dwc [dwc] namespace descriptor quick reference guide

• a specimen collecting event
• a camera trap image capture
• a marine trawl

• a body fossil
• a coprolite
• a gastrolith
• an ichnofossil
• a piece of a petrified tree

• a lithostratigraphic layer

• evidence of a dwc:Occurrence taken from field notes or literature
• a record of a dwc:Occurrence without physical evidence or evidence captured with a machine

• a subspecies determination of an organism

• a living plant in a botanical garden
• a living animal in a zoo

• a photograph
• a video
• an audio recording
• a remote sensing image
• a dwc:Occurrence record based on telemetry

This class constitutes a new value for the controlled vocabulary in the recommendations for basisOfRecord. When importing Darwin Core Archives of literature-based datasets to GBIF, the basisOfRecord should be changed from "Occurrence", "PreservedSpecimen" or "Literature" to "MaterialCitation".

• a citation of a physical specimen from a scientific collection in a taxonomic treatment in a scientific publication
• a citation of a group of physical specimens, such as paratypes in a taxonomic treatment in a scientific publication

The term is defined at the most general level to admit descriptions of any subtype of material entity within the scope of Darwin Core. In particular, any kind of material sample, preserved specimen, fossil, or exemplar from living collections is intended to be subsumed under this term.

• an instance of a fossil
• an instance of a herbarium sheet with its attached plant specimen
• a particular part of the plant-derived material affixed to a herbarium sheet
• an instance of a frozen tissue sample
• a specific water sample
• an instance of a meteorite fragment
• a particular wolf in a zoo
• a particular pack of wolves in the wild
• an isolated molecule of DNA
• a specific deep-frozen DNA sample
• a particular field notebook
• a particular paper page from a field notebook
• an instance of a printed photograph

• a whole organism preserved in a collection
• a part of an organism isolated for some purpose
• a soil sample; a marine microbial sample

Resources can be thought of as identifiable records or instances of classes and may include, but need not be limited to instances of dwc:Occurrence, dwc:Organism, dwc:MaterialEntity, dwc:Event, dcterms:Location, dwc:GeologicalContext, dwc:Identification, or dwc:Taxon.

• the weight of a dwc:Organism in grams
• the number of placental scars; surface water temperature in Celsius

• a wolf pack on the shore of Kluane Lake in 1988
• a virus in a plant leaf in the New York Botanical Garden at 15:29 on 2014-10-23
• a fungus in Central Park in the summer of 1929

Instances of the dwc:Organism class are intended to facilitate linking one or more dwc:Identification instances to one or more dwc:Occurrence instances. Therefore, things that are typically assigned scientific names (such as viruses, hybrids, and lichens) and aggregates whose dwc:Occurrences are typically recorded (such as packs, clones, and colonies) are included in the scope of this class.

• a specific bird
• a specific wolf pack
• a specific instance of a bacterial culture

• a plant on an herbarium sheet
• a cataloged lot of fish in a jar

Resources can be thought of as identifiable records or instances of classes and may include, but need not be limited to instances of dwc:Occurrence, dwc:Organism, dwc:MaterialEntity, dwc:Event, dcterms:Location, dwc:GeologicalContext, dwc:Identification, or dwc:Taxon.

• an instance of a dwc:Organism is the mother of another instance of a dwc:Organism
• a uniquely identified dwc:Occurrence represents the same dwc:Occurrence as another uniquely identified dwc:Occurrence
• a dwc:MaterialEntity is a subsample of another dwc:MaterialEntity

• the genus Truncorotaloides as published by Brönnimann et al. in 1953 in the Journal of Paleontology Vol. 27(6) p. 817-820

The full scientific name, with authorship and date information if known, of the accepted (botanical) or valid (zoological) name in cases where the provided dwc:scientificName is considered by the reference indicated in the dwc:nameAccordingTo property, or of the content provider, to be a synonym or misapplied name. When applied to a dwc:Organism or dwc:Occurrence, this term should be used in cases where a content provider regards the provided dwc:scientificName to be inconsistent with the taxonomic perspective of the content provider. For example, there are many discrepancies within specimen collections and observation datasets between the recorded name (e.g., the most recent identification from an expert who examined a specimen, or a field identification for an observed dwc:Organism), and the name asserted by the content provider to be taxonomically accepted.

