Taxon Concept Standard (TCS) Term List

Taxon Concept Standard (TCS) Term List

Title
Taxon Concept Standard (TCS) Term List
Date version created
2025-08-09
Part of TDWG standard
http://www.tdwg.org/standards/117
This version
http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/doc/terms/2025-08-09
Latest version
http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/doc/terms
Abstract
The Taxon Concept Standard (TCS) is the TDWG standard specifically for sharing taxonomic and nomenclatural data. TCS provides Taxon Concept and Taxon Name classes for information about taxon concepts and taxon names, respectively, as well as a Taxon Concept Mapping class for taxon concept alignments and a Nomenclatural Type class for information on typification of taxon names. TCS offers a semantic framework for, and facilitates more accurate exchange of, taxonomic and nomenclatural data.
Contributors
Niels Klazenga (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Australia/Atlas of Living Australia, Australia), Greg Whitbread (Taxamatics, Australia), Vijay Barve (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, USA), Thierry Bourgoin (Museum national Histoire naturelle Paris, France), Markus Döring (GBIF, Denmark/Catalogue of Life, The Netherlands), Anne Fuchs (Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australia), Jeff Gerbracht (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, USA), Johan Liljeblad (Swedish Species Information Centre, Sweden), Carlos Martínez Muñoz, Mieke Strong (Gaia Resources, Australia), William Ulate (Missouri Botanical Garden, USA), Cam Webb (University of Alaska Museum of the North, USA)
Creator
TDWG Taxon Concept Schema (TCS) 2 Task Group
Bibliographic citation
Taxon Concept Standard Maintenance Group (2025). Taxon Concept Standard Term List. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG).

1. Introduction

1.1. Status of this document and its content

The Introduction in this document is informative and the Namespace and Borrowed terms sections are normative. Within the Vocabulary section the Identifier, Type, Definition and Usage for terms are normative. For borrowed terms Usage is normative only in the sense that it specifies how the term should be used within TCS. All other parts, including Label, Comments and Examples, are informative. The assignment of properties to classes is also informative, although most properties can only reasonably be used in the class in which they are organised. For the properties that can be used in more than one TCS class this has been indicated in the comments.

1.2. RFC keywords

The key words “MUST”, “MUST NOT”, “REQUIRED”, “SHALL”, “SHALL NOT”, “SHOULD”, “SHOULD NOT”, “RECOMMENDED”, “MAY”, and “OPTIONAL” in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC 2119] and [RFC 8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

1.3. Structure of TCS

TCS has four main classes, Taxon Concept, Taxon Concept Mapping, Taxon Name and Nomenclatural Type.

The Taxon Concept class provides terms to share information about taxon concepts and is the class everything else in TCS revolves around. We have defined a Taxon Concept as:

An identifiable taxonomic position that can be aligned to other such positions through TCS concept mapping relations

The change from the earlier ‘a name plus a description of a taxon’ was necessary because TCS has to deal with a wider variety of taxon concepts and today’s taxon concepts do not necessarily have a formal scientific name or a description. In order for a taxon concept to be identifiable, however, it needs to have some kind of label and it has to have some sort of treatment, so the taxonName and accordingTo properties on the TaxonConcept are required.

The Taxon Concept Mapping class is almost identical in structure to the Darwin Core ResourceRelationship class. As a taxon concept mapping is a very specific type of resource relationship and because Darwin Core does not define IRI properties for dwc:ResourceRelationship, TCS defines its own class. The subjectTaxonConcept, mappingRelation and objectTaxonConcept are required on a TaxonConceptMapping. The value of mappingRelation has to be one of the mapping properties from the TaxonConcept class.

The Taxon Name class encapsulates all information about taxon names. Only the nameString property is required. Currently, TCS only has the one class that can be used for all types of names, including scientific names and vernacular names, but it is envisaged that in future TCS will also have classes for specific categories of names, e.g., ‘ScientificName’ and ‘VernacularName’. The use of the Taxon Name class is not currently required in TCS: it can be replaced by a SKOS-XL Label or GBIF VernacularName (or any other label object) if considered more appropriate.

The Nomenclatural Type class can be used to share information about nomenclatural types of names. It also shows similarity to the Darwin Core ResourceRelationship class in the sense that a nomenclatural type is a resource relationship between a tcs:TaxonName and either another tcs:TaxonName or a Specimen (for which we use the Darwin Core PreservedSpecimen or MaterialCitation in the examples). The typifiedName, typeOfType and either the typeSpecimen or typeName properties are required.

In contrast to Darwin Core, TCS does not define ‘ID’ and ‘Remarks’ properties on its classes. In accordance with the Darwin Core RDF Guide (Darwin Core and RDF/OWL Task Groups 2015 [darwin_core_and_rdfowl_task_groups_darwin_2015]), instances of TCS classes SHOULD have a rdf:id and MAY have a rdfs:comment. Also, other terms from general-purpose standards like RDFS and Dublin Core MAY be used—and have been freely used in the examples—when they add value to the data. These terms have not been borrowed by TCS, as they have no special meaning in TCS and are used with TCS the same way as everywhere else.

