# Latest

**URL:** https://discourse.gbif.org/latest.md

[Latest](https://discourse.gbif.org/latest.md) · [Categories](https://discourse.gbif.org/categories.md) · [Tags](https://discourse.gbif.org/tags.md)

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## [Find observations not listed under the corresponding "Country" (because they are new for that country?)](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/find-observations-not-listed-under-the-corresponding-country-because-they-are-new-for-that-country/6444)

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**Author:** [@S.E](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/S.E)\
**Replies:** 5\
**Last updated:** [September 19, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/find-observations-not-listed-under-the-corresponding-country-because-they-are-new-for-that-country/6444 "2026-09-19T23:21:16Z")

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I found out that some observations are recorded in GBIF, but can’t be found by searching for the country where they took place. Is there a way to achieve that? Possible explanation in “Issues and flags”: “The taxonID… w…

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## [COL XR needs to be referenced via dataset identifier, not just \`taxonID\`](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/col-xr-needs-to-be-referenced-via-dataset-identifier-not-just-taxonid/6428)

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**Author:** [@sformel](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/sformel)\
**Replies:** 10\
**Last updated:** [September 17, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/col-xr-needs-to-be-referenced-via-dataset-identifier-not-just-taxonid/6428 "2026-09-17T18:54:31Z")

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I worked through the problem below, I’m leaving it in case it’s helpful for anyone. My ultimate question is can there be a better mechanism at GBIF for resolving a taxon in COL XR that has been archived and is returning …

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## [Obtaining GBIF's Current CoL Backbone Version](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/obtaining-gbifs-current-col-backbone-version/6432)

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**Author:** [@mihtmo](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/mihtmo)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [September 16, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/obtaining-gbifs-current-col-backbone-version/6432 "2026-09-16T15:47:41Z")

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Hello all, I’m in the process of migrating my code for a project to better align with the Catalogue of Life update. I’m excited for this change! An issue I’ve run into is that the current Catalogue of Life Extended Rel…

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## [lastInterpreted -- How often does GBIF interpret records?](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/lastinterpreted-how-often-does-gbif-interpret-records/6039)

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**Author:** [@mihtmo](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/mihtmo)\
**Replies:** 3\
**Last updated:** [September 10, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/lastinterpreted-how-often-does-gbif-interpret-records/6039 "2026-09-10T17:05:10Z")

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Forgive me if this has already been asked: I’m working on a project to generate preliminary conservation rankings for Texas invertebrates. As part of this project, I’m working with a local copy of GBIF’s invertebrate re…

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## [Nucleotide sequence search on GBIF.org - Technical Support Hour for Nodes](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/nucleotide-sequence-search-on-gbif-org-technical-support-hour-for-nodes/6443)

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**Author:** [@estebanmhGBIF](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/estebanmhGBIF)\
**Replies:** 0\
**Last updated:** [September 8, 2026, 8:45am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/nucleotide-sequence-search-on-gbif-org-technical-support-hour-for-nodes/6443 "2026-09-08T08:45:06Z")

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Join us on 7 October at 16:00 CEST for our next Technical Support Hour for GBIF Nodes. Cecilie Svenningsen from the GBIF secretariat will present the nucleotide sequence search, the first step toward further eDNA integra…

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## [Do you really need UUIDs in your datasets? - a quick rant](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/do-you-really-need-uuids-in-your-datasets-a-quick-rant/4396)

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**Author:** [@datafixer](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/datafixer)\
**Replies:** 12\
**Last updated:** [September 8, 2026, 6:10am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/do-you-really-need-uuids-in-your-datasets-a-quick-rant/4396 "2026-09-08T06:10:32Z")

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UUIDs (Universally Unique Identifiers) are in fashion at the moment, particularly UUID version 4 (see Note 1, below). They’re the long strings of 32 letters and numbers that look like this: 6449b31b-956c-4dad-a4ee-093d9…

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## [Good SAMaritans – Modelling survey location, date and time when publishing Survey and Monitoring data to GBIF - GBIF Data Blog](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/good-samaritans-modelling-survey-location-date-and-time-when-publishing-survey-and-monitoring-data-to-gbif-gbif-data-blog/6439)

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**Author:** [@dodobot](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/dodobot)\
**Replies:** 0\
**Last updated:** [September 7, 2026, 7:32am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/good-samaritans-modelling-survey-location-date-and-time-when-publishing-survey-and-monitoring-data-to-gbif-gbif-data-blog/6439 "2026-09-07T07:32:02Z")

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If you are new here, this post is the third installment in a series about modelling and sharing survey and monitoring (SAM) data on GBIF. My name is Marie, I am a Data Administrator at the GBIF Secretariat, and I am lear…

