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paleobiology-mcp-server

by io.github.cyanheads

paleobiology-mcp-server: list geologic intervals

paleobiology_list_intervals
Read-onlyIdempotent

Look up the geologic time scale — eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages with their absolute-age boundaries in millions of years (Ma) and nesting. This is the reference that grounds every temporal filter on the other tools and translates a named interval like "Late Cretaceous" to its 100.5–66.0 Ma boundaries (and back). Filter by a name substring, a Ma range (overlap match), and/or a level; call with no filters to browse the full scale. Browsing and every name on the bundled ICS international-scale snapshot are answered offline. A name the snapshot does not carry — the sub-stage and regional names that occurrence and collection rows report, such as "Late Maastrichtian" or "Lancian" — costs one PBDB lookup across its other time scales; the response names which source answered and which scale the interval belongs to.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
nameNoCase-insensitive substring of the interval name, e.g. "cretaceous" or "Jurassic". A name the bundled international scale does not carry is matched exactly against PBDB's other time scales.
levelNoRestrict to one rank of the international scale: eon, era, period, epoch, or age (finest). Browsing is bounded to that scale, so the sub-stage and regional ranks are not selectable here.
max_maNoOlder bound of an age window (Ma); intervals overlapping [min_ma, max_ma] match.
min_maNoYounger bound of an age window (Ma); intervals overlapping [min_ma, max_ma] match.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
errorNoPresent when the call failed. Absent on success.
noticeNoGuidance when no interval matched the filters.
sourceNoWhich source answered: "bundled_ics" for the offline international-scale snapshot, "pbdb_upstream" for a name resolved live against PBDB's other time scales.
intervalsNoMatching geologic intervals, sorted oldest-first.
totalCountNoNumber of intervals matched by the filters.
snapshot_versionNoICS chart version and generation date of the bundled time scale, for citation.

TDQS

A5/5.0
Behavior5/5

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

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, openWorldHint, and idempotentHint; the description adds substantial non-obvious behavior beyond these: offline answers on the bundled ICS snapshot, a one-PBDB-lookup cost for unsupported names, and the response naming which source/scale answered. No contradiction with annotations.

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?

Four sentences, front-loaded with purpose and role, followed by filtering options and then offline/online behavior. It is dense but every sentence carries distinct information with no filler or repetition of schema text.

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

Completeness5/5

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

For a lookup tool with zero required parameters, an output schema, full schema coverage, and safety annotations, the description covers filter combinations, offline vs online behavior, response provenance, and the tool's role relative to siblings. Nothing an agent needs to call it correctly is missing.

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

Parameters5/5

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

Schema coverage is 100%, so a baseline of 3 applies, but the description enriches every parameter: case-insensitive substring matching vs exact PBDB matching for non-bundled names, overlap semantics of the Ma range, and the level restriction to eon/era/period/epoch/age. The no-filter browse behavior is also made explicit.

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?

States a specific verb and resource: look up the geologic time scale with eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages and their Ma boundaries. It also distinguishes itself from the sibling data-query tools by declaring that it grounds every temporal filter on the other tools, so an agent can route correctly.

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

Usage Guidelines5/5

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

Explicitly tells the agent when to use the tool — as the reference grounding temporal filters on the other tools — and how to call it: filter by name substring, Ma range, level, or no filters to browse the full scale. It also clarifies the offline vs one-PBDB-lookup behavior for names not in the bundled snapshot, which is exactly the decision-relevant usage context.

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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TDQS

A4.7/5.0
Disambiguation5/5

Each tool targets a clearly distinct resource or workflow: taxa, intervals, occurrences, collections, diversity curves, and staged dataframe inspection. Even the two analysis-oriented tools (get_diversity and dataframe_query) are separated by whether the user needs a precomputed curve or arbitrary SQL over staged results.

Naming Consistency4/5

All tools share the paleobiology_ prefix and use clear snake_case names, so the set is predictable overall. The minor deviation is that dataframe_describe and dataframe_query place the object before the verb, while the other five tools use verb_object ordering (get_diversity, get_taxon, list_intervals, search_collections, search_occurrences).

Tool Count5/5

Seven tools is a well-scoped size for a Paleobiology Database client: two search tools, two lookup tools, two dataframe-analysis tools, and a diversity-curve tool. Each tool earns its place without redundancy or bloat.

Completeness5/5

The surface covers the full read-only workflow: resolve taxa, look up time intervals, search occurrences and collections, compute diversity curves, and run SQL analysis over large staged occurrence sets. No obvious gaps exist for the stated domain; pagination and staging hand-offs create no dead ends.

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