Information on synonymy can be shared using the synonym property of the Taxon Concept and the basionym and replacedName properties of the TaxonName. TCS does not use the terms ‘homotypic synonym’ and ‘heterotypic synonym’ because these terms are rather strictly defined in the nomenclatural codes, which makes them less useful for data exchange, but synonym can be used for heterotypic synonyms and basionym and replacedName for homotypic synonyms. The synonym property can be used for all synonyms and it is up to data providers or application profiles whether or not synonyms are split into homotypic and heterotypic synonyms.

The mapping properties in the Taxon Concept class, isCongruentWith, includes, isIncludedIn, partiallyOverlaps, intersects and isDisjointFrom can be used to align taxon concepts. These properties are equivalent to topological properties in spatial analysis and can be used in reasoning. Taxon concept mappings are currently not used very often in taxonomic treatments but, besides being more expressive and more generally applicable than nomenclatural relationships, they have the advantage that they can be made by third parties, so they can be used to add information that is not already present in the data.

1.4. Examples

Examples are provided for most TCS terms. As almost all TCS properties are IRI properties, significant context has been added to make the examples as useful as possible. As because of this the examples take up a lot of space they have been placed in separate documents, which are linked to from this document.

The examples referenced in this document are in TurTLe. This format has been chosen because it is very terse and still easy to read and, most importantly, allows comments. The fact that the examples are in a serialization of RDF should not be taken to mean that TCS data has to be RDF, just that it can be RDF. All examples are also provided in JSON-LD.

2. Namespace

The namespace for TCS terms is http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/. The recommended alias for this namespace is tcs.

3. Borrowed terms

As much as possible TCS uses already existing terms rather than define new terms. Thus, many terms have been borrowed from Darwin Core and Dublin Core.

Standard Namespace Alias
Darwin Core http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/ dwc
Dublin Core http://purl.org/dc/terms/ dcterms

4. Index of terms

Taxon Concept

tcs:TaxonConcept | tcs:accordingTo | tcs:taxonName | tcs:synonym | tcs:vernacularName | tcs:taxonRank | tcs:parentTaxonConcept | tcs:childTaxonConcept | tcs:isCongruentWith | tcs:includes | tcs:isIncludedIn | tcs:partiallyOverlaps | tcs:isDisjointFrom | tcs:intersects | dwc:scientificName | dwc:vernacularName | dwc:verbatimTaxonRank | dcterms:title

Taxon Concept Mapping

tcs:TaxonConceptMapping | tcs:mappingAccordingTo | tcs:mappingRelation | tcs:subjectTaxonConcept | tcs:objectTaxonConcept

Taxon Name

tcs:TaxonName | tcs:nameString | tcs:namePublishedIn | tcs:microreference | tcs:nomenclaturalCode | tcs:nomenclaturalStatus | tcs:typification | tcs:typificationLiteral | tcs:basionym | tcs:replacedName | tcs:basedOn | tcs:laterHomonymOf | tcs:conservedAgainst | tcs:combinationAuthor | tcs:combinationAuthorLiteral | tcs:basionymAuthor | tcs:basionymAuthorLiteral | tcs:combinationAscribedAuthor | tcs:combinationAscribedAuthorLiteral | tcs:basionymAscribedAuthor | tcs:basionymAscribedAuthorLiteral | dwc:scientificNameAuthorship | dwc:namePublishedIn | dwc:namePublishedInYear | dwc:genericName | dwc:infragenericEpithet | dwc:specificEpithet | dwc:infraspecificEpithet | dwc:cultivarEpithet

Nomenclatural Type

tcs:NomenclaturalType | tcs:typifiedName | tcs:typeOfType | tcs:typeName | tcs:typeSpecimen | tcs:typePublishedIn

5. Vocabulary

5.1. Taxon Concept

Term Name: tcs:TaxonConcept
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/TaxonConcept
Type http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#Class
Label Taxon Concept
Definition

An identifiable taxonomic position that can be aligned to other such positions through TCS concept mapping relations.

Usage

A TaxonConcept MUST have taxonName and accordingTo properties.

Comments

A taxonomic position is an opinion about the definition of a taxonomic group. A Taxon Concept is identifiable, because it combines a label – taxonName in TCS – with a source – accordingTo. Both the taxonName and accordingTo properties are REQUIRED on a tcs:TaxonConcept. When mentioning a taxon concept, the label and the source are combined, separated by 'sec.' (from, 'secundus', meaning 'according to') or 'sensu' (meaning the same). The term dcterms:title has been borrowed from Dublin Core to provide this taxon concept label. Because of the context provided by the source, taxon concepts are in principle also alignable to other Taxon Concepts using TCS concept mapping statements. The concept mapping properties in TCS are isCongruentWith, includes, isIncludedIn, partiallyOverlaps, isDisjointFrom and intersects. These properties can be used directly on a TaxonConcept object or as the value of the tcs:mappingRelation property in a tcs:TaxonConceptMapping object.