• Tamias minimus (valid name for Eutamias minimus)

This term should be used for synonyms or misapplied names to refer to the dwc:taxonID of a dwc:Taxon record that represents the accepted (botanical) or valid (zoological) name. For Darwin Core Archives the related record should be present locally in the same archive.

• tsn:41107 (ITIS)
• urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:320035-2 (IPNI)
• 2704179 (GBIF)
• 6W3C4 (COL)

• https://arctos.database.museum/media/10520962 | https://arctos.database.museum/media/10520964

This term can be used to provide a list of associations to other dwc:Occurrences. Note that the dwc:ResourceRelationship class is an alternative means of representing associations, and with more detail. Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ).

• "parasite collected from":"https://arctos.database.museum/guid/MSB:Mamm:215895?seid=950760"
• "encounter previous to":"http://arctos.database.museum/guid/MSB:Mamm:292063?seid=3175067" | "encounter previous to":"http://arctos.database.museum/guid/MSB:Mamm:292063?seid=3177393" | "encounter previous to":"http://arctos.database.museum/guid/MSB:Mamm:292063?seid=3177394" | "encounter previous to":"http://arctos.database.museum/guid/MSB:Mamm:292063?seid=3177392" | "encounter previous to":"http://arctos.database.museum/guid/MSB:Mamm:292063?seid=3609139"

This term can be used to provide a list of associations to other dwc:Organisms. Note that the dwc:ResourceRelationship class is an alternative means of representing associations, and with more detail. Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ).

• "sibling of":"http://arctos.database.museum/guid/DMNS:Mamm:14171"
• "parent of":"http://arctos.database.museum/guid/MSB:Mamm:196208" | "parent of":"http://arctos.database.museum/guid/MSB:Mamm:196523" | "sibling of":"http://arctos.database.museum/guid/MSB:Mamm:142638"

Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ). Note that the dwc:ResourceRelationship class is an alternative means of representing associations, and with more detail. Note also that the intended usage of the term dcterms:references in Darwin Core when applied to a dwc:Occurrence is to point to the definitive source representation of that dwc:Occurrence if one is available. Note also that the intended usage of dcterms:bibliographicCitation in Darwin Core when applied to a dwc:Occurrence is to provide the preferred way to cite the dwc:Occurrence itself.

• http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/322/5899/261
• Christopher J. Conroy, Jennifer L. Neuwald. 2008. Phylogeographic study of the California vole, Microtus californicus Journal of Mammalogy, 89(3):755-767.
• Steven R. Hoofer and Ronald A. Van Den Bussche. 2001. Phylogenetic Relationships of Plecotine Bats and Allies Based on Mitochondrial Ribosomal Sequences. Journal of Mammalogy 82(1):131-137. | Walker, Faith M., Jeffrey T. Foster, Kevin P. Drees, Carol L. Chambers. 2014. Spotted bat (Euderma maculatum) microsatellite discovery using illumina sequencing. Conservation Genetics Resources.

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/U34853.1
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/GU328060 | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/AF326093

This term can be used to provide a list of associations to dwc:Taxon records other than the one defined in the dwc:Occurrence. Note that the dwc:ResourceRelationship class is an alternative means of representing associations, and with more detail. This term is not apt for establishing relationships between dwc:Taxon records, only between specific dwc:Occurrences of a dwc:Organism with other dwc:Taxon records. Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ).

• "host":"Quercus alba"
• "host":"gbif.org/species/2879737"
• "parasitoid of":"Cyclocephala signaticollis" | "predator of":"Apis mellifera"

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the set of local names of the identifiers for classes in Darwin Core.

