For Developers

Data access via API, JSON and CSV exports.

Data from Expeditia is made available under the Open Database License (ODbL). Individual contents are licensed under the Database Contents License (DbCL). Original data sources are Wikidata (CC0), GBIF (various), and Bionomia (CC0).

Note: responses are plain JSON, not JSON-LD. Semantic enrichment is planned for a future version.

CSV & JSON exports

Every expedition and person page has CSV and JSON download buttons. These export the full dataset without pagination.

EndpointDescription
/expedition/{qid}/export/csvAll map items for an expedition as CSV
/expedition/{qid}/export/jsonAll map items for an expedition as JSON
/person/{qid}/export/csvAll specimens for a person as CSV
/person/{qid}/export/jsonAll specimens for a person as JSON
REST API

All API endpoints return JSON and do not require authentication.

EndpointDescription
GET /api/expeditionsPaginated list of expeditions
GET /api/expedition/{qid}Expedition metadata
GET /api/expedition/{qid}/itemsAll map items (points + specimens)
GET /api/person/{qid}Person metadata
GET /api/person/{qid}/specimensAll specimens for a person
GET /api/expedition/Q1564366/items

Returns the full chronological list of itinerary points and specimens for the Second voyage of HMS Beagle.

{
  "expedition": {
    "wikidata_qid": "Q1564366",
    "label": "Second voyage of HMS Beagle",
    "description": "exploration associated with the theory of evolution (1831-1836)",
    "start_time": "1831-12-27",
    "end_time": "1836-10-02",
    "wikidata_url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1564366"
  },
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "point",
      "date_label": "1831-12-27",
      "name": "Plymouth",
      "lat": "50.3713889",
      "lon": "-4.1422222",
      "gbif_id": null,
      "scientific_name": null,
      ...
    },
    {
      "type": "specimen",
      "date_label": "1832-01-01",
      "name": "Suaeda",
      "lat": null,
      "lon": null,
      "gbif_id": "912674682",
      "scientific_name": "Suaeda",
      "family": "Amaranthaceae",
      "kingdom": "Plantae",
      "recorded_by": "Darwin, C.",
      "institution_code": "K",
      "collection_code": "Herbarium",
      "catalog_number": "K000899769",
      "basis_of_record": "PRESERVED_SPECIMEN",
      "type_status": "unknown type material",
      "locality": "Bahía Blanca; Coast of Patagonia",
      "country": "Argentina",
      "country_code": "AR",
      "event_date": "1832-01-01",
      "gbif_url": "https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/912674682"
    }
  ]
}
Item fields
FieldTypeDescription
typestringpoint or specimen
date_labelstringDate or date range as recorded
namestringPlace name (points) or scientific name (specimens)
lat / londecimal / nullCoordinates — may be null
gbif_idinteger / nullGBIF occurrence ID (specimens only)
scientific_namestring / nullFull scientific name (specimens only)
familystring / nullTaxonomic family
kingdomstring / nullTaxonomic kingdom
recorded_bystring / nullCollector name as recorded in GBIF
identified_bystring / nullIdentifier name
institution_codestring / nullHolding institution
collection_codestring / nullCollection within institution
catalog_numberstring / nullCatalogue number
basis_of_recordstring / nulle.g. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN
type_statusstring / nullType status if applicable
localitystring / nullLocality as interpreted
verbatim_localitystring / nullLocality as originally recorded
countrystring / nullCountry name
country_codestring / nullISO 3166-1 alpha-2
event_datestring / nullCollection date
gbif_urlstring / nullDirect link to GBIF occurrence