| — identity — | | |
| key | int | GBIF backbone taxon key — primary identifier, globally unique |
| nubKey | int | NUB backbone key; identical to key for backbone records |
| nameKey | int | Identifier for the name record (separate from taxon record) |
| taxonID | string | Formatted as "gbif:{key}" — stable resolvable identifier |
| sourceTaxonKey | int | Original key from the contributing checklist dataset |
| datasetKey | uuid | GBIF backbone dataset (d7dddbf4-…) |
| constituentKey | uuid | Contributing constituent checklist within the backbone |
| — classification — | | |
| rank | string | Taxonomic rank: KINGDOM · PHYLUM · CLASS · ORDER · FAMILY · GENUS · SPECIES |
| taxonomicStatus | string | ACCEPTED · SYNONYM · DOUBTFUL · HETEROTYPIC_SYNONYM · … |
| nomenclaturalStatus | array | Formal nomenclatural codes (nomen dubium, nomen nudum, etc.); usually empty |
| origin | string | How the record entered the backbone: SOURCE · IMPLICIT_NAME · DENORMED_CLASSIFICATION |
| nameType | string | Name category: SCIENTIFIC · INFORMAL · CULTIVAR · … |
| kingdom / …Key | str / int | Lineage names and keys for kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species |
| — names — | | |
| scientificName | string | Full scientific name including authorship |
| canonicalName | string | Scientific name without authorship — used as display name |
| authorship | string | Author and year of original description |
| vernacularName | string | Common name in English; absent for most taxa |
| publishedIn | string | Original publication reference; absent for many records |
| remarks | string | Free-text notes; almost always empty |
| — hierarchy — | | |
| parentKey | int | Key of the immediate parent taxon |
| parent | string | Canonical name of the immediate parent taxon |
| numDescendants | int | Total count of all descendant taxa across all ranks |
| — provenance — | | |
| lastCrawled | datetime | ISO 8601 — when GBIF last crawled the source checklist |
| lastInterpreted | datetime | ISO 8601 — when GBIF last ran interpretation on the record |
| issues | array | GBIF data quality flags (BACKBONE_MATCH_FUZZY, NO_SPECIES, …) |