get_taxonomicon_id: Find the Taxonomicon ID for a taxon name

In taxodist: Taxonomic Distance and Phylogenetic Lineage Computation

Find the Taxonomicon ID for a taxon name

Description

Queries The Taxonomicon (taxonomy.nl) to retrieve the internal numeric identifier for a given taxon name. The search filters out non-biological entities such as astronomical objects that may share the same name.

Usage

get_taxonomicon_id(taxon, verbose = FALSE)

Arguments

taxon	A character string giving the taxon name to search for. Typically a genus name (e.g., "Tyrannosaurus") but species and higher ranks are also supported.
verbose	Logical. If TRUE, prints status messages during retrieval. Default is FALSE.

Details

The function queries the static search endpoint at taxonomicon.taxonomy.nl/TaxonList.aspx and parses the resulting HTML to extract the taxon ID from the hierarchy link. When multiple matches exist (e.g., a genus name shared with an astronomical object), biological entries are prioritised by filtering for entries annotated as dinosaur, reptile, archosaur, animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium.

Value

A character string containing the Taxonomicon numeric ID, or NULL if the taxon is not found.

See Also

get_lineage(), taxo_distance()

Examples

get_taxonomicon_id("Tyrannosaurus")   # returns "50841"
get_taxonomicon_id("Homo")
get_taxonomicon_id("Quercus")

taxodist documentation built on May 6, 2026, 1:06 a.m.