The TCS Taxon Concept is applied more broadly than the term is used in science (e.g. Franz & Peet 2009 [franz_perspectives_2009]). On the one hand, things that are not generally considered to be biological taxa, e.g. hybrids and cultivars, can be casted as TCS Taxon Concepts. Also Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) [sokal_principles_1963] can be exchanged as Taxon Concepts, if there is a reason to do so, e.g. if one wants to align them with other Taxon Concepts later. On the other hand, entries from treatments that are considered to cite concepts from other treatments can be formulated as Taxon Concepts. Every taxon concept from a treatment that is likely to be referenced as the source of taxonomic context, for example a field guide for a determination of a specimen or a national census for an ecological study, can – and it would be very nice if they would – be stated as a Taxon Concept, so they can be aligned with other Taxon Concepts that may provide more or different taxonomic context.

By contrast, entries in the nomenclature section of treatments ('TaxonomicNameUsage's sensu Senderov et al. 2018 [senderov_openbiodiv-o_2018]) and in lists of nomenclatural types are not Taxon Concepts.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:accordingTo
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/accordingTo
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label According To
Definition

Reference to the treatment or other source in which a Taxon Concept is established or used.

Usage

accordingTo is an IRI term and is REQUIRED on a Taxon Concept. A Taxon Concept can have only one accordingTo.

Required: Yes — Repeatable: No
Comments

Every Taxon Concept is in some sort of treatment and this treatment provides important context without which we do not know what a taxon name really means and therefore the accordingTo property is REQUIRED for a TCS Taxon Concept. In TCS 2, accordingTo has to be a reference to some sort of resource rather than just a person's name. However, TCS is lenient about the nature of this resource and, apart from references to bibliographic resources, references to personal communications and determinations are also acceptable, if there is value in supplying taxon concepts from such communications as Taxon Concepts.

The value of accordingTo has to be an object or IRI. This object can contain as little as a bibliographic reference but it is more useful to provide it in a format that can be understood by reference managers such as Zotero or Mendeley.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:taxonName
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/taxonName
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Taxon Name
Definition

The accepted name for the taxonomic group.

Usage

taxonName is an IRI term and is REQUIRED on a TCS Taxon Concept. A Taxon Concept MUST NOT have more than one taxonName.

Required: Yes — Repeatable: No
Comments

The taxonName can be anything from a well-formed scientific name to an informal name, vernacular name, indigenous knowledge label, or even a label containing numbers and/or special symbols, such as are often used for OTUs.

The object of taxonName is an object or IRI, so that it can be reused in other Taxon Concepts. TCS has got the Taxon Name class, which can be used for any type of name, but people are free to use alternatives, e.g. skosxl:Label, if they want to restrict the use of the Taxon Name class to scientific names only.

Term Name: tcs:synonym
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/synonym
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Synonym
Definition

Name considered to apply to the same taxon as the accepted name.

Usage

synonym is a Taxon Name; a Taxon Concept can have multiple synonyms.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

A synonym is an alternative label for a taxon, so synonym, like taxonName, is a relation between a TaxonConcept and a TaxonName, not a relationship between different taxonomic entities.

The terms 'heterotypic synonym' and 'homotypic synonym' from the nomenclatural codes ('subjective synonym' and 'objective synonym', respectively, in the Zoological Code) are, in the context of Taxon Concepts and Taxon Names, best understood as synonyms (relations between Taxon Concepts and Taxon Names) and combinations (relations between Taxon Names), respectively. In TCS, combinations are dealt with using properties of the TaxonName class, e.g., basionym and replacedName (note that 'combination' is used here in a broader sense than what the term actually means). This has the advantage that people do not need to separate heterotypic and homotypic synonyms, or generally deal with nomenclature, which adds a degree of complexity that not all systems need or want. Avoiding terms that are strictly defined in the nomenclatural codes also has the advantage that the term can, in principle, be applied to things that cannot be heterotypic or homotypic synonyms, e.g., to names that are not validly published under the relevant code, and avoids inappropriate use of the terms defined in the nomenclatural codes.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:vernacularName
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/vernacularName
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Vernacular Name
Definition

Name for a taxon in a language used for general purposes.

Usage

vernacularName is an IRI term; a Taxon Concept can have more than one vernacularName.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

The vernacularName property can be used when a vernacular name is used alongside a scientific name, which is the taxonName. If a vernacular name is the only name, the taxonName property SHOULD be used. The object of the vernacularName property can be a Taxon Name, but another label object, such as the GBIF Vernacular Name, might be preferrable, especially if there can be multiple vernacular names for a concept.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:taxonRank
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/taxonRank
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Taxon Rank
Definition

The rank at which a taxon is classified.

Usage

taxonRank is an IRI property; a Taxon Concept or Taxon Name MUST NOT have more than one taxonRank.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

This term is the IRI equivalent of the Darwin Core taxonRank. This property takes an object or IRI and it is RECOMMENDED to use a value from an existing controlled vocabulary. While there is no TDWG vocabulary yet, the GBIF Taxonomic Rank Vocabulary (https://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/rank_2015-04-24.xml) is RECOMMENDED.

