@pipeworx/catalogueoflife

Connect: https://gateway.pipeworx.io/catalogueoflife/mcp · Install: one-click buttons

Tools: 8

Catalogue of Life MCP — the global taxonomic index of known species (~2.2 M accepted names). Wraps the ChecklistBank API that backs COL. Keyless.

The default dataset is 3LR (the latest COL release). Pass dataset to override (e.g. 3 for the editorial-state COL dataset, or any ChecklistBank dataset key).

Tools

• search(query, dataset?, limit?, offset?, rank?, status?) — name-usage search
• name_match(scientific_name, dataset?, authorship?) — exact-name match (returns 0/1 hit + suggestions)
• usage(id, dataset?) — single name-usage by id
• taxon(id, dataset?) — taxon by id
• classification(id, dataset?) — taxonomic classification chain (kingdom → species)
• vernacular(id, dataset?) — vernacular (common) names for a taxon
• synonyms(id, dataset?) — synonyms of a taxon
• children(id, dataset?, limit?) — direct child taxa

Data source

https://api.checklistbank.org/dataset/{key}/...

Tools

• search — “What is the scientific name of [animal/plant]” / “what family does [species] belong to” / “look up [organism] taxonomy” / “find [genus/family] in the tree of life” / “common name → Latin binomial” /
• name_match — “Is [Panthera leo] a valid scientific name” / “exact match for [Latin binomial]” / “disambiguate homonyms” — exact scientific-name match returning 0 or 1 hit plus close alternatives. Use when you have
• usage — Fetch a single Catalogue of Life name-usage record by its COL ID, returning taxon name, authorship, rank, status (accepted/synonym), and source dataset. Use after search or name_match to retrieve the
• taxon — Fetch a Catalogue of Life accepted taxon record by its COL taxon ID, returning the accepted concept with name, rank, and authorship. Pair with classification for lineage, children to descend the tree,
• classification — “What kingdom / phylum / class / order / family / genus is [species] in” / “taxonomy of [organism]” / “show me the lineage of [animal/plant]” / “where does [species] sit in the tree of life” — returns
• vernacular — “What’s the common name for [Latin binomial]” / “what do people call [scientific name]” / “vernacular names of [species]” — list common/vernacular names (in various languages) for a Catalogue of Life
• synonyms — “What are the synonyms of [species]” / “old name for [organism]” / “alternative scientific names” — list synonyms (alternative or historical scientific names) currently mapped to a single Catalogue of
• children — “What species are in [genus]” / “all members of [family]” / “species under [order]” / “direct descendants of [taxon]” — list immediate child taxa under a Catalogue of Life parent taxon. Use to walk do