ITIS icon

ITIS

Authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world

Actions9

  • Name Actions
  • Name Usage Actions
  • Name Usage Search Actions
  • Name Usage Suggest Actions
  • Reference Actions
  • Synonym Actions
  • Taxon Actions
  • Tree Actions
  • Vernacular Actions

Reference → Get

AI-generated

Overview

This node integrates with the ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System) API, providing authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes globally. Specifically, the Reference - Get operation allows users to retrieve reference data related to taxonomic records.

Typical use cases include:

  • Fetching bibliographic references or citations associated with taxonomic names.
  • Filtering references by year, issue, or search query to find relevant literature.
  • Sorting and paging through large sets of reference data for integration into biodiversity databases or research workflows.

For example, a researcher could use this node to get all references published in a specific year or filter references by a particular issue identifier.

Properties

Name Meaning
ID The unique identifier for a specific reference record.
Issue Filter references by a specific issue code (from https://api.checklistbank.org/vocab/issue).
Query A search string to query references textually.
Sort By Sets the sorting order of returned references. Options: Native, Relevance, Year.
Year Filter references by publication year.
Offset The paging offset to skip a number of results.
Limit Maximum number of reference results to return (minimum 1).

These properties are provided under the "Additional Fields" collection when the resource is set to "reference" and operation to "get".

Output

The node outputs an array of JSON objects representing the reference data retrieved from the ITIS API. Each object corresponds to a reference record containing metadata such as title, authorship, year, issue, and other bibliographic details.

The output does not include binary data; it is purely JSON structured data suitable for further processing or storage.

Dependencies

  • The node makes HTTP GET requests to the ITIS API endpoint at https://api.checklistbank.org/dataset/2144/reference.
  • No external credentials or API keys are required for this operation.
  • Requires internet access to reach the ITIS API service.

Troubleshooting

  • Empty Results: If no references are returned, verify that the filters (ID, Issue, Year, Query) are correct and that the dataset contains matching records.
  • Invalid Parameter Values: Ensure numeric fields like Year, Offset, and Limit are valid numbers and within acceptable ranges.
  • API Unreachable: Network issues or ITIS API downtime will cause request failures. Check connectivity and retry later.
  • Rate Limiting: Although not explicitly handled, excessive requests may be throttled by the API. Implement delays or reduce request frequency if errors occur.

Links and References

Discussion