The Catalogue of Life is a joint product of Species 2000 and ITIS.  There are currently two editions, the Annual and Dynamic Checklists. The differences between these editions are outlined on the 'About the Catalogue of Life ' page. 

There are many ways to access the Catalogue of Life depending on your requirements but please note that not all methods can be used to access both the Annual and Dynamic Checklists:

Standard users 

• Web interfaces - The primary search interface to the Catalogue of Life is available on the Catalogue of Life website.  There are interfaces to both the Annual and the Dynamic Checklists.
  
  
• CD-ROM -  Just the Annual Checklist is available on CD-ROM for those with poor or no internet connections or for use on laptops during field excursions.
  - Request a free CD-ROM
  - Download an ISO image
  
  
• Web browser search plugin - Search the Catalogue of Life Annual Checklist directly from your web browser. The plugin is available for Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.
  

Advanced users

When using the Catalogue of Life in your own system it is important to abide by the terms and conditions of use and notify the Species 2000 Secretariat.

• Web services - There are two web services available to automatically query the two editions of the Catalogue of Life and then use the data within your own system. See the web services page for more details.
  
  
• Accessing the database - Many users and organisations use the Annual Checklist hierarchy and / or species data in their own system.  This can be done using the web services described above or by extracting data directly from a copy of the MySQL database on the CD-ROM .  Please contact the Secretariat if you require assistance.
  
  
• Add a search box to your website - If you are the web master of a biodiversity website you may like to assist your visitors by adding a Catalogue of Life search box to your website. We would appreciate it if you could let us know when you use this search box so that we can keep you up to date with any changes.