A taxon name takes its rank from the taxon it is applied to, so this property can also be used on a (stand-alone) TaxonName object.

Term Name: tcs:parentTaxonConcept
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/parentTaxonConcept
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Parent Taxon Concept
Definition

The immediately next higher taxon in a hierarchical classification.

Usage

parentTaxonConcept is another Taxon Concept; a Taxon Concept can have only one parentTaxonConcept.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

This is the parent as indicated in the accordingTo reference, rather than a third-party classification. The accordingTo of the parent will generally, but not necessarily, be the same as that of the child.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:childTaxonConcept
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/childTaxonConcept
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Child Taxon Concept
Definition

A direct subordinate in a hierarchical classification.

Usage

childTaxonConcept is another Taxon Concept; a Taxon Concept can have more than one childTaxonConcept.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

This is a child as indicated in the accordingTo reference, rather than a third-party classification. The accordingTo of the child will generally, but not necessarily, be the same as that of the parent.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:isCongruentWith
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/isCongruentWith
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Is Congruent With
Definition

The subject and object taxon concepts have a congruent taxonomic meaning, i.e. there is no conflict between the concepts

Usage

isCongruentWith can be used as a property on a Taxon Concept object, or as the value of the mappingRelation property on a Taxon Concept Mapping object. In both cases both the subject and object are Taxon Concepts.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

The isCongruentWith relation is symmetrical, so if A isCongruentWith B then B isCongruentWith A, as well as transitive, so if A isCongruentWith B and B isCongruentWith C it follows that A isCongruentWith C. This relation can also be written as the formula A ≅ B or A == B.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:includes
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/includes
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Includes
Definition

The subject taxon concept has a more inclusive taxonomic meaning than the object taxon concept

Usage

includes can be used as a property on a Taxon Concept object, or as the value of the mappingRelation property on a Taxon Concept Mapping object. In both cases both the subject and object are Taxon Concepts.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

The includes relation is not symmetric, its inverse relation being isIncludedIn, so if A includes B then B isIncludedIn A. The includes relation is transitive, so if A includes B and B includes C it follows that A includes C. This relation can also be written as the formula A > B.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:isIncludedIn
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/isIncludedIn
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Is Included In
Definition

The subject taxon concept has a less inclusive taxonomic meaning than the object taxon concept

Usage

isIncludedIn can be used as a property on a Taxon Concept object, or as the value of the mappingRelation property on a Taxon Concept Mapping object. In both cases both the subject and object are Taxon Concepts.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

The isIncludedIn relation is not symmetric, its inverse relation being includes, so if A isIncludedIn B then B includes A. The isIncludedIn relation is transitive, so if A isIncludedIn B and B isIncludedIn C it follows that A isIncludedIn C. This relation can also be written as the formula A < B.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:partiallyOverlaps
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/partiallyOverlaps
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Partially Overlaps
Definition

The subject and object taxon concepts have partially overlapping taxonomic meanings, i.e. they have some members in common, but each concept in addition has members that are not included in the other concept

Usage

partiallyOverlaps can be used as a property on a Taxon Concept object, or as the value of the mappingRelation property on a Taxon Concept Mapping object. In both cases both the subject and object are Taxon Concepts.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

The partiallyOverlaps relation is symmetrical, so if A partiallyOverlaps B then B partiallyOverlaps A, but not transitive, so, if A partiallyOverlaps B and B partiallyOverlaps C, it does not follow that A partiallyOverlaps C. This relation can also be written as the formula A >< B.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:isDisjointFrom
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/isDisjointFrom
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Is Disjoint From
Definition

The subject and object taxon concepts have non-overlapping taxonomic meanings, i.e. they do not have any members in common

Usage

isDisjointFrom can be used as a property on a Taxon Concept object, or as the value of the mappingRelation property on a Taxon Concept Mapping object. In both cases both the subject and object are Taxon Concepts.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

The isDisjointFrom relation is symmetrical, so if A isDisjointFrom B then B isDisjointFrom A, but not transitive, so, if A isDisjointFrom B and B isDisjointFrom C, it does not follow that A isDisjointFrom C. This relation can also be written as the formula A | B.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:intersects
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/intersects
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Intersects
Definition

The taxonomic meanings of the subject and object taxon concepts intersect, i.e. they have at least one member in common.

Usage

intersects can be used as a property on a Taxon Concept object, or as the value of the mappingRelation property on a Taxon Concept Mapping object. In both cases both the subject and object are Taxon Concepts.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

intersects is the opposite of isDisjointFrom and the union of isCongruentWith, includes, isIncludedIn and partiallyOverlaps, meaning it can be any of these relations. This relation can be used when the more precise nature of the relationship is not known. Quasi-nomenclatural statements like 'pro parte synonym', 'partial synonym' and 'misapplication', are Taxon Concept Mappings, no matter how imperfect, and, in TCS, are best dealt with using the intersects relation. In fact, all 'traditional synonymy' relationships, cf. Berendsohn & al. (2000 [berendsohn_berlin_2003]), can be accommodated using intersects. Also, citations of references in treatments are, in the context of TCS, best accommodated using the intersects relation.

