The document discusses how species are organized and listed in the CITES Appendices. Species subject to CITES regulation are divided into three Appendices based on the level of protection they require. Appendices are structured taxonomically for animals and alphabetically by family for plants. Locating a particular species requires understanding taxonomy and may involve searching higher taxonomic groups or annotations that provide additional details. Interpreting the Appendices can be challenging for non-specialists and the CITES Checklist of Species is recommended as an easier reference.

1. Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Using the Appendices
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www.CITES.org
© Copyright CITES Secretariat 2005

2. Overview
• In this session we will:
– Look at how the Appendices are structured
– Learn how to read the Appendices
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3. The Appendices
• Species subject to CITES regulation are divided
amongst three Appendices
I
II
III

4. • The three Appendices (I, II and III) are
included in the same document
http://www.cites.org/eng/app/E-Jul01.pdf
or web page
http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml
• The Appendices are divided into two sections,
Fauna and Flora
How to find a species in the Appendices
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5. How to find a species in the Appendices

6. 6
How to find a species in the Appendices
• If you know more or less what you are looking for
(e.g. blue corals, armadillos), the index to the
Appendices can guide you

7. • If you know the scientific or common name and have
the Checklist of CITES Species, look in the first part
(for animals) or in the second part (for plants)
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How to find a species in the Appendices

8. • If you know the scientific or common name and have
the Checklist of CITES Species, look in the first part
(for animals) or in the second part (for plants)
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How to find a species in the Appendices

9. How to find a species in the Appendices
• What if you do not have the Checklist of
CITES Species?
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10. How to find a species in the Appendices
• The Appendices contain more than 32,000
species of plants and animals
– To make this listing more practical, a number of
‘shortcuts’ are used that allow for listing of groups
of species, as appropriate
– Listings can also be annotated to designate
geographic coverage, types of products included
or excluded, quotas, and other considerations
• Using the Appendices requires careful
interpretation
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11. Taxonomy and nomenclature
• To be able to read the Appendices, some
knowledge of taxonomy and nomenclature is
required
– Taxonomy is a hierarchical classification system of
uniquely identifiable organisms, reflecting the
evolutionary relationship between these organisms
– Nomenclature is a naming system by which names
are assigned to organisms; these scientific names
are usually written in Latin
– The CoP determines which standard nomenclature is to be
used (currently the Checklist of CITES species)
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12. Taxonomy
• The arrangement of names in the Appendices
is different for animals and plants
– Animals: Hierarchical by taxonomic order
• For example, cats are listed before mongooses, which
are listed before the aardwolf
– Plants: Alphabetical by Family
• For example, to find the plant species Picrorhiza kurrooa,
you have to know to which family it belongs
(Scrophulariaceae)
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13. Hierarchical structure
• The plant or animal kingdom are subdivided
into sections of ever decreasing status
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species (spp.)
Sub-species (ssp.)
Phylum
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14. Hierarchical structure
• As an example, the following slides follow the
taxonomic structure from the Animal Kingdom
(top) to a species of crocodilian and its
subspecies (bottom)
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Phylum
Kingdom
Class Order
Genus
Species
Family
Subspecies

15. Taxonomy
Fauna
Cnidaria (phylum)
Arthropoda (phylum)
Mollusca (phylum)
Chordata (phylum)
Annelida (phylum)
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16. Taxonomy
Chordata (Phylum)
Reptilia (class)
Amphibia (class)
Pisces (class)
Aves (class)Mammalia (class)
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Elasmobranchii (class)

17. Taxonomy
Reptilia (class)
Sauria (order)
Serpentes (order)
Testudinata (order)
Crocodylia (order)Rynchocephalia
(order)
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18. Taxonomy
Crocodylia (order)
Crocodylidae (family)
Gavialidae (family)
Alligatoridae (family)
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19. Taxonomy
Alligatoridae (family)
Alligator (genus)
Caiman (genus)
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Paleosuchus (genus)
Melanosuchus (genus)

20. Taxonomy
Caiman (genus)
C. latirostris (species)
C. crocodilus (species)
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21. Taxonomy
Caiman crocodilus (species)
Also:
C.c. apaporiensis (subspecies)
C.c. crocodilus (subspecies)
C.c. yacare (subspecies or species)
C.c. fuscus (subspecies)
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22. The Appendices
• Listings in the Appendices may include a whole
Order or Class, and more commonly a whole Family
or Genus
• This means that the actual species name will not
appear if it is included in a higher taxonomic grouping
E.g. The Family Tupaiidae contains 19 species

23. Annotations
• Once the listing is found, you may notice
symbol and number references following the
listing
• These are annotations and are explained in
the section ‘Interpretation to the Appendices’
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Spp.
var.
# 5
Ssp.
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24. Annotations
• The annotations are presented in the Appendices in
three different ways
– If the text is not too long and applies to one taxon only, it is
immediately included after the name of the species
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25. Annotations
• The annotations are presented in the Appendices in
three different ways
– If the text is not too long and applies to one taxon only, it is
immediately included after the name of the species
– If the text is long, or applies to a limited number of species of
the same taxa, the annotation text is included as a footnote
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26. Annotations
• The annotations are presented in the Appendices in
three different ways
– If the text is not too long and applies to one taxon only, it is
immediately included after the name of the species
– If the text is long, or applies to a limited number of species of
the same taxa, the annotation text is included as a footnote
– If the text concerns parts and derivatives applying to a large
number of plant species, it is referenced with the symbol ‘#’
followed by a number, and the text of these annotations is
included at the end of the plant listings
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27. Annotation types -- Summary
• spp. -- all species of a higher taxon are included
• p. e. -- species is possibly extinct
• # x -- designation of parts and derivatives of plants
excluded from or included in the appendices
• Annotations included in the text of the Appendices, or
as footnotes, which relate to geographical coverage
and other special conditions (e.g. annotations for
Loxodonta africana and Vicugna vicugna)
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28. The Appendices and the Checklist
Caution
The Appendices are periodically revised, and
the Checklist of CITES Species is revised
after every meeting of the Conference of the
Parties
Ensure you use the most up to date references!
(the version on the CITES website
is always the most up to date)

29. Summary
• The Appendices follow a taxonomic hierarchy for
animals, and an alphabetical family listing for plants
• Species may be included within higher taxonomic
listings (Order, Family, Genus)
• Listings may be annotated, which provides specific
information on how the species is treated under
CITES
• Non-specialists may find the Appendices difficult to
read and interpret
• The Checklist of CITES Species is easier to use

30. CITES Secretariat
Geneva