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## [Mapping recreational dive logs onto Darwin Core (OBIS-ENV-DATA), and three things I am unsure about](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/mapping-recreational-dive-logs-onto-darwin-core-obis-env-data-and-three-things-i-am-unsure-about/6416)

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**Author:** [@joepweterman](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/joepweterman)\
**Replies:** 4\
**Last updated:** [August 31, 2026, 6:22pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/mapping-recreational-dive-logs-onto-darwin-core-obis-env-data-and-three-things-i-am-unsure-about/6416 "2026-08-31T18:22:26Z")

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Recreational divers are in the water constantly, and almost none of what they see is written down in a form anyone can use. That gap is old and well known. Diveboard published recreational dive observations to GBIF rough…

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## [Preparing for rgbif v3.9.0 Moving to COL Extended Release - GBIF Data Blog](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/preparing-for-rgbif-v3-9-0-moving-to-col-extended-release-gbif-data-blog/6427)

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**Author:** [@dodobot](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/dodobot)\
**Replies:** 0\
**Last updated:** [August 20, 2026, 12:59pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/preparing-for-rgbif-v3-9-0-moving-to-col-extended-release-gbif-data-blog/6427 "2026-08-20T12:59:50Z")

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The newest version of rgbif (3.9.0 - planned release to CRAN the end of September) introduces breaking changes because the default taxonomy has changed from the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy to the COL (Catalogue of Life) Exten…

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## [How will the occurence parquet files change with the move to COL taxonomy identifiers?](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/how-will-the-occurence-parquet-files-change-with-the-move-to-col-taxonomy-identifiers/6404)

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**Author:** [@jervenbolleman](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/jervenbolleman)\
**Replies:** 3\
**Last updated:** [August 19, 2026, 1:10pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/how-will-the-occurence-parquet-files-change-with-the-move-to-col-taxonomy-identifiers/6404 "2026-08-19T13:10:32Z")

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Currently the simple parquet files provided a taxonKey and speciesKey column that are integers in that point to the backbone taxonomy. How will these columns change? and would someone have a link to a github issue or cha…

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## [Georeferencing distance only](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/georeferencing-distance-only/6426)

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**Author:** [@KentIsaacson](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/KentIsaacson)\
**Replies:** 1\
**Last updated:** [August 19, 2026, 5:26am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/georeferencing-distance-only/6426 "2026-08-19T05:26:33Z")

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Hi, I have a question about georeferencing with a given distance outside of a feature. when creating the uncertainty circle. are you measuring the distance/radius from the corrected center or are you measuring the dista…

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## [Understanding GBIF taxonomic keys - usageKey, taxonKey, speciesKey](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/understanding-gbif-taxonomic-keys-usagekey-taxonkey-specieskey/3045)

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**Author:** [@jwaller](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/jwaller)\
**Replies:** 11\
**Last updated:** [August 17, 2026, 11:07am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/understanding-gbif-taxonomic-keys-usagekey-taxonkey-specieskey/3045 "2026-08-17T11:07:10Z")

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You might sometimes encounter various confusing GBIF keys when using GBIF or rgbif, All GBIF taxonomic keys are id numbers used in place of words to identify species or some other taxonomic group. taxonKey: A taxonKey …

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## [Good SAMaritans – How to model survey targets in Survey and Monitoring (SAM) datasets - GBIF Data Blog](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/good-samaritans-how-to-model-survey-targets-in-survey-and-monitoring-sam-datasets-gbif-data-blog/6425)

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**Author:** [@dodobot](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/dodobot)\
**Replies:** 0\
**Last updated:** [August 13, 2026, 11:51am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/good-samaritans-how-to-model-survey-targets-in-survey-and-monitoring-sam-datasets-gbif-data-blog/6425 "2026-08-13T11:51:06Z")

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Welcome to the second installment of our series on publishing Survey and Monitoring (“SAM”) data to GBIF where I’m simultaneously learning how to do it and teaching you at the same time. I am still supervised by Kate Ing…

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## [Efficiently gather a complete GBIF dataset?](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/efficiently-gather-a-complete-gbif-dataset/6423)

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**Author:** [@jervenbolleman](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/jervenbolleman)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [August 12, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/efficiently-gather-a-complete-gbif-dataset/6423 "2026-08-12T14:05:34Z")

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Hi All, We created a fast GBIF parquet to RDF converter\[0\] and some people like the capabilities that gives. We have one user asking for some information not available in the GBIF parquet data \[1\]. What is the recommen…

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## [Help needed - Have you heard of these institutions?](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/help-needed-have-you-heard-of-these-institutions/4123)

