Completeness of data
All taxa listed under international conservation legislation are included at the species level (except for some groups listed at a higher taxonomic level for which there is no agreed complete list of species, e.g. orchids and corals) and details of current legal status are provided. Further details of additional legal information provided are given here.

Data on taxa listed for reasons of threat status, endemism and use are compiled on a project driven basis. Further details on the level of completeness are provided below.

Taxonomic sources
The scientific names of mammals, birds, amphibians, some reptiles and some plants mainly follow the standard taxonomic references adopted by CITES; species newly described since the publication of these standard references are added as the information becomes available and some taxonomic revisions have been incorporated provided there was no conflict with CITES and the EU trade legislation. The scientific names of fish mainly follow FISHBASE; newly described species are added as the information becomes available and some taxonomic revisions have been incorporated; for some species the nomenclature currently follows the IUCN Red List rather than FISHBASE. The scientific names of invertebrate animals and other plants have been collated from a wide variety of different sources.

Hybrids
Names of hybrids are recorded, particularly if these are of relevance to the implementation of legislation. Where the information is available, links are made from the hybrid to the parent names and vice versa.

Synonyms
Synonyms mainly refer to CITES-listed species; they are linked to accepted names and vice versa as the information becomes available and as funding permits.

Common Names
Common names in multiple languages are included as the information is available and as funding permits. Most vertebrate animal species have at least one English common name and many CITES-listed species have French and Spanish names where these are available. Common names in other languages and for plants and invertebrate animals are very incomplete and many of these species probably do not have any common names.

Habit
Growth habit for plants is included in some instances. This is of particular relevance for the genus Euphorbia, as only the succulent members of the genus are listed in CITES Appendix II. An effort has also been made to identify plants that may be defined as trees, due to the particular interest that exists in their conservation.

Legal Status
Details on each piece of legislation, and links to explanations of data provided are given here.

Threat status
Full details are provided here.

Distribution data
Distribution is recorded to the level of country or, in some instances, to a sub-country level of Biological Recording Unit (BRU). This recognises areas to the regional/state level of larger countries, as well as larger islands of particular biological importance. If distribution data are not complete, or not known to be complete, this is indicated. Global distribution maps are available for each taxon.