• MaterialEntity
• PreservedSpecimen
• FossilSpecimen
• LivingSpecimen
• MaterialSample
• Event
• HumanObservation
• MachineObservation
• Taxon
• Occurrence
• MaterialCitation

• Harlem coal

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• roosting
• foraging
• running

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary that aligns best with the dwc:Taxon. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• queen
• male alate
• intercaste
• minor worker
• soldier
• ergatoid

• 145732
• 145732a
• 2008.1334
• R-4313

• Mammalia
• Hepaticopsida

• Mammals
• Hildebrandt
• EBIRD
• VP

For physical specimens, the recommended best practice is to use a globally unique and resolvable identifier from a collections registry such as the GBIF Registry of Scientific Collections.

• https://www.gbif.org/grscicoll/collection/fbd3ed74-5a21-4e01-b86a-33d36f032d9c

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names. Recommended best practice is to leave this field blank if the dcterms:Location spans multiple entities at this administrative level or if the dcterms:Location might be in one or another of multiple possible entities at this level. Multiplicity and uncertainty of the geographic entity can be captured either in the term dwc:higherGeography or in the term dwc:locality, or both.

• Africa
• Antarctica
• Asia
• Europe
• North America
• Oceania
• South America

• 0.00001 (normal GPS limit for decimal degrees)
• 0.000278 (nearest second)
• 0.01667 (nearest minute)
• 1.0 (nearest degree)

• 30 (reasonable lower limit on or after 2000-05-01 of a GPS reading under good conditions if the actual precision was not recorded at the time)
• 100 (reasonable lower limit before 2000-05-01 of a GPS reading under good conditions if the actual precision was not recorded at the time)
• 71 (uncertainty for a UTM coordinate having 100 meter precision and a known spatial reference system)

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names. Recommended best practice is to leave this field blank if the dcterms:Location spans multiple entities at this administrative level or if the dcterms:Location might be in one or another of multiple possible entities at this level. Multiplicity and uncertainty of the geographic entity can be captured either in the term dwc:higherGeography or in the term dwc:locality, or both.

• Denmark
• Colombia
• España

Recommended best practice is to use an ISO 3166-1-alpha-2 country code. Recommended best practice is to leave this field blank if the dcterms:Location spans multiple entities at this administrative level or if the dcterms:Location might be in one or another of multiple possible entities at this level. Multiplicity and uncertainty of the geographic entity can be captured either in the term dwc:higherGeography or in the term dwc:locality, or both.

• AR
• SV

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names. Recommended best practice is to leave this field blank if the dcterms:Location spans multiple entities at this administrative level or if the dcterms:Location might be in one or another of multiple possible entities at this level. Multiplicity and uncertainty of the geographic entity can be captured either in the term dwc:higherGeography or in the term dwc:locality, or both.

• Missoula
• Los Lagos
• Mataró

According to the Rules of the Cultivated Plant Code, a cultivar name consists of a botanical name followed by a cultivar epithet. The value given as the dwc:cultivarEpithet should exclude any quotes. The term dwc:taxonRank should be used to indicate which type of cultivated plant name (e.g. cultivar, cultivar group, grex) is concerned. This epithet, including any enclosing apostrophes or suffix, should be provided in dwc:scientificName as well.

• King Edward (for scientificName Solanum tuberosum 'King Edward' and taxonRank cultivar)
• Mishmiense (for scientificName Rhododendron boothii Mishmiense Group and taxonRank cultivar group)
• Atlantis (for scientificName Paphiopedilum Atlantis grex and taxonRank grex)

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• Coordinates generalized from original GPS coordinates to the nearest half degree grid cell.

• b15d4952-7d20-46f1-8a3e-556a512b04c5

• Grinnell Resurvey Mammals
• Lacey Ctenomys Recaptures

Recommended best practice is to use a date that conforms to ISO 8601-1:2019.

