A Global Species Database (GSD) is a digital catalog of
organisms often defined around a
conservation purpose for the organisms of interest.[1] GSDs attempt to be globally inclusive of
species within their inclusion parameters versus local species databases. GSDs have a defined purpose,
SPECIESDAB is a GSD for economically valuable fish species,[2] while
FishBase focuses on fin fish regardless of their human potential for exploitation. Attempts have been made to create GSDs for extinct species such as trilobites.[3] A GSD can be broad in
taxonomic scope, such as
AlgaeBase comprehensively including
algae and
seagrasses from the entire planet, or narrow such as
International Legume Database & Information Service, a GSD for members of a single plant family, the
Fabaceae.[4]