How to hit the GBIF API

GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, at https://api.gbif.org/v1 links species names to their taxonomy and to recorded sightings worldwide.

Authentication

None — no key, no signup. Every example runs as-is.

Full reference: https://techdocs.gbif.org/en/openapi/

Match a species name

Fuzzy-matches a name to GBIF's taxonomy backbone.

curl "https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/match?name=Puma%20concolor"
Run in PostTaco
Example response (trimmed) 
{
  "usageKey": 2435099,
  "scientificName": "Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771)",
  "canonicalName": "Puma concolor",
  "rank": "SPECIES",
  "status": "ACCEPTED",
  "confidence": 99,
  "matchType": "EXACT",
  "kingdom": "Animalia",
  "phylum": "Chordata",
  "order": "Carnivora",
  "family": "Felidae",
  "genus": "Puma",
  "species": "Puma concolor",
  "kingdomKey": 1,
  "phylumKey": 44
}

Sightings of a species

taxonKey comes from the match call.

curl "https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?taxonKey=2435099&limit=2"
Run in PostTaco
Example response (trimmed) 
{
  "offset": 0,
  "limit": 2,
  "endOfRecords": false,
  "count": 31660,
  "results": [
    {
      "key": 5938145577,
      "datasetKey": "50c9509d-22c7-4a22-a47d-8c48425ef4a7",
      "publishingOrgKey": "28eb1a3f-1c15-4a95-931a-4af90ecb574d",
      "datasetCategory": [
        "CitizenScience"
      ],
      "installationKey": "997448a8-f762-11e1-a439-00145eb45e9a",
      "hostingOrganizationKey": "28eb1a3f-1c15-4a95-931a-4af90ecb574d",
      "publishingCountry": "US",
      "protocol": "DWC_ARCHIVE",
      "lastCrawled": "2026-09-10T19:15:51.157+00:00",
      "lastParsed": "2026-09-11T06:03:22.057+00:00",
      "crawlId": 606,
      "projectId": "https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mammals-of-the-united-states|https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mammals-of-north-america|https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/oregon-wildlife-conservation|https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wildlife-watch",
      "extensions": {
        "http://rs.gbif.org/terms/1.0/Multimedia": []
      },
      "basisOfRecord": "HUMAN_OBSERVATION",
      "occurrenceStatus": "PRESENT"
    },
    {
      "key": 5938231399,
      "datasetKey": "50c9509d-22c7-4a22-a47d-8c48425ef4a7",
      "publishingOrgKey": "28eb1a3f-1c15-4a95-931a-4af90ecb574d",
      "datasetCategory": [
        "CitizenScience"
      ],
      "installationKey": "997448a8-f762-11e1-a439-00145eb45e9a",
      "hostingOrganizationKey": "28eb1a3f-1c15-4a95-931a-4af90ecb574d",
      "publishingCountry": "US",
      "protocol": "DWC_ARCHIVE",
      "lastCrawled": "2026-09-10T19:15:51.157+00:00",
      "lastParsed": "2026-09-11T05:57:52.686+00:00",
      "crawlId": 606,
      "projectId": "https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mammals-of-florida",
      "extensions": {
        "http://rs.gbif.org/terms/1.0/Multimedia": []
      },
      "basisOfRecord": "HUMAN_OBSERVATION",
      "occurrenceStatus": "PRESENT"
    }
  ],
  "facets": []
}