# col.species.search

Search the Catalogue of Life (COL) for species, genera, families, and other taxa by scientific or common name. COL is the most comprehensive global index of known species, covering ~10 million extant and extinct taxa assembled from 600+ peer-reviewed checklists. Returns paginated results including taxon ID, scientific name with authorship, rank, taxonomic status (accepted/synonym), higher classification (kingdom through genus), and English vernacular names where available. Filter by taxonomic rank (SPECIES, GENUS, FAMILY, ORDER, CLASS, PHYLUM, KINGDOM) or status (accepted, synonym) to narrow results. Use the returned taxon ID with col.species.detail to retrieve full details, or col.species.children to list child taxa. Data is CC BY 4.0; cite as "Catalogue of Life (COL)" with the access date.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `col.species.search`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/col.species.search

## Facts

- Tool: `col.species.search`
- Server: Apibase (`apibase-mcp-client`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase.md
- Install: `npx -y apibase-mcp-client`
- Homepage: https://github.com/whiteknightonhorse/APIbase
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade F, identity unverified
- Server auth posture: open
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 5 (1 required)
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `rank` | string | no | Restrict results to a specific taxonomic rank. One of: KINGDOM, PHYLUM, CLASS, ORDER, SUPERFAMILY, FAMILY, TRIBE, GENUS, SPECIES, SUBSPECIES, VARIETY, FORM. |
| `limit` | integer | no | Maximum number of results to return (1–50, default 10). |
| `query` | string | yes | Scientific or common name to search (e.g. "Homo sapiens", "Pinus sylvestris", "oak"). Partial names and genus-level queries are supported. |
| `offset` | integer | no | Zero-based pagination offset for retrieving additional result pages (default 0). |
| `status` | string | no | Filter by taxonomic status. Use "accepted" to return only currently accepted names, "synonym" for synonyms, or omit to return all. |

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "col.species.search",
    "arguments": {
      "query": "<query>"
    }
  }
}
```

## Why col.species.search is rated Low

Tool queries a taxonomic database and returns data with no side effects or modifications.

From the tool's own definition: "Search the Catalogue of Life for species, genera, families by scientific or common name. Returns paginated results."

## Use case

AI agents call col.species.search to retrieve information from Apibase without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Apibase:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "col.species.search": {}
  }
}
```

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## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase