inaturalist-mcp-server

Inaturalist Get Similar Species

inaturalist_get_similar_species

Read-only

List the taxa this one is most often misidentified as, ranked by how many times identifiers made the correction — the field-identification check before committing to a look-alike. Scope it to an area in exactly one form (place_id, the lat/lng/radius triple in kilometres, or a four-corner bounding box) to see the confusion set a specific region actually produces, or leave the area off for the global set. The taxon must be a genus or finer (genus, species, or below) — upstream keeps no confusion set for a family, order, or anything coarser. Resolve the organism name to a taxon id with inaturalist_resolve_name first.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`d1`	No	Earliest observation date, YYYY-MM-DD. Inclusive. Must be on or before d2.
`d2`	No	Latest observation date, YYYY-MM-DD. Inclusive.
`lat`	No	Latitude of the search centre, in decimal degrees. Requires lng and radius.
`lng`	No	Longitude of the search centre, in decimal degrees. Requires lat and radius.
`limit`	No	Maximum look-alikes to return. Applied in-process — the upstream endpoint publishes no page size and returns its whole confusion set.
`nelat`	No	North-east corner latitude of the bounding box, at or north of swlat. All four corners or none.
`nelng`	No	North-east corner longitude of the bounding box. All four corners or none. West of swlng is accepted: it describes a box crossing the antimeridian.
`swlat`	No	South-west corner latitude of the bounding box. All four corners or none.
`swlng`	No	South-west corner longitude of the bounding box. All four corners or none.
`radius`	No	Search radius around lat/lng, in KILOMETRES, greater than 0. Requires lat and lng. The upstream publishes no bound; 500 is a verified ceiling this server imposes.
`captive`	No	Whether to include captive and cultivated records — zoo animals, garden plantings. Defaults to wild organisms only.
`place_id`	No	Numeric iNaturalist place id from inaturalist_find_places. Mutually exclusive with the lat/lng/radius triple and the bounding box. A non-numeric value answers HTTP 500 upstream.
`taxon_id`	Yes	Numeric taxon id to find look-alikes for, at genus or finer — a genus, species, or subspecies; a family or anything coarser is refused. Resolve a name to an id with inaturalist_resolve_name.
`quality_grade`	No	Identification confidence tiers to include. Defaults to research-grade only; adding "needs_id" roughly doubles the corpus and lowers identification confidence.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`cap`	No	The limit that was applied.
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`shown`	No	How many look-alikes this response carries.
`notice`	No	Guidance when no look-alikes are recorded, or when the limit cut the set.
`taxon_id`	No	The taxon the look-alikes were found for.
`truncated`	No	True when the limit cut the confusion set.
`totalCount`	No	How many look-alikes upstream returned, before the limit was applied.
`similar_species`	No	Look-alikes ranked by misidentification_count, most-confused first.
`truncationCeiling`	No	Misidentification count of the last look-alike shown. The ranking is descending, so no omitted look-alike exceeds it.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed3 schema fields changedSep 24, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / taxon_id / description

Previous value: -"Numeric taxon id to find look-alikes for. Resolve a name to an id with inaturalist_resolve_name."New value: +"Numeric taxon id to find look-alikes for, at genus or finer — a genus, species, or subspecies; a family or anything coarser is refused. Resolve a name to an id with inaturalist_resolve_name."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_geography`: An area was given partially, in two forms at once, with a radius of 0 or less, or with nelat south of swlat. `inverted_date_range`: d1 is after d2. `unknown_taxon_id`: iNaturalist answered 422 because the taxon_id does not exist. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_geography`: An area was given partially, in two forms at once, with a radius of 0 or less, or with nelat south of swlat. `inverted_date_range`: d1 is after d2. `unknown_taxon_id`: iNaturalist answered 422 because the taxon_id does not exist. `taxon_rank_too_coarse`: iNaturalist answered 422 because the taxon is coarser than genus, such as a family, order, or class. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples

