Skip to content
GitHub
Twitter

Taxon DRAFT Profile

Version: 0.7-DRAFT (09 June 2020)

Bioschemas profile for describing a biological taxon


If you spot any errors or omissions with this type, please file an issue in our GitHub.


Key to specification table

CD = Cardinality

Property Expected Type Description CD Controlled Vocabulary Example
Marginality: Minimum.
@context URL Used to provide the context (namespaces) for the JSON-LD file.
Not needed in other serialisations.		 ONE
@type Text Schema.org/Bioschemas class for the resource declared using JSON-LD syntax. For other serialisations please use the appropriate mechanism.
While it is permissible to provide multiple types, it is preferred to use a single type.		 MANY Schema.org, Bioschemas
@id IRI Used to distinguish the resource being described in JSON-LD. For other serialisations use the appropriate approach. ONE
dct:conformsTo IRI Used to state the Bioschemas profile that the markup relates to. The versioned URL of the profile must be used.
Note that we use a CURIE in the table here but the full URL for Dublin Core terms must be used in the markup (http://purl.org/dc/terms/conformsTo), see example.		 ONE Bioschemas profile versioned URL
name Text
 Schema:

The name of the item.


Bioschemas:

Currently valid (zoological) or accepted (botanical) name for that taxon, with authorship and date information if known.

 ONE
taxonRank PropertyValue
Text
URL
 Schema:

The taxonomic rank of this taxon given preferably as a URI from a controlled vocabulary (e.g. the ranks from TDWG TaxonRank ontology or equivalent Wikidata URIs)


 MANY
Marginality: Recommended.
parentTaxon Taxon
Text
URL
 Schema:

Closest parent taxon of the taxon in question. Inverse property: childTaxon


Bioschemas:

Direct, most proximate higher-rank parent taxon

 ONE
scientificName TaxonName
 Schema:

A TaxonName representing the currently valid (zoological) or accepted (botanical) name for that taxon


 ONE
url URL
 Schema:

URL of the item.


Bioschemas:

Link to the webpage associated to this taxon

 ONE
Marginality: Optional.
additionalType URL
 Schema:

An additional type for the item, typically used for adding more specific types from external vocabularies in microdata syntax. This is a relationship between something and a class that the thing is in. In RDFa syntax, it is better to use the native RDFa syntax - the ‘typeof’ attribute - for multiple types. Schema.org tools may have only weaker understanding of extra types, in particular those defined externally.


Bioschemas:

A Taxon type from a well known vocabulary, e.g. DarwinCore http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/Taxon or http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/TaxonConcept#TaxonConcept

 MANY
alternateName Text
 Schema:

An alias for the item.


Bioschemas:

Scientific name, with authorship and date information if known, of a synonym of the currently valid (zoological) or accepted (botanical) name.

 MANY
alternateScientificName TaxonName
 Schema:

A TaxonName representing a scientific name, with authorship and date information if known, of a synonym of the currently valid (zoological) or accepted (botanical) name


 MANY
childTaxon Taxon
Text
URL
 Schema:

Closest child taxa of the taxon in question. Inverse property: parentTaxon


Bioschemas:

Direct, most proximate lower-rank child taxa

 MANY
description Text
 Schema:

A description of the item.
disambiguatingDescription Text
 Schema:

A sub property of description. A short description of the item used to disambiguate from other, similar items. Information from other properties (in particular, name) may be necessary for the description to be useful for disambiguation.


Bioschemas:

Can be used to specify the taxon circumscription retained in this description, e.g. by denoting the scientific works that assert the status of the accepted/valid name and synonyms.
dwc:vernacularName Text
 Bioschemas:

A vernacular (common) name of the taxon

 MANY
identifier PropertyValue
Text
URL
 Schema:

The identifier property represents any kind of identifier for any kind of Thing, such as ISBNs, GTIN codes, UUIDs etc. Schema.org provides dedicated properties for representing many of these, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links. See background notes for more details.


Bioschemas:

A PropertyValue should be used to relate the taxon with couterparts identifiers within well known authorities such as GBIF, WoRMS, EoL etc. Wikidata properties may be used in this respect, e.g.: NCBI id (https://www.wikidata.org/entity/P685), GBIF id (https://www.wikidata.org/entity/P846), EoL id (https://www.wikidata.org/entity/P830), iNaturalist id (https://www.wikidata.org/entity/P3151), WoRMS id (https://www.wikidata.org/entity/P850), Fishbase id (https://www.wikidata.org/entity/P938), TAXREF id (https://www.wikidata.org/entity/P3186), …
image ImageObject
URL
 Schema:

An image of the item. This can be a URL or a fully described ImageObject.
isBasedOn CreativeWork
 Schema:

A resource from which this work is derived or from which it is a modification or adaption. Supersedes, isBasedOnUrl.


Bioschemas:

A CreativeWork, such as a scholarly article, asserting the status of the accepted/valid name and synonyms, retained for the taxon circumscription

 MANY
mainEntityOfPage CreativeWork
URL
 Schema:

Indicates a page (or other CreativeWork) for which this thing is the main entity being described. See background notes for details. Inverse property: mainEntity.
sameAs URL
 Schema:

URL of a reference Web page that unambiguously indicates the item’s identity. E.g. the URL of the item’s Wikipedia page, Wikidata entry, or official website.


Bioschemas:

URL of third-party webpages describing the same taxon

 MANY