Glossary of Terms Used in ITIS
Taxonomic Status:
Current Standing (but see Data Quality Indicators,
below) The status of a name for a taxon in the taxonomic
judgment of an author and/or an ITIS steward. The current standing
may be valid/accepted or invalid/not accepted.
Values:
valid (Animalia, Monera) or accepted (Plantae, Fungi) The name
for a taxon that is broadly used in the scientific community
and recommended by ITIS. When there is no consensus (e.g., multiple
classifications exist), ITIS and its stewards have made a choice
and may indicate the alternative(s) as a synonym(s) with an explanation.
invalid (Animalia, Monera) or not accepted (Plantae, Fungi) Another
name for the taxon that currently is placed in the synonymy of the
currently accepted name. Unacceptability reasons as determined
by ITIS are as follows:
Kingdoms Animalia & Monera:
homonym and junior synonym
junior homonym
junior synonym
misapplied
nomen dubium
nomen oblitum
original name/combination
other, see comments
pro parte
subsequent name/combination
unavailable, database artifact
unavailable, incorrect original spelling
unavailable, literature misspelling
unavailable, nomen nudum
unavailable, other
unavailable, suppressed by ruling
unjustified emendation
unnecessary replacement
Kingdoms Plantae & Fungi:
database artifact
homonym (illegitimate)
horticultural
invalidly published, nomen nudum
invalidly published, other
misapplied
orthographic variant (misspelling)
other, see comments
pro parte
rejected name
superfluous renaming (illegitimate)
synonym
Data Quality Indicators:
(See also the Data Development History and
Quality Indicators page for more information.)
Record Credibility Rating (Populated for all records.) A rating
determined by criteria established by the ITIS Taxonomic Work Group
reflecting the level of review of the entire records data elements
and the perceived level of accuracy of the records scientific
name and associated attributes.
Values:
verified standards met All data elements in the record
and the position of the scientific name in the hierarchy are perceived
to be accurate and are supported by one or more credible references
(e.g., publication, database, expert, data steward).
verified minimum standards met Data in the record are
incomplete and/or contain accuracy, placement, or nomenclatural
issues, or are from a non-peer reviewed source. Data issues cant
be resolved without detailed consultation with systematists and/or
the pertinent
literature.
unverified Data in the record are of unknown quality
(legacy data).
Latest Record Review (Populated at the rank of genus or above.) The
year a record was reviewed by ITIS. See also cited references for
their currency.
Values:
date (e.g., 1999)
unknown
Global Species Completeness (Populated at the rank of genus and
above.) A rating indicating whether all of the known species are
represented in ITIS.
Values:
complete - All of the known species of the
group are represented in ITIS.
partial - Not all of the known species
of the group are represented in ITIS.
unknown - It is uncertain whether
or not all of the known species of the group are represented in ITIS.
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