Previous value: -[
-  "invalid_geography",
-  "inverted_date_range",
-  "unknown_taxon_id"
-]New value: +[
+  "invalid_geography",
+  "inverted_date_range",
+  "unknown_taxon_id",
+  "taxon_rank_too_coarse"
+]

Changed7 schema fields changedSep 22, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / d1 / description

Previous value: -"Earliest observation date, YYYY-MM-DD. Inclusive."New value: +"Earliest observation date, YYYY-MM-DD. Inclusive. Must be on or before d2."

changedInput schema / properties / nelat / description

Previous value: -"North-east corner latitude of the bounding box. All four corners or none."New value: +"North-east corner latitude of the bounding box, at or north of swlat. All four corners or none."

changedInput schema / properties / nelng / description

Previous value: -"North-east corner longitude of the bounding box. All four corners or none."New value: +"North-east corner longitude of the bounding box. All four corners or none. West of swlng is accepted: it describes a box crossing the antimeridian."

changedInput schema / properties / radius / description

Previous value: -"Search radius around lat/lng, in KILOMETRES. Requires lat and lng. The upstream publishes no bound; 500 is a verified ceiling this server imposes."New value: +"Search radius around lat/lng, in KILOMETRES, greater than 0. Requires lat and lng. The upstream publishes no bound; 500 is a verified ceiling this server imposes."

removedInput schema / properties / radius / minimum
```
Removed value: -0
```

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_geography`: An area was given partially or in two forms at once. `unknown_taxon_id`: iNaturalist answered 422 because the taxon_id does not exist. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_geography`: An area was given partially, in two forms at once, with a radius of 0 or less, or with nelat south of swlat. `inverted_date_range`: d1 is after d2. `unknown_taxon_id`: iNaturalist answered 422 because the taxon_id does not exist. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples

Previous value: -[
-  "invalid_geography",
-  "unknown_taxon_id"
-]New value: +[
+  "invalid_geography",
+  "inverted_date_range",
+  "unknown_taxon_id"
+]

First observedSep 20, 2026

TDQS

A4.6/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Even with readOnlyHint and openWorldHint annotations present, the description adds substantial behavioral detail: ranking by identifier corrections, global vs. regional confusion sets, the taxon-rank restriction (genus or finer), and the upstream's refusal to supply confusion sets for coarser taxa. It also surfaces the prerequisite of resolving names first. This exceeds what annotations alone provide.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is three dense sentences with zero fluff. The core action is front-loaded, followed by scoping rules, then the taxon constraint and prerequisite. Every sentence carries distinct value, and the structure guides the agent from what → how → when.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given the tool's complexity (14 parameters, rich schema, and an output schema), the description covers the critical decision points: purpose, area scoping modes, taxon rank restriction, and the resolve-name prerequisite. It leaves detailed per-parameter semantics to the schema, which is appropriate. It could mention the default behavior of limit or quality_grade, but those are fully documented in the schema, so the omission is acceptable.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3. The description adds meaningful group semantics beyond the schema: it clarifies that area scoping accepts exactly one of three forms, that omitting the area yields the global set, and that the taxon must be genus or finer. It also ties the spatial parameters together conceptually, which the schema conveys only through individual mutual-exclusion notes.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description opens with a specific verb and resource: 'List the taxa this one is most often misidentified as, ranked by how many times identifiers made the correction.' This clearly distinguishes it from sibling tools like inaturalist_get_histogram or inaturalist_get_species_counts, which serve different analytical purposes. The field-identification framing leaves no ambiguity about the tool's role.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

The description gives clear context for when to use the tool: as a field-identification check before committing to a look-alike. It explicitly instructs the agent to resolve names first with inaturalist_resolve_name and explains the three mutually exclusive area scoping options. It does not explicitly name sibling alternatives or state 'do not use for X,' so it falls just short of a 5.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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