Vinkius
iNaturalist

iNaturalist MCP for AI. Find every species, count populations, and map biodiversity.

Claude Claude
ChatGPT ChatGPT
Cursor Cursor
Gemini Gemini
Windsurf Windsurf
VS Code VS Code
JetBrains JetBrains
Vercel Vercel
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Works with every AI agent you already use

…and any MCP-compatible client

iNaturalist MCP on Cursor AI Code EditoriNaturalist MCP on Claude Desktop AppiNaturalist MCP on OpenAI Agents SDKiNaturalist MCP on Visual Studio CodeiNaturalist MCP on GitHub Copilot AI AgentiNaturalist MCP on Google Gemini AIiNaturalist MCP on Lovable AI DevelopmentiNaturalist MCP on Mistral AI AgentsiNaturalist MCP on Amazon AWS Bedrock

Connect to your AI in seconds.

iNaturalist connects your agent to the world’s largest biodiversity database. Search millions of wildlife observations, identify species using scientific names, and map conservation status data from anywhere.

Get specific species counts by location or user activity without needing an API key for public records.

What your AI can do

Autocomplete taxa

Suggests the top 10 matching scientific names (taxa) to help you build accurate search queries.

Get controlled terms

Provides standardized vocabulary values for specific biological attributes, like life stage or sex.

Get identifications

Retrieves records of species identified by users, including the original observation and proposed species.

+ 7 more capabilities included
Search for specific wildlife records

Pull detailed observations by combining location, date range, species name, and required photo quality.

Calculate population totals

Determine how many times a particular species has been observed in a given area or by a specific user.

Find scientific details for any organism

Retrieve the formal taxonomy, conservation status, and common names for an identified species.

Explore community science projects

Locate ongoing biodiversity research initiatives curated by naturalists worldwide.

Included with Plan

Waiting for input…

AI Agent

iNaturalist: 10 Biodiversity Tools

These ten tools give you granular control over biodiversity data, letting your agent perform complex queries like counting populations or looking up specific taxonomic details.

Make your AI actually useful.

Add this MCP to Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf and your AI stops guessing. It gets real tools to look things up, take action, and handle the stuff you keep doing by hand.

Start using iNaturalist on Vinkius

Autocomplete Taxa

Suggests the top 10 matching scientific names (taxa) to help you build accurate