obis.marine.taxon_search
Look up marine species taxonomy in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) via OBIS. Search by scientific name (genus, species, or higher taxon) to retrieve the full taxonomic hierarchy (kingdom through species), WoRMS AphiaID, taxonomic status, accepted name, authorship, and habitat flags (...
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/obis.marine.taxon-search.md
What obis.marine.taxon_search does on Apibase
AI agents call obis.marine.taxon_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 |
|---|---|---|---|
scientificname | string | Yes | Scientific name of the marine taxon to look up (e.g. "Tursiops truncatus", "Gadus", "Cetacea"). Returns full WoRMS taxonomy. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why obis.marine.taxon_search is rated Low
Tool queries taxonomic database and returns structured data without modifying or deleting any records.
From the tool's definition Look up marine species taxonomy, retrieve taxonomic hierarchy, search by scientific name
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs obis.marine.taxon_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 obis.marine.taxon_search, this is the rule to start with:
obis.marine.taxon_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 obis.marine.taxon_search call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about obis.marine.taxon_search
Look up marine species taxonomy in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) via OBIS. Search by scientific name (genus, species, or higher taxon) to retrieve the full taxonomic hierarchy (kingdom through species), WoRMS AphiaID, taxonomic status, accepted name, authorship, and habitat flags (marine / brackish / freshwater). Also returns common (vernacular) names. Source: OBIS + WoRMS — 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.taxon_search accepts 1 parameter: scientificname. Required: 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.taxon_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.
obis.marine.taxon_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 obis.marine.taxon_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 obis.marine.taxon_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.
obis.marine.taxon_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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