• 1963-03-08T14:07-0600 (8 Mar 1963 at 2:07pm in the time zone six hours earlier than UTC)
• 2009-02-20T08:40Z (20 February 2009 8:40am UTC)
• 2018-08-29T15:19 (3:19pm local time on 29 August 2018)
• 1809-02-12 (some time during 12 February 1809)
• 1906-06 (some time in June 1906)
• 1971 (some time in the year 1971)
• 2007-03-01T13:00:00Z/2008-05-11T15:30:00Z (some time during the interval between 1 March 2007 1pm UTC and 11 May 2008 3:30pm UTC)
• 1900/1909 (some time during the interval between the beginning of the year 1900 and the end of the year 1909)
• 2007-11-13/15 (some time in the interval between 13 November 2007 and 15 November 2007)

9 28

• -41.0983423

• -121.1761111

Recommended best practice is to use controlled value strings from the controlled vocabulary designated for use with this term, listed at http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/doc/doe/. For details, refer to https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.3.38084. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• native
• captive
• cultivated
• released
• failing
• casual
• reproducing
• established
• colonising
• invasive
• widespreadInvasive

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• in collection
• missing
• on loan
• used up
• destroyed
• deaccessioned

Recommended best practice is to use a key:value encoding schema for a data interchange format such as JSON.

• {"heightInMeters":1.5}
• {"targusLengthInMeters":0.014, "weightInGrams":120}
• {"natureOfID":"expert identification", "identificationEvidence":"cytochrome B sequence"}
• {"relativeHumidity":28, "airTemperatureInCelsius":22, "sampleSizeInKilograms":10}
• {"aspectHeading":277, "slopeInDegrees":6}
• {"iucnStatus":"vulnerable", "taxonDistribution":"Neuquén, Argentina"}

• Atlantic
• Boreal
• Skullrockian

• Phanerozoic
• Proterozoic

• Holocene
• Pleistocene
• Ibexian Series

• Cenozoic
• Mesozoic

• Neogene
• Tertiary
• Quaternary

• 1 (1 January)
• 32 (1 February)
• 366 (31 December)
• 365 (30 December in a leap year, 31 December in a non-leap year)

Recommended best practice is to use controlled value strings from the controlled vocabulary designated for use with this term, listed at http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/doc/em/. For details, refer to https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.3.38084. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• native
• nativeReintroduced
• introduced
• introducedAssistedColonisation
• vagrant
• uncertain

Recommended best practice is to use a date that conforms to ISO 8601-1:2019.

• 1963-03-08T14:07-0600 (8 Mar 1963 at 2:07pm in the time zone six hours earlier than UTC)
• 2009-02-20T08:40Z (20 February 2009 8:40am UTC)
• 2018-08-29T15:19 (3:19pm local time on 29 August 2018)
• 1809-02-12 (some time during 12 February 1809)
• 1906-06 (some time in June 1906)
• 1971 (some time in the year 1971)
• 2007-03-01T13:00:00Z/2008-05-11T15:30:00Z (some time during the interval between 1 March 2007 1pm UTC and 11 May 2008 3:30pm UTC)
• 1900/1909 (some time during the interval between the beginning of the year 1900 and the end of the year 1909)
• 2007-11-13/15 (some time in the interval between 13 November 2007 and 15 November 2007)

• INBO:VIS:Ev:00009375

• After the recent rains the river is nearly at flood stage.

Recommended best practice is to use a time of day that conforms to ISO 8601-1:2019.

• 14:07-0600 (2:07pm in the time zone six hours earlier than UTC)
• 08:40:21Z (8:40:21am UTC)
• 13:00:00Z/15:30:00Z (the interval between 1pm UTC and 3:30pm UTC)

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Regardless of the dwc:eventType, the interval of the dwc:Event can be captured in dwc:eventDate. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• Sample
• Observation
• Site Visit
• Biotic Interaction
• Bioblitz
• Expedition
• Survey
• Project

• Felidae
• Monocleaceae

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• Notes available in the Grinnell-Miller Library.

