inaturalist.taxa.search
Look up a species or other taxon by common or scientific name, e.g. "monarch butterfly" or "Quercus". Returns matching taxa with their taxon_id (for use with inaturalist.observations_search and inaturalist.species_counts), taxonomic rank, common name, total observation count, extinct/threatened f...
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/inaturalist.taxa.search.md
What inaturalist.taxa.search does on Apibase
AI agents call inaturalist.taxa.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.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
rank | string | — | Restrict results to a taxonomic rank, e.g. "species", "genus", "family", "order", "class", "kingdom". |
query | string | Yes | Common or scientific name to search for, e.g. "monarch butterfly" or "Quercus". |
per_page | integer | — | Number of results to return, 1-30 (default 10). |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why inaturalist.taxa.search is rated Low
Tool retrieves taxonomic data from iNaturalist without modifying or executing operations.
From the tool's definition Look up a species or other taxon by common or scientific name. Returns matching taxa.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs inaturalist.taxa.search safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Apibase, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For inaturalist.taxa.search, this is the rule to start with:
inaturalist.taxa.search is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Apibase, apply this rule, and every inaturalist.taxa.search call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about inaturalist.taxa.search
Look up a species or other taxon by common or scientific name, e.g. "monarch butterfly" or "Quercus". Returns matching taxa with their taxon_id (for use with inaturalist.observations_search and inaturalist.species_counts), taxonomic rank, common name, total observation count, extinct/threatened flags, and a reference photo. Data: iNaturalist.org global citizen-science community, no auth required. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Apibase MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
inaturalist.taxa.search accepts 3 parameters: rank, query, per_page. Required: query. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Apibase MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for inaturalist.taxa.search: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Apibase. Nothing to install.
inaturalist.taxa.search is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the inaturalist.taxa.search rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for inaturalist.taxa.search. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
inaturalist.taxa.search is provided by the Apibase MCP server (apibase-mcp-client). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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