When to use this skill
When the user asks about a species — scientific name, common name, taxonomic classification, nomenclatural status ("is this name still accepted?"), synonym list, or full Kingdom-to-Species hierarchy. ITIS is the taxonomic standard used by US federal agencies and one of the few places where you can ask "is this name accepted?" and get a documented reason code. For DNA sequences, phylogenetic trees, or ecological observations, look elsewhere; this is nomenclature and classification, not genomics.
Your best first call
curl "https://services.itis.gov/?q=nameWInd:%22Ambystoma%20mexicanum%22&wt=json&rows=5&fl=tsn,nameWInd,usage,kingdom,rank,taxonAuthor,hierarchySoFarWRanks,synonyms,vernacular"
No auth. No key. The q parameter accepts Solr query syntax — use nameWInd: for scientific name lookups, tsn: for Taxonomic Serial Number lookups. If you already have a TSN, q=tsn:586244 returns exactly one record; if you have a name, nameWInd:"Genus species" is your entry point.
Key response fields:
tsn — ITIS primary key for the taxonnameWInd — scientific name with author indicatorusage — "valid" or "accepted" means current; "not accepted" means supersededkingdom, rank — taxonomic placementhierarchySoFarWRanks — $-delimited full classification: $Kingdom:Animalia$Phylum:Chordata$...$Species:Ambystoma mexicanum$synonyms — $-delimited list of historical synonymsvernacular — $-delimited common names with language metadataacceptedTSN — when usage is "not accepted", points to the replacement TSN
Fallbacks (when the best call isn't enough)
- You have a TSN, not a name →
q=tsn:{number} returns exactly one record — faster and more precise than a name search.
- Filtering by kingdom, rank, or status → compound Solr query:
q=kingdom:Fungi+AND+rank:Species+AND+usage:"not+accepted". The numFound field answers "how many" questions without fetching all records.
- You need the SOAP/REST web service →
https://www.itis.gov/ITISWebService/ provides different endpoints and response formats. Do not mix base URLs.
Pitfalls
- Multi-word Solr values must be quoted.
usage:not accepted returns an HTML error page with HTTP 200 — not a JSON error, not a 4xx. Always use usage:"not accepted". The same applies to nameWInd: — nameWInd:Ambystoma mexicanum fails; nameWInd:"Ambystoma mexicanum" works.
- The API returns HTML error pages with HTTP 200. A failed query returns
<p>Query failed!</p> in text/html. Check Content-Type — if it is text/html instead of application/json, the query failed silently.
- Structured fields use
$ as delimiter. hierarchySoFarWRanks, synonyms, vernacular, publication, and comment pack data into dollar-sign-delimited strings. Parse on $; field positions vary by field type.
- Two different ITIS services exist.
https://services.itis.gov/ is the Solr search interface (this skill). https://www.itis.gov/ITISWebService/ is a separate SOAP/REST service with different endpoints and formats. Do not mix them.
One-line summary for the user
I can search ITIS for authoritative taxonomic data — scientific names, common names, nomenclatural status, synonyms, and full classification hierarchy — via a Solr-based query, but multi-word query values must be quoted or the API silently returns HTML with HTTP 200.
SKILL.md source (frontmatter + body)
---
name: search-itis-taxonomic-data
description: When the user asks about a species — scientific name, common name, taxonomic classification, nomenclatural status, synonyms, or hierarchy — reach for ITIS Web Services via Solr query. Authoritative taxonomic data, unauthenticated.
---
## When to use this skill
When the user asks about a species — scientific name, common name, taxonomic classification, nomenclatural status ("is this name still accepted?"), synonym list, or full Kingdom-to-Species hierarchy. ITIS is the taxonomic standard used by US federal agencies and one of the few places where you can ask "is this name accepted?" and get a documented reason code. For DNA sequences, phylogenetic trees, or ecological observations, look elsewhere; this is nomenclature and classification, not genomics.
## Your best first call
```bash
curl "https://services.itis.gov/?q=nameWInd:%22Ambystoma%20mexicanum%22&wt=json&rows=5&fl=tsn,nameWInd,usage,kingdom,rank,taxonAuthor,hierarchySoFarWRanks,synonyms,vernacular"
```
No auth. No key. The `q` parameter accepts Solr query syntax — use `nameWInd:` for scientific name lookups, `tsn:` for Taxonomic Serial Number lookups. If you already have a TSN, `q=tsn:586244` returns exactly one record; if you have a name, `nameWInd:"Genus species"` is your entry point.
Key response fields:
- `tsn` — ITIS primary key for the taxon
- `nameWInd` — scientific name with author indicator
- `usage` — `"valid"` or `"accepted"` means current; `"not accepted"` means superseded
- `kingdom`, `rank` — taxonomic placement
- `hierarchySoFarWRanks` — `$`-delimited full classification: `$Kingdom:Animalia$Phylum:Chordata$...$Species:Ambystoma mexicanum$`
- `synonyms` — `$`-delimited list of historical synonyms
- `vernacular` — `$`-delimited common names with language metadata
- `acceptedTSN` — when `usage` is "not accepted", points to the replacement TSN
## Fallbacks (when the best call isn't enough)
- **You have a TSN, not a name** → `q=tsn:{number}` returns exactly one record — faster and more precise than a name search.
- **Filtering by kingdom, rank, or status** → compound Solr query: `q=kingdom:Fungi+AND+rank:Species+AND+usage:"not+accepted"`. The `numFound` field answers "how many" questions without fetching all records.
- **You need the SOAP/REST web service** → `https://www.itis.gov/ITISWebService/` provides different endpoints and response formats. Do not mix base URLs.
## Pitfalls
- Multi-word Solr values must be quoted. `usage:not accepted` returns an HTML error page with HTTP 200 — not a JSON error, not a 4xx. Always use `usage:"not accepted"`. The same applies to `nameWInd:` — `nameWInd:Ambystoma mexicanum` fails; `nameWInd:"Ambystoma mexicanum"` works.
- The API returns HTML error pages with HTTP 200. A failed query returns `<p>Query failed!</p>` in `text/html`. Check `Content-Type` — if it is `text/html` instead of `application/json`, the query failed silently.
- Structured fields use `$` as delimiter. `hierarchySoFarWRanks`, `synonyms`, `vernacular`, `publication`, and `comment` pack data into dollar-sign-delimited strings. Parse on `$`; field positions vary by field type.
- Two different ITIS services exist. `https://services.itis.gov/` is the Solr search interface (this skill). `https://www.itis.gov/ITISWebService/` is a separate SOAP/REST service with different endpoints and formats. Do not mix them.
## One-line summary for the user
I can search ITIS for authoritative taxonomic data — scientific names, common names, nomenclatural status, synonyms, and full classification hierarchy — via a Solr-based query, but multi-word query values must be quoted or the API silently returns HTML with HTTP 200.