iDigBio API

Free to Use
60 C
Measured Score 0 50 100 Speed 2/30 Consistency 20/20 Security 20/20 Browser access 10/15 Transparency 8/15 TESTED 2026-08-10

Overview

iDigBio is a free API that gives you access to millions of digitized natural history museum specimens from institutions across the United States and beyond. You can search for specimens by species, location, date, or institution and retrieve detailed occurrence records. It is a great resource for biodiversity research and educational projects.

Beginner Tip

Use the records search endpoint with a simple scientific name filter to quickly retrieve specimen records. The API supports pagination so start with a small limit value to understand the data before fetching large datasets.

Measurement Record

What actually happened when we called this API from our own infrastructure. Every value below was recorded by the request, not copied from the provider's documentation.

Request
GET https://search.idigbio.org/v2/search/records/
Result
HTTP 200 · application/json · 4,324,820 bytes · compressed
Response time
1396 ms (median of 3) · fastest 1373 ms
Transport
TLSv1.3 · TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 · certificate issued by Let's Encrypt
Browser CORS
Allowed — Access-Control-Allow-Origin: https://apisscore.com
Recorded
2026-08-10

Available Data

The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.

iDigBio data via REST API

Example Response

Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.

JSON Response · Illustrative
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from iDigBio",
    "description": "Access millions of museum specimens from organizations around the world",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

itemCount Total number of records matching the search query.
items Array of specimen record objects matching the query.
uuid Unique iDigBio identifier for the specimen record.
data.dwc:scientificName Scientific name of the organism as provided by the institution.
data.dwc:locality Textual description of the collection location.
indexTerms.geopoint Latitude and longitude coordinates of the collection site.

Implementation Example

Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.

Request
const url = "https://search.idigbio.org/v2/search/records/";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.

400 Bad Request The request JSON body is malformed or uses incorrect field names.
Ensure the rq object uses valid iDigBio field names; consult the field list in the API wiki.
Empty itemCount in response No specimens match the search query criteria.
Try broadening the search by using genus only or removing location filters.
Connection timeout The query is too broad and takes too long to process on the server.
Add more specific filters such as country or date range to narrow down the result set.

Measured Score Breakdown

Live HTTP request to the API endpoint

Speed 2/30
Consistency 20/20
Security 20/20
Browser access 10/15
Transparency 8/15
Endpoint Response Time 1396ms

Fully tested on Aug 10, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Science & Math
Difficulty Beginner
Endpoint last called: 2026-08-10

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