Examples
Term Name: dwc:scientificName
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/scientificName
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Scientific Name
Definition

The full scientific name, with authorship and date information if known. When forming part of an Identification, this SHOULD be the name in lowest level taxonomic rank that can be determined. This term SHOULD not contain identification qualifications, which SHOULD instead be supplied in the identificationQualifier term.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

scientificName can be used in addition to the taxonName property on a Taxon Concept object or the nameString property on a Taxon Name object.

Term Name: dwc:vernacularName
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/vernacularName
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Vernacular Name
Definition

A common or vernacular name.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Term Name: dwc:verbatimTaxonRank
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/verbatimTaxonRank
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Verbatim Taxon Rank
Definition

The taxonomic rank of the most specific name in the dwc:scientificName as it appears in the original record.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

This term may be used for taxonomic rank designations that are not in the controlled vocabulary that is used. Implementations can decide for themselves if it makes more sense to use this term on a Taxon Concept object or a Taxon Name object, or both.

Term Name: dcterms:title
Identifier http://purl.org/dc/terms/title
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Taxon Concept Label
Definition

A name given to the resource.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

In TCS dcterms:title is used for the taxonomic concept label [senderov_openbiodiv-o_2018], which consists of the Taxon Name and a reference to the publication where the concept is circumscribed, separated by 'sec.', which stands for 'secundus' ('according to'). It is used to indicate one specific meaning of a name – a Taxon Concept – rather than the cumulative nomenclatural and taxonomic legacy associated with the name.

Examples
  • Dicranoloma assimile sec. Klazenga 1999
  • Euphrasia gibbsiae sec. Barker 1982
  • Megalorhipida leucodactylus sec. Gielis & Hobern 2020-07-16
  • Circus cyaneus sec. Clements 2021
  • Circus cyaneus sec. Howard & Moore 2013
  • Circus [cyaneus or hudsonius] sec. AviBase #82745BAA

5.2. Taxon Concept Mapping

Term Name: tcs:TaxonConceptMapping
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/TaxonConceptMapping
Type http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#Class
Label Taxon Concept Mapping
Definition

Alignment or mapping of two Taxon Concepts in different taxonomies or different versions of a taxonomy

Usage

When using this class the subjectTaxonConcept, mappingRelation and objectTaxonConcept are REQUIRED

Comments

The Taxon Concept Mapping class allows for adding extra data to a taxon concept mapping statement. As it allows for adding an 'according to' to a concept mapping it can be used for third-party mappings. While structurally very similar to the Darwin Core Resource Relationship class, it is different in that instances of the Taxon Concept Mapping class are meaningful as standalone objects.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:mappingAccordingTo
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/mappingAccordingTo
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Mapping According To
Definition

Reference to the source of the taxon concept mapping.

Usage

mappingAccordingTo is an IRI term; a Taxon Concept Mapping can have only one mappingAccordingTo.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Term Name: tcs:mappingRelation
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/mappingRelation
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Mapping Relation
Definition

The kind of mapping relation between the two concepts

Usage

This property is REQUIRED; one MUST use one of the mapping properties isCongruentWith, includes, isIncludedIn, partiallyOverlaps, isDisjointFrom or intersects.

Required: Yes — Repeatable: No
Term Name: tcs:subjectTaxonConcept
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/subjectTaxonConcept
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Subject Taxon Concept
Definition

Taxon Concept that is the subject in the mapping statement.

Usage

subjectTaxonConcept is a TCS Taxon Concept; a Taxon Concept Mapping statement can have only one subjectTaxonConcept.

Required: Yes — Repeatable: No
Comments

This is the Taxon Concept at the left-hand side of the statement.

Term Name: tcs:objectTaxonConcept
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/objectTaxonConcept
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Object Taxon Concept
Definition

Taxon Concept that is the object in the mapping statement.

Usage

objectTaxonConcept is a TCS Taxon Concept; a Taxon Concept Mapping statement can have only one objectTaxonConcept.

Required: Yes — Repeatable: No
Comments

This is the Taxon Concept at the right-hand side of the statement.

5.3. Taxon Name

Term Name: tcs:TaxonName
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/TaxonName
Type http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#Class
Label Taxon Name
Definition

A name or label applied to a taxon or taxonomic group.

Usage

A TCS Taxon Name MUST have a nameString.

Comments

The word 'name' here is taken in its dictionary meaning and not in the sense of a particular nomenclatural code. This means that the Taxon Name class can, in principle, be used for any type of name, not just names that are validly published under the relevant nomenclatural code.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:nameString
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/nameString
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Name String
Definition

The complete name string without any authority or year components.

Usage

nameString is a literal. The nameString property is REQUIRED on a TCS Taxon Name and a Taxon Name can have only one nameString.

