# Missing species media in API?

**URL:** <https://discourse.gbif.org/t/missing-species-media-in-api/4242>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous\
**Created:** [December 12, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/missing-species-media-in-api/4242 "2023-12-12T22:11:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![neil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/839c29/32.png) [@neil](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/neil)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/missing-species-media-in-api/4242/1 "2023-12-12T22:11:14Z")

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I have noticed that some species (e.g. Anaxyrus compactilis, species key 2422903) don’t seem to have any media returned by the API ([https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2422903/media](https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2422903/media)) although the species webpage itself appears to have plenty of media: [https://www.gbif.org/species/2422903](https://www.gbif.org/species/2422903)

Is this a bug, or there is an intentional difference in the media between the API and the website?

Many thanks,  
Neil

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**Author:** ![mgrosjean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/97f17d/32.png) [@mgrosjean](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/mgrosjean)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2023, 9:29am UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/missing-species-media-in-api/4242/2 "2023-12-14T09:29:21Z")

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Hi @neil,

There are two types of images/media that can be found on Species pages:

- The images and media shared in a checklist like here: [Tubuliporina](https://www.gbif.org/species/148403721). Those are associated with the taxon itself and directly from a checklist (they often refer to the original publication describing the species). They can be accessed with the species API as [https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/148403721/media](https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/148403721/media)
- The images and media associated with occurrences that are matched to the name of the taxon like here: [Anaxyrus compactilis (Wiegmann, 1833)](https://www.gbif.org/species/2422903). Those are media associated with occurrences, they can also be found in the occurrence search interface here: [Search](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/gallery?taxon_key=2422903). If you would like to access those, you need to use the [occurrence API](https://www.gbif.org/developer/occurrence). For example, you can use the occurrence search API: [https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?media\_type=StillImage&taxon\_key=2422903](https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?media_type=StillImage&taxon_key=2422903). I would strongly recommend using the [download API](https://www.gbif.org/developer/occurrence#download) or generating a download with the web interface as it will give you a citable DOI (citing the DOI will allow us to credit the data providers whose data contributed to your work). See our [Citation guidelines](https://www.gbif.org/citation-guidelines)

Note that image licenses aren’t always open. Please check that the license of the images before using them and don’t forget to cite them.

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**Author:** ![neil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/839c29/32.png) [@neil](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/neil)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/missing-species-media-in-api/4242/3 "2023-12-15T13:27:14Z")

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Super helpful. Thank you very much.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/gbif1/original/1X/d2525d53d815eb0c992cc44730ed8a6a1be1dbb5.png) [@system](https://discourse.gbif.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://discourse.gbif.org/t/missing-species-media-in-api/4242/4 "2024-01-14T23:27:29Z")

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