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**Author:** [@mgrosjean](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/mgrosjean)\
**Replies:** 15\
**Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 10:19am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/help-needed-have-you-heard-of-these-institutions/4123 "2026-08-11T10:19:09Z")

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A lot of the curation on the Global Registry of Scientific Collections (GRSciColl) is country-dependant. We have “editors” in charge of reviewing suggestion updates for a given country. So in order to facilitate the GRS…

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## [GBIF export from Specify vs GBIF export from institutional node](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/gbif-export-from-specify-vs-gbif-export-from-institutional-node/6415)

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**Author:** [@Shoobs](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/Shoobs)\
**Replies:** 5\
**Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 11:11am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/gbif-export-from-specify-vs-gbif-export-from-institutional-node/6415 "2026-08-10T11:11:08Z")

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Hey there, I manage the data for a few different collections at The Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity. We use Specify 7 as our DBMS, and we also have a GBIF IPT installation hosted at our institution. …

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## [Update on the Catalogue of Life eXtended Release (COL XR) - Technical Support Hour for Nodes](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/update-on-the-catalogue-of-life-extended-release-col-xr-technical-support-hour-for-nodes/6406)

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**Author:** [@estebanmhGBIF](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/estebanmhGBIF)\
**Replies:** 1\
**Last updated:** [August 7, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/update-on-the-catalogue-of-life-extended-release-col-xr-technical-support-hour-for-nodes/6406 "2026-08-07T11:35:33Z")

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Join us on 5 August at 16:00 CEST for our next Technical Support Hour for GBIF Nodes. Diana Hernández and Camila Plata, editors at the Catalogue of Life, will present an update on the Catalogue of Life eXtended Release (…

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## [Good SAMaritans - Introduction to best practices for publishing Survey and Monitoring (SAM) data to GBIF - GBIF Data Blog](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/good-samaritans-introduction-to-best-practices-for-publishing-survey-and-monitoring-sam-data-to-gbif-gbif-data-blog/6408)

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**Author:** [@dodobot](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/dodobot)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [August 4, 2026, 1:52am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/good-samaritans-introduction-to-best-practices-for-publishing-survey-and-monitoring-sam-data-to-gbif-gbif-data-blog/6408 "2026-08-04T01:52:17Z")

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Perhaps, like me, you don’t know much about publishing Survey and Monitoring data(“SAM data” ). Maybe you have heard about event cores and Humbolt extensions, and you aren’t quite sure how to fit data into these. Trust m…

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## [Problems with International Barcode of Life project (iBOL) dataset](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/problems-with-international-barcode-of-life-project-ibol-dataset/6371)

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**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/rdmpage)\
**Replies:** 14\
**Last updated:** [July 29, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/problems-with-international-barcode-of-life-project-ibol-dataset/6371 "2026-07-29T12:47:47Z")

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The International Barcode of Life project (iBOL) dataset seems to have a few problems. I know that this dataset is constructed by GBIF rather than being published directly by BOLD (indeed I was involved in the first rele…

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## [Is there a way to search for multimedia upload date?](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-search-for-multimedia-upload-date/6413)

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**Author:** [@joedillon](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/joedillon)\
**Replies:** 1\
**Last updated:** [July 28, 2026, 3:28pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-search-for-multimedia-upload-date/6413 "2026-07-28T15:28:50Z")

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Kia ora koutou! Last year I sourced a whole load of phenology data via GBIF from foreign herbaria (i.e., ones outside New Zealand) that held New Zealand orchids. I’d like to know if there is a way I can search for multi…

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## [Interpretation of /species/{usageKey}/synonyms when synonym names resolve to different accepted taxa](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/interpretation-of-species-usagekey-synonyms-when-synonym-names-resolve-to-different-accepted-taxa/6410)

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**Author:** [@zhabla](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/zhabla)\
**Replies:** 1\
**Last updated:** [July 24, 2026, 6:48am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/interpretation-of-species-usagekey-synonyms-when-synonym-names-resolve-to-different-accepted-taxa/6410 "2026-07-24T06:48:09Z")

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I’m trying to understand the intended semantics of the /species/{usageKey}/synonyms endpoint. For example, in the GBIF Backbone I found these three records: 2873991 Aristolochia clematitis ACCEPTED 2874019 Aristolo…

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## [Errors - Is this the proper place to list them?](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/errors-is-this-the-proper-place-to-list-them/6412)

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**Author:** [@mreith](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/mreith)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [July 21, 2026, 12:58pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/errors-is-this-the-proper-place-to-list-them/6412 "2026-07-21T12:58:40Z")

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Using GBIF it’s kind of unavoidable to find errors. Wondering whether it is helpfull / contributes to correction to list them here in the forum?