Required: Yes — Repeatable: No
Comments

The nameString property differs from the scientificName property in Darwin Core in that all kinds of names are allowed. Also, in the case of scientific names, contrary to the dwc:scientificName, nameString does not include the authorship. In botanical names, it does include the rank prefixes for infrageneric and infraspecific epithets as they are considered part of the name.

Term Name: tcs:namePublishedIn
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/namePublishedIn
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Name Published In
Definition

Reference to the publication in which the name was first published.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

In botany, this would be the protologue. This is the IRI counterpart of the Darwin Core namePublishedIn, which TCS borrows.

Term Name: tcs:microreference
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/microreference
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Microreference
Definition

Specifies any minor reference parts, e.g. page number.

Usage

microreference is a string literal; a Taxon Name can have only one microreference and only when namePublishedIn is used as well.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

In taxonomic works it is convention to cite the exact location in a work where a new name is published. The microreference property lets one do that on the Taxon Name object, so that the namePublishedIn reference can be reused.

Term Name: tcs:nomenclaturalCode
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/nomenclaturalCode
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Nomenclatural Code
Definition

Nomenclatural code that applies to the group of organisms the taxonomic name is for.

Usage

nomenclaturalCode takes an IRI or object; a Taxon Name can have only one nomenclaturalCode.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

This is the IRI equivalent of the Darwin Core nomenclaturalCode. In the absence of a TDWG vocabulary, it is RECOMMENDED to use a value from the GBIF Nomenclatural Codes Vocabulary (https://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/nomenclatural_code.xml).

Term Name: tcs:nomenclaturalStatus
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/nomenclaturalStatus
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Nomenclatural Status
Definition

Status related to the original publication of the name and its conformance to the relevant rules of nomenclature.

Usage

nomenclaturalStatus takes an IRI or object; a Taxon Name can have only one nomenclaturalStatus.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

This is the IRI equivalent of the Darwin Core nomenclaturalStatus. In the absence of a TDWG vocabulary, it is RECOMMENDED to use a value from the GBIF Nomenclatural Status Vocabulary (https://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/nomenclatural_status_2019-02-08.xml).

Term Name: tcs:typification
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/typification
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Typification
Definition

Designation of a nomenclatural type for a name

Usage

The typification property takes a TCS Nomenclatural Type or list of Nomenclatural Types.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

tcs:typification is the inverse of tcs:typifiedName.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:typificationLiteral
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/typificationLiteral
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Typification
Definition

Designation of a nomenclatural type for a name

Usage

The typificationLiteral property takes a literal value.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

The typificationLiteral property can be used for citation of a type (or types) as written in the publication in which the typified name was published.

Term Name: tcs:basionym
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/basionym
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Basionym
Definition

Epithet- or name-bringing synonym.

Usage

A basionym is another Taxon Name; a Taxon Name can have only one basionym.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

The term basionym is in the draft BioCode ([greuter_draft_2011]), so can be used for all organisms. The basionym property is only used for new combinations ('comb. nov.'). If the new name is a replacement name ('nom. nov.') the replacedName property SHOULD be used instead. It SHOULD be noted that a basionym is always a different name or combination: a name cannot be its own basionym.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:replacedName
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/replacedName
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Replaced Name
Definition

The legitimate or illegitimate, previously published name on which a replacement name (nomen novum) is based.

Usage

replacedName is another Taxon Name; a Taxon Name can have only one replacedName.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

'replaced name' is used in the draft BioCode ([greuter_draft_2011]). In the Botanical Code the term 'replaced synonym' is used for the same thing. A 'replacement name' is a name that is published as a substitute for an earlier published name that is either illegitimate or for which a new combination cannot be created in the place a taxon is transferred to because of an older blocking name.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:basedOn
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/basedOn
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Based On
Definition

Earlier name on which this name is based

Usage

basedOn is another Taxon Name; a Taxon Name can have only one basedOn. The term SHOULD only be used in situations where the semantically more meaningful basionym and replacedName cannot be used.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

The basedOn property can be used to associate a name to a homotypic group of names in situations where the basionym and replacedName properties cannot be used. Therefore the property can be useful for (1) linking an autonym to a species name, (2) linking a valid name to an earlier invalid name and (3) linking an invalid name to a later valid name.

Term Name: tcs:laterHomonymOf
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/laterHomonymOf
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Later Homonym Of
Definition

An older legitimate name with the same spelling but a different nomenclatural type

Usage

laterHomonymOf is another Taxon Name object

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

If there are more than two homonyms, the oldest name SHOULD be given here. In zoology, this is the senior homonym.

Term Name: tcs:conservedAgainst
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/conservedAgainst
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Conserved Against
Definition

Name(s) against which this name is conserved.

Usage

The conservedAgainst property takes another Taxon Name; a Taxon Name can be conserved against more than one other Taxon Names.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

A scientific name below the rank of family is not conserved against all other names, but only against one or more names that in turn are rejected against the conserved name. A name can be conserved against more than one other name, so this property is repeatable.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:combinationAuthor
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/combinationAuthor
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Combination Author
Definition

Author of the combination

Usage

combinationAuthor is an IRI property. It can be a person or a list of persons.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

'combination' is taken here to be a different name with the same nomenclatural type.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:combinationAuthorLiteral
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/combinationAuthorLiteral
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Combination Author
Definition

Author of the combination

Usage

combinationAuthorLiteral is a Literal property.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

'combination' is taken here to be a different name with the same nomenclatural type.