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• RV Sol 87-03-08

Recommended best practice is to use the EPSG code of the SRS, if known. Otherwise use a controlled vocabulary for the name or code of the geodetic datum, if known. Otherwise use a controlled vocabulary for the name or code of the ellipsoid, if known. If none of these is known, use the value unknown. It is also permitted to provide the SRS in Well-Known-Text, especially if no EPSG code provides the necessary values for the attributes of the SRS. Do not use this term to describe the SRS of the dwc:decimalLatitude and dwc:decimalLongitude, nor of any verbatim coordinates - use the dwc:geodeticDatum and dwc:verbatimSRS instead. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

Detailed explanations with graphical examples can be found in the Georeferencing Best Practices, Chapman and Wieczorek, 2020.

• 0
• 1
• 1.5708

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• POLYGON ((10 20, 11 20, 11 21, 10 21, 10 20))

• Notch Peak Formation
• House Limestone
• Fillmore Formation

For synonyms the accepted genus and the genus part of the name may be different. The term dwc:genericName should be used together with dwc:specificEpithet to form a binomial and with dwc:infraspecificEpithet to form a trinomial. The term dwc:genericName should only be used for combinations. Uninomials of generic rank do not have a dwc:genericName.

• Felis (for scientificName Felis concolor, with accompanying values of Puma concolor in acceptedNameUsage and Puma in genus)

• Puma
• Monoclea

Recommended best practice is to use the EPSG code of the SRS, if known. Otherwise use a controlled vocabulary for the name or code of the geodetic datum, if known. Otherwise use a controlled vocabulary for the name or code of the ellipsoid, if known. If none of these is known, use the value unknown. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• EPSG:4326
• WGS84
• NAD27
• Campo Inchauspe
• European 1950
• Clarke 1866
• unknown

• https://opencontext.org/subjects/e54377f7-4452-4315-b676-40679b10c4d9

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• Georeferencing Quick Reference Guide (Zermoglio et al. 2020, https://doi.org/10.35035/e09p-h128)

• Assumed distance by road (Hwy. 101)

Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ). This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• https://www.geonames.org/
• USGS 1:24000 Florence Montana Quad 1967 | Terrametrics 2008 on Google Earth
• GeoLocate

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• unable to georeference
• requires georeference
• requires verification
• verified by data custodian
• verified by contributor

Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ). This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• Brad Millen (ROM)
• Kristina Yamamoto | Janet Fang

Recommended best practice is to use a date that conforms to ISO 8601-1:2019.

• 1963-03-08T14:07-0600 (8 Mar 1963 at 2:07pm in the time zone six hours earlier than UTC)
• 2009-02-20T08:40Z (20 February 2009 8:40am UTC)
• 2018-08-29T15:19 (3:19pm local time on 29 August 2018)
• 1809-02-12 (some time during 12 February 1809)
• 1906-06 (some time in June 1906)
• 1971 (some time in the year 1971)
• 2007-03-01T13:00:00Z/2008-05-11T15:30:00Z (some time during the interval between 1 March 2007 1pm UTC and 11 May 2008 3:30pm UTC)
• 1900/1909 (some time during the interval between the beginning of the year 1900 and the end of the year 1909)
• 2007-11-13/15 (some time in the interval between 13 November 2007 and 15 November 2007)

• Bathurst
• Lower Wealden

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• oak savanna
• pre-cordilleran steppe

Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ), with terms in order from the highest taxonomic rank to the lowest.

• Plantae | Tracheophyta | Magnoliopsida | Ranunculales | Ranunculaceae | Ranunculus
• Animalia
• Animalia | Chordata | Vertebrata | Mammalia | Theria | Eutheria | Rodentia | Hystricognatha | Hystricognathi | Ctenomyidae | Ctenomyini | Ctenomys

Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ), with terms in order from least specific to most specific.

• North Atlantic Ocean
• South America | Argentina | Patagonia | Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi | Neuquén | Los Lagos with accompanying values South America (continent) Argentina (country), Neuquén (first order division), and Los Lagos (second order division)

Recommended best practice is to use a persistent identifier from a controlled vocabulary such as the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.

• http://vocab.getty.edu/tgn/1002002 (Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur, Territorio Nacional de la Tierra del Fuego, Argentina).

