Date: Feb. 7, 2002
Link: http://www.itis.usda.gov/
Source Author or Organization: ITIS Organization, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is being constructed by a partnership teaming taxonomic specialists and organizations with governmental agencies of the United States, Canada and Mexico. The project goal is to develop a "scientifically credible" and comprehensive online database where taxonomic data on all plants, animals and microbes will reside. Ultimately the project scope is global, but North America is the first area of concentration.

The data in XML format is accessible from the Web via Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The ITIS site provides links to data submission guidelines, the Microsoft Access and Visual Basic -based Taxonic Workbench program for submitting data, the Taxonomic Resources and Expertise Directory (TRED) catalog of taxonomic specialists and a data access page explaining all data access methods, including online search and full database download. A Data Status Summary Table offers a view of the current progress of the project.

Initial work on the project grew from a workshop by ITIS with the Species 2000 network based in the United Kingdom and Japan, which was funded by the Biological Resources Division of US Geological Survey (USGS) and UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).