Integrated Taxonomic Information System - Taxamatch File Format

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Compare Taxonomy/Nomenclature Import Format

In order to perform a taxonomy/nomenclature comparison using the ITIS Online database, the data must first be put into a form to facilitate the comparison. This format requires that at the beginning of every file, a header row is present to indicate the name of fields to import. The values needed in this header row are name; name,author; or name,author,rank, depending on the type of comparison desired. In addition, the fields comprising each record must be separated by a delimiter; allowable delimiters are pipe (|), number sign (#), or tab. Each row must end with a NEWLINE character.

The comparison will utilize ITIS unit indicators (see unit_ind1, unit_ind2, unit_ind3, unit_ind4 in the ITIS Data Dictionary) or not use them depending upon your data. Hybrids, subspecies, varieties, forms, subvarieties, and subforms can be listed in your file with or without the initial or intervening indicators. The following are examples:

• X Amerlasorbus can also be listed as Amelasorbus in your file to match
• Salix X sepulcralus can also be listed as Salix sepulcralus in your file to match
• Agave americana ssp. americana var. expansa can also be listed as Agave americana americana expansa in your file to match
• Phaeoceros laevis ssp. laevis can also be listed as Phaeoceros laevis laevis in your file to match

When including author in the comparison, commas between author and date for data following ICZN rules, and parentheses, where appropriate, are necessary to make a match. Some ITIS data having a Record Credibility Rating of unverified may not fully comply with ITIS input standards for authors and may result in a mismatch.

The following example shows a format for a taxonomy/nomenclature comparison that could be based upon name or name and author, using the pipe as the delimiter:

name|author
Tannerocoris sarcobati|Knight, 1970
Teratocoris paludum|Sahlberg, 1870
Tingis auriculatus|Costa, 1847

NOTE: When specifying the taxonomy/nomenclature comparison, be sure to indicate whether you want a name and author, or a name comparison performed.

If your data only contained names, the format would be as follows and you could only perform a name comparison on the database:

name
Tannerocoris sarcobati
Teratocoris paludum
Tingis auriculatus

The following example would allow a comparison to be performed on just the name, the name and author, or the name, author and rank. The data has been delimited with a pipe.

name|author|rank
Sirenidae||Family
Siren|Linnaeus, 1766|Genus
Siren intermedia|Barnes, 1826|Species
Siren lacertina|Linnaeus, 1766|Species
Amphibia||Class
Vertebrata||Sub-Phylum
Chordata||Phylum