Term Name: tcs:basionymAuthor
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/basionymAuthor
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Basionym Author
Definition

Author of the basionym of the described name

Usage

basionymAuthor is an IRI property. It can be a person or a list of persons.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

basionymAuthor (or its literal counterpart) is the bit in parentheses in the dwc:scientificNameAuthorship.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:basionymAuthorLiteral
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/basionymAuthorLiteral
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Basionym Author
Definition

Author of the basionym of the described name

Usage

basionymAuthorLiteral is a Literal property.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

basionymAuthorLiteral is the bit in parentheses in the dwc:scientificNameAuthorship.

Term Name: tcs:combinationAscribedAuthor
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/combinationAscribedAuthor
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Combination Ascribed Author
Definition

Ascribed author of the described name

Usage

combinationAscribedAuthor is an IRI property. It can be a person or a list of persons.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

An 'ascribed author' is a person (or group of people) who a name is ascribed to in a publication, but who is not the author of the name according to the rules of the nomenclatural codes, because they did not contribute to the validating description of the name. In the dwc:scientificNameAuthorship these authors are indicated with 'ex', the ascribed author coming before the 'ex' and the author the name is attributed to after. Note that the 'ex' (or 'Ex') construction that is sometimes used with zoological names has got nothing to do with attribution or ascription, but is used to denote a concept, much like we do here with 'sec.' or 'sensu' in taxon concept labels.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:combinationAscribedAuthorLiteral
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/combinationAscribedAuthorLiteral
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Combination Ascribed Author
Definition

Ascribed author of the described name

Usage

combinationAscribedAuthorLiteral is a Literal property.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

An 'ascribed author' is a person (or group of people) who a name is ascribed to in a publication, but who is not the author of the name according to the rules of the nomenclatural codes, because they did not contribute to the validating description of the name. In the dwc:scientificNameAuthorship these authors are indicated with 'ex', the ascribed author coming before the 'ex' and the author the name is attributed to after. Note that the 'ex' (or 'Ex') construction that is sometimes used with zoological names has got nothing to do with attribution or ascription, but is used to denote a concept, much like we do here with 'sec.' or 'sensu' in taxon concept labels.

Term Name: tcs:basionymAscribedAuthor
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/basionymAscribedAuthor
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Basionym Ascribed Author
Definition

Ascribed author of the basionym of the name

Usage

basionymAscribedAuthor is an IRI property. It can be a person or a list of persons.

Required: No — Repeatable: Yes
Comments

An 'ascribed author' is a person (or group of people) who a name is ascribed to in a publication, but who is not the author of the name according to the rules of the nomenclatural codes, because they did not contribute to the validating description of the name. In the dwc:scientificNameAuthorship these authors are indicated with 'ex', the ascribed author coming before the 'ex' and the author the name is attributed to after. Note that the 'ex' (or 'Ex') construction that is sometimes used with zoological names has got nothing to do with attribution or ascription, but is used to denote a concept, much like we do here with 'sec.' or 'sensu' in taxon concept labels.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:basionymAscribedAuthorLiteral
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/basionymAscribedAuthorLiteral
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Basionym Ascribed Author
Definition

Ascribed author of the basionym of the name

Usage

basionymAscribedAuthorLiteral is a Literal property.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

An 'ascribed author' is a person (or group of people) who a name is ascribed to in a publication, but who is not the author of the name according to the rules of the nomenclatural codes, because they did not contribute to the validating description of the name. In the dwc:scientificNameAuthorship these authors are indicated with 'ex', the ascribed author coming before the 'ex' and the author the name is attributed to after. Note that the 'ex' (or 'Ex') construction that is sometimes used with zoological names has got nothing to do with attribution or ascription, but is used to denote a concept, much like we do here with 'sec.' or 'sensu' in taxon concept labels.

Term Name: dwc:scientificNameAuthorship
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/scientificNameAuthorship
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Scientific Name Authorship
Definition

The authorship information for the scientificName formatted according to the conventions of the applicable nomenclaturalCode.

Usage

scientificNameAuthorship can be used if the nameString is a scientific name.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Term Name: dwc:namePublishedIn
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/namePublishedIn
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Name Published In
Definition

A reference for the publication in which the dwc:scientificName was originally established under the rules of the associated dwc:nomenclaturalCode.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

This is the string literal equivalent of the TCS namePublishedIn. It can be used if one wants to give the protologue as a string, as in many botanical publications.

Term Name: dwc:namePublishedInYear
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/namePublishedInYear
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Name Published In Year
Definition

The four-digit year in which the scientificName was published.

Usage

This is the publication year for the present name combination, not the basionym should this be a new combination.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Term Name: dwc:genericName
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/genericName
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Generic Name
Definition

The genus part of the scientificName without authorship.

