GBIF API

api.gbif.org · Science

Science No Auth Free & Open Biodiversity Nature Biology

Global Biodiversity Information Facility — 2.6 billion occurrence records for species worldwide. Search species, observations, datasets, and taxon names. Free, no API key required.

Authentication

No authentication requiredFree to use with no key needed.

Sample Requests

GET Search species

Search for species by scientific name.

https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/search?q=Panthera leo&limit=5

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

curl -X GET "https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/search?q=Panthera%20leo&limit=5"

import requests
params = {
    "q": "Panthera leo",
    "limit": "5"
}
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/search",
    params=params,
)
print(response.json())

const url = new URL('https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/search');
url.searchParams.set('q', 'Panthera leo');
url.searchParams.set('limit', '5');

const response = await fetch(url); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"net/url"
)

func main() {
	baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/search")
	q := baseURL.Query()
	q.Set("q", "Panthera leo")
	q.Set("limit", "5")
	baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
	targetURL := baseURL.String()
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)

	client := &http.Client{}
	resp, _ := client.Do(req)
	defer resp.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

require "net/http"
require "json"

uri = URI("https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/search")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
  "q" => "Panthera leo",
  "limit" => "5"
})

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"

req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)

res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)

<?php
$url = "https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/search?" . http_build_query([
    "q" => "Panthera leo",
    "limit" => "5"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

GET Get occurrence records

Search occurrence records for a species.

https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?limit=5&country=US&scientificName=Homo sapiens

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

curl -X GET "https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?limit=5&country=US&scientificName=Homo%20sapiens"

import requests
params = {
    "limit": "5",
    "country": "US",
    "scientificName": "Homo sapiens"
}
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search",
    params=params,
)
print(response.json())

const url = new URL('https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search');
url.searchParams.set('limit', '5');
url.searchParams.set('country', 'US');
url.searchParams.set('scientificName', 'Homo sapiens');

const response = await fetch(url); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"net/url"
)

func main() {
	baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search")
	q := baseURL.Query()
	q.Set("limit", "5")
	q.Set("country", "US")
	q.Set("scientificName", "Homo sapiens")
	baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
	targetURL := baseURL.String()
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)

	client := &http.Client{}
	resp, _ := client.Do(req)
	defer resp.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

require "net/http"
require "json"

uri = URI("https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
  "limit" => "5",
  "country" => "US",
  "scientificName" => "Homo sapiens"
})

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"

req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)

res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)

<?php
$url = "https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?" . http_build_query([
    "limit" => "5",
    "country" => "US",
    "scientificName" => "Homo sapiens"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

Postman Setup Guide

Get Postman ↗

No API key needed
Species search: GET https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/search?q=eagle&limit=5
Occurrences: GET /v1/occurrence/search?scientificName=Quercus+robur&country=GB&limit=5
Dataset list: GET /v1/dataset?limit=5

What can you build with GBIF API?

GBIF API is a Science API. Developers commonly use science APIs for:

accessing research datasets and scientific literature
powering academic and R&D applications
running scientific calculations and simulations
visualising experimental and observational data
integrating with research and reference databases

No authentication required. This API is open — no signup or key needed. Ideal for quick prototypes and public-facing features. GBIF API is free to use, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.

New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide

Open documentation ↗