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## [API changes with CoL XR](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/api-changes-with-col-xr/6397)

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**Author:** [@larsgw](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/larsgw)\
**Replies:** 6\
**Last updated:** [July 20, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/api-changes-with-col-xr/6397 "2026-07-20T11:47:31Z")

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First of all, congrats on the launch and thanks for all the hard work! I was wondering what the plans are for the API regarding the taxonomy changes. I maintain a database (identification-resources.github.io) and a numb…

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## [How to handle microbial domains in COL XR](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/how-to-handle-microbial-domains-in-col-xr/6405)

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**Author:** [@sformel](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/sformel)\
**Replies:** 3\
**Last updated:** [July 16, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/how-to-handle-microbial-domains-in-col-xr/6405 "2026-07-16T17:52:18Z")

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I’m working on aligning a soil microbial dataset to COL XR via the GBIF API. One key difference from the GBIF Backbone is there are microbial taxa names that have been moved from Kingdom to Domain and Phylum to Kingdom. …

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## [Plazi taxon treatments no longer on GBIF?](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/plazi-taxon-treatments-no-longer-on-gbif/6402)

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**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/rdmpage)\
**Replies:** 16\
**Last updated:** [July 11, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/plazi-taxon-treatments-no-longer-on-gbif/6402 "2026-07-11T15:44:52Z")

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Looking at the new portal and the move to using Catalogue of Life as the taxonomic backbone, I’ve realised that the Plazi treatments are no longer didplayed(!) For example, the treatment for Ceratogyrus attonitifer has a…

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## [COL XR: inconsistent records on family to genus level](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/col-xr-inconsistent-records-on-family-to-genus-level/6407)

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**Author:** [@larsgw](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/larsgw)\
**Replies:** 1\
**Last updated:** [July 11, 2026, 9:01am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/col-xr-inconsistent-records-on-family-to-genus-level/6407 "2026-07-11T09:01:14Z")

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COL XR seems to include a lot of duplicate records for the same taxa, especially in the ranks of family and genus, and those in between. For example, there are three accepted genera called Chrysis within the order Hymeno…

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## [Lyrodus medilobatus locations incorrect](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/lyrodus-medilobatus-locations-incorrect/6403)

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**Author:** [@ntreneman](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/ntreneman)\
**Replies:** 1\
**Last updated:** [July 3, 2026, 7:20am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/lyrodus-medilobatus-locations-incorrect/6403 "2026-07-03T07:20:32Z")

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The location of two Lyrodus medilobatus are in the coast of West Africa, but the meta data says they are from the coast of India. Please correct this. Best Nancy Treneman

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## [taxonKey for occurrences and species list CSVs](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/taxonkey-for-occurrences-and-species-list-csvs/6401)

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**Author:** [@wy\_bio](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/wy_bio)\
**Replies:** 3\
**Last updated:** [June 30, 2026, 6:22am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/taxonkey-for-occurrences-and-species-list-csvs/6401 "2026-06-30T06:22:09Z")

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I made a search query and downloaded the occurrences and species list CSVs. The occurrences list have a 5 character alphanumeric taxonKey, the species list have a numeric taxonKey. Since the two files have different …

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## [Georeference.it - a new open platform for crowdsourced georeferencing of GBIF records](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/georeference-it-a-new-open-platform-for-crowdsourced-georeferencing-of-gbif-records/6396)

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**Author:** [@joaquimsantos](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/joaquimsantos)\
**Replies:** 15\
**Last updated:** [June 25, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/georeference-it-a-new-open-platform-for-crowdsourced-georeferencing-of-gbif-records/6396 "2026-06-25T23:17:54Z")

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Hi all, I’d like to share a platform I’ve had in my head for five years and finally built: georeference.it: an open-source web tool for collaboratively georeferencing GBIF occurrence records. The platform works around …

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## [How to migrate from the legacy GBIF Backbone Taxonomy to Catalogue of Life Extended Release - GBIF Data Blog](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/how-to-migrate-from-the-legacy-gbif-backbone-taxonomy-to-catalogue-of-life-extended-release-gbif-data-blog/6398)

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**Author:** [@dodobot](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/dodobot)\
**Replies:** 4\
**Last updated:** [June 25, 2026, 6:59am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/how-to-migrate-from-the-legacy-gbif-backbone-taxonomy-to-catalogue-of-life-extended-release-gbif-data-blog/6398 "2026-06-25T06:59:45Z")

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Recently GBIF.org has updated the default taxonomy it uses to organize occurrence records to the Catalogue of Life Extended Release (COL XR). The GBIF backbone was last updated in 2023, and will not be updated again. We …

[Next page](https://discourse.gbif.org/latest.md?page=1)