Usage

This property SHOULD only be used for names below the rank of genus.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Term Name: dwc:infragenericEpithet
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/infragenericEpithet
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Infrageneric Epithet
Definition

The infrageneric part of combinations at ranks above species but below genus.

Usage

Names at ranks between species and genus, e.g. subgenera and sections, are composed of two parts; the genus and the infrageneric epithet. This property SHOULD therefore always be accompanied by the genericName property. If the infragenericEpithet property is present, the specificEpithet and infraspecificEpithet properties SHOULD not be present.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Term Name: dwc:specificEpithet
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/specificEpithet
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Specific Epithet
Definition

The name of the first or species epithet of the scientificName.

Usage

Names at ranks of species and below are composed of two or three parts: the generic name, the specific epithet and possibly an infraspecific epithet. This property SHOULD therefore always be accompanied by the genus property. If the specificEpithet property is present the infragenericEpithet property SHOULD not be present.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Term Name: dwc:infraspecificEpithet
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/infraspecificEpithet
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Infraspecific Epithet
Definition

The name of the lowest or terminal infraspecific epithet of the scientificName, excluding any rank designation.

Usage

Names at ranks below species are composed of three parts; the genus name, the specific epithet and an infraspecific epithet. This property SHOULD therefore always be accompanied by the genus and specificEpithet properties. If the infraspecificEpithet property is present the infragenericEpithet property SHOULD not be present.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Term Name: dwc:cultivarEpithet
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/cultivarEpithet
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Cultivar Epithet
Definition

Part of the name of a cultivar, cultivar group or grex that follows the scientific name.

Usage

The cultivar epithet follows a well-formed botanical name. Only include the string of the epithet. i.e. omit the single quotes around cultivar names, the word 'Group' that denotes cultivar group, the + sign used in chimeras and the 'gx' suffix in greges.

Required: No — Repeatable: No

5.4. Nomenclatural Type

Term Name: tcs:NomenclaturalType
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/NomenclaturalType
Type http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#Class
Label Nomenclatural Type
Definition

Element to which a scientific name is permanently attached.

Usage

A Nomenclatural Type requires a typifiedName, typeOfType and either a typeName or typeSpecimen.

Comments

A nomenclatural type fixes the usage of a name to the taxonomic group that contains the type. One or more Nomenclatural Types make up the typification of a Taxon Name. In Darwin Core, a Nomenclatural Type object can be used as object with dwciri:typeStatus.

Examples
Term Name: tcs:typifiedName
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/typifiedName
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Typified Name
Definition

The scientific name for which the specimen or other name is the type.

Usage

typifiedName is a Taxon Name and is REQUIRED; a Nomenclatural Type can typify only one Taxon Name.

Required: Yes — Repeatable: No
Comments

The typifiedName property links the Nomenclatural Type back to the Taxon Name. Also, when coming from the Preserved Specimen, the typified name is the most important piece of information, because there is no point in knowing what kind of type a specimen is without knowing for what name it is the type. Therefore, typifiedName is a REQUIRED property.

Term Name: tcs:typeOfType
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/typeOfType
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Type Of Type
Definition

The kind of type this specimen is, e.g. holotype, isotype etc.

Usage

typeOfType is an IRI term and SHOULD take its value from a controlled vocabulary. A Nomenclatural Type can have only one typeOfType

Required: Yes — Repeatable: No
Comments

This is an IRI property. In the absence of a TDWG controlled vocabulary, it is RECOMMENDED to use a value from the GBIF Nomenclatural Type Status Vocabulary (https://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/type_status_2021-01-18.xml).

Term Name: tcs:typeName
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/typeName
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Type Name
Definition

The name that is the type.

Usage

typeName is a Taxon Name. A nomenclatural type can have only one typeName.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

Taxon names at ranks above species level can be typified by the name of a lower taxon. Ultimately, by following the chain of type names, all names resolve to a type species and thus a type specimen.

Term Name: tcs:typeSpecimen
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/typeSpecimen
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Type Specimen
Definition

The specimen that is the type.

Usage

typeSpecimen takes an IRI – or object – that refers to a specimen. A Nomenclatural Type MUST NOT have more than one typeSpecimen.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

Names at ranks of species and below are typified by a specimen. This property is mutually exclusive with typeName. This is an IRI property. One could use the Darwin Core Preserved Specimen or Material Citation. While a Taxon Name can have more than one type specimens, each of these type specimens requires its own Nomenclatural Type record, so a Nomenclatural Type can have only one typeSpecimen.

Term Name: tcs:typePublishedIn
Identifier http://rs.tdwg.org/tcs/terms/typePublishedIn
Type http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
Label Type Published In
Definition

Publication where the type was nominated

Usage

typePublishedIn is an IRI term. A Nomenclatural Type can have at most one typePublishedIn.

Required: No — Repeatable: No
Comments

typePublishedIn is relevant for lectotypes, neotypes, epitypes and conserved types. For other kinds of type the publication where the type is designated is the publication the name was published in.