• Blancan

• 9992

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• aff. agrifolia var. oxyadenia (for Quercus aff. agrifolia var. oxyadenia with accompanying values Quercus in genus, agrifolia in specificEpithet, oxyadenia in infraspecificEpithet, and var. in taxonRank)
• cf. var. oxyadenia (for Quercus agrifolia cf. var. oxyadenia with accompanying values Quercus in genus, agrifolia in specificEpithet, oxyadenia in infraspecificEpithet, and var. in taxonRank)

• Aves del Noroeste Patagonico. Christie et al. 2004.
• Stebbins, R. Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. 2003. | Irschick, D.J. and Shaffer, H.B. (1997). The polytypic species revisited: Morphological differentiation among tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) (Amphibia: Caudata). Herpetologica, 53(1), 30-49.

• Distinguished between Anthus correndera and Anthus hellmayri based on the comparative lengths of the uñas.

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as that used in HISPID and ABCD. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• 0 ("unverified" in HISPID/ABCD).

Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ). This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• James L. Patton
• Theodore Pappenfuss | Robert Macey

Recommended best practice is to provide a single identifier that disambiguates the details of the identifying agent. If a list is used, the order of the identifiers on the list should not be assumed to convey any semantics. Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ).

• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097 (for an individual)
• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097 | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0098 (for a list of people)

• 0
• 1
• 25

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• location information not given for endangered species
• collector identities withheld
• ask about tissue samples

The term dwc:infragenericEpithet should be used in conjunction with dwc:genericName, dwc:specificEpithet, dwc:infraspecificEpithet, dwc:taxonRank and dwc:scientificNameAuthorship to represent the individual elements of the complete dwc:scientificName. It can be used to indicate the subgenus placement of a species, which in zoology is often given in parentheses. Can also be used to share infrageneric names such as botanical sections (e.g., Vicia sect. Cracca).

• Abacetillus (for scientificName Abacetus (Abacetillus) ambiguus)
• Cracca (for scientificName Vicia sect. Cracca)

In botany, name strings in literature and identifications may have multiple infraspecific ranks. According to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Schenzhen Code Articles 6.7 & Art. 24.1), valid names only have two epithets, with the lowest rank being the dwc:infraspecificEpithet. For example: the dwc:infraspecificEpithet in the string Indigofera charlieriana subsp. sessilis var. scaberrima is scaberrima and the https://app.pollinatorhub.eu/vocabulary/classes/7464 is Indigofera charlieriana var. scaberrima (Schinz) J.B.Gillett. Use dwc:verbatimIdentification for the full name string used in a dwc:Identification.

• concolor (for scientificName Puma concolor concolor (Linnaeus, 1771))
• oxyadenia (for scientificName Quercus agrifolia var. oxyadenia (Torr.) J.T. Howell)
• laxa (for scientificName Cheilanthes hirta f. laxa (Kunze) W.Jacobsen & N.Jacobsen)
• scaberrima (for scientificName Indigofera charlieriana var. scaberrima (Schinz) J.B.Gillett)

• MVZ
• FMNH
• CLO
• UCMP

For physical specimens, the recommended best practice is to use a globally unique and resolvable identifier from a collections registry such as the Research Organization Registry (ROR) or the GBIF Registry of Scientific Collections.

• https://ror.org/015hz7p22
• http://grscicoll.org/institution/museum-southwestern-biology
• https://www.gbif.org/grscicoll/institution/e3d4dcc4-81e2-444c-8a5c-41d1044b5381

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.

• Nosy Be
• Bikini Atoll
• Vancouver
• Viti Levu
• Zanzibar

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.

• Alexander Archipelago
• Archipiélago Diego Ramírez
• Seychelles

• Animalia
• Archaea
• Bacteria
• Chromista
• Fungi
• Plantae
• Protozoa
• Viruses

• Atlantic
• Boreal
• Skullrockian

• Phanerozoic
• Proterozoic

• Holocene
• Pleistocene
• Ibexian Series

• Cenozoic
• Mesozoic

• Neogene
• Tertiary
• Quaternary

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• zygote
• larva
• juvenile
• adult
• seedling
• flowering
• fruiting

• Pleistocene-Weichselien

Less specific geographic information can be provided in other geographic terms (dwc:higherGeography, dwc:continent, dwc:country, dwc:stateProvince, dwc:county, dwc:municipality, dwc:waterBody, dwc:island, dwc:islandGroup). This term may contain information modified from the original to correct perceived errors or standardize the description.

