products.

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Tools and Resources

User Guide

Learn to operate the search and browse interface and how to interpret results.

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Terms of Use & How to Cite Us

When using the Catalogue of Life in your own system we ask that you abide by a few conditions.

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Blog

Read about some of the 1.6m+ species in CoL

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Linked Projects

Many projects rely on the Catalogue of Life for their species backbone. We work with global partners to improve the quality of biodiversity data worldwide.

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