obis.marine.checklist
Generate a species checklist from OBIS occurrence data for a given taxon group or geographic area. Returns a ranked list of species with occurrence record counts, full taxonomy (phylum/class/order/family/genus), WoRMS AphiaID, and marine/brackish habitat flags. Filter by parent taxon (e.g. "Mollu...
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/obis.marine.checklist.md
What obis.marine.checklist does on Apibase
AI agents call obis.marine.checklist 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
limit | integer | — | Number of species in the checklist to return (1-100, default 20). |
areaid | integer | — | OBIS area ID to restrict checklist to a geographic region. Use area search to find IDs. |
taxonid | integer | — | WoRMS AphiaID to filter checklist by taxon. Alternative to scientificname for precise filtering. |
marine_only | boolean | — | If true (default), restricts results to marine-only species. Set false to include brackish/coastal taxa. |
scientificname | string | — | Scientific name filter — restricts checklist to a taxon and its descendants (e.g. "Mollusca" for all molluscs). |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why obis.marine.checklist is rated Low
Retrieves and queries publicly available marine biodiversity data without side effects.
From the tool's definition Generate checklist from occurrence data, returns ranked species list with taxonomy.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs obis.marine.checklist 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 obis.marine.checklist, this is the rule to start with:
obis.marine.checklist 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 obis.marine.checklist call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about obis.marine.checklist
Generate a species checklist from OBIS occurrence data for a given taxon group or geographic area. Returns a ranked list of species with occurrence record counts, full taxonomy (phylum/class/order/family/genus), WoRMS AphiaID, and marine/brackish habitat flags. Filter by parent taxon (e.g. "Mollusca" for all molluscs), WoRMS AphiaID, or OBIS area ID. Useful for biodiversity assessments, EIA surveys, and species inventories. Source: OBIS — free, CC BY 4.0, no auth required. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Apibase MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
obis.marine.checklist accepts 5 parameters: limit, areaid, taxonid, marine_only, scientificname. 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 obis.marine.checklist: 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.
obis.marine.checklist 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 obis.marine.checklist 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 obis.marine.checklist. 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.
obis.marine.checklist 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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