• Bariloche, 25 km NNE via Ruta Nacional 40 (=Ruta 237)
• Queets Rainforest, Olympic National Park

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
• GADM

• https://opencontext.org/subjects/768A875F-E205-4D0B-DE55-BAB7598D0FD1

• under water since 2005

• Maastrichtian

Values of dwc:materialEntityID are intended to uniquely and persistently identify a particular dwc:MaterialEntity within some context. Examples of context include a particular sample collection, an organization, or the worldwide scale. Recommended best practice is to use a persistent, globally unique identifier. The identifier is bound to a physical object (the dwc:MaterialEntity) as opposed to a particular digital record (representation) of that physical object.

• 06809dc5-f143-459a-be1a-6f03e63fc083

• found in association with charred remains
• some original fragments missing

Recommended best practice is to use a persistent, globally unique identifier.

• 06809dc5-f143-459a-be1a-6f03e63fc083

• 0
• 200

• -1.5 (below the surface)
• 4.2 (above the surface)
• For a 1.5 meter sediment core from the bottom of a lake (at depth 20m) at 300m elevation: verbatimElevation: 300m minimumElevationInMeters: 300, maximumElevationInMeters: 300, verbatimDepth: 20m, minimumDepthInMeters: 20, maximumDepthInMeters: 20, minimumDistanceAboveSurfaceInMeters: 0, maximumDistanceAboveSurfaceInMeters: -1.5.

• -205
• 1236

• 0.01
• normal distribution with variation of 2 m

Recommended best practice is to separate the values in a list with space vertical bar space ( | ). This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• Rob Guralnick
• Peter Desmet | Stijn Van Hoey

Recommended best practice is to use a date that conforms to ISO 8601-1:2019.

• 1963-03-08T14:07-0600 (8 Mar 1963 at 2:07pm in the time zone six hours earlier than UTC)
• 2009-02-20T08:40Z (20 February 2009 8:40am UTC)
• 2018-08-29T15:19 (3:19pm local time on 29 August 2018)
• 1809-02-12 (some time during 12 February 1809)
• 1906-06 (some time in June 1906)
• 1971 (some time in the year 1971)
• 2007-03-01T13:00:00Z/2008-05-11T15:30:00Z (some time during the interval between 1 March 2007 1pm UTC and 11 May 2008 3:30pm UTC)
• 1900/1909 (some time during the interval between the beginning of the year 1900 and the end of the year 1909)
• 2007-11-13/15 (some time in the interval between 13 November 2007 and 15 November 2007)

• 9c752d22-b09a-11e8-96f8-529269fb1459

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• minimum convex polygon around burrow entrances (for a home range area)
• barometric altimeter (for an elevation)

• tip of tail missing

Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• tail length
• temperature
• trap line length
• survey area
• trap type

Recommended best practice is to use the International System of Units (SI). This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• m
• g
• l
• °C
• mm
• km²
• %
• hh:mm:ss

This term has an equivalent in the dwciri: namespace that allows only an IRI as a value, whereas this term allows for any string literal value.

• 45
• 20
• 1
• 14.5
• UV-light

• Lava Dam Member
• Hellnmaria Member

• 0
• 100

• -1.5 (below the surface)
• 4.2 (above the surface)
• For a 1.5 meter sediment core from the bottom of a lake (at depth 20m) at 300m elevation: verbatimElevation: 300m minimumElevationInMeters: 300, maximumElevationInMeters: 300, verbatimDepth: 20m, minimumDepthInMeters: 20, maximumDepthInMeters: 20, minimumDistanceAboveSurfaceInMeters: 0, maximumDistanceAboveSurfaceInMeters: -1.5.

• -100
• 802

Allows only integer values

• 1 (January)
• 10 (October)