Historical Species Records with GBIF Identifiers

3.8 MB CSV file contains species records extracted from source texts, including district names, publication years, and normalized species names linked to GBIF identifiers. The dataset was authored by Maximilian C. Teich and last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze species presence across different districts using the 'district' and 'presence' fields.
• Link historical species mentions from the 'original text' to modern taxonomy via the 'normalized species name' and 'GBIF identifier'.
• Study temporal trends in species documentation by examining the 'year of publication' for each record.

Strengths

• Data is linked to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) via identifiers, enabling integration with a major biodiversity database.
• Includes both raw historical text ('original text') and normalized taxonomic information, supporting textual and ecological analysis.
• Released under a permissive CC BY 4.0 license, facilitating reuse.

Limitations

• The dataset is relatively small at 3.8 MB, suggesting a limited number of records which may constrain statistical power.
• Data quality is dependent on the accuracy of the source text extraction and species name normalization processes.

Provenance

Source

Extracted from unspecified source texts.

Collection Method

Species records were documented and normalized from original texts.

Time Range

Implied by 'year of publication' field, but specific range is unknown.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.

Geography

Coverage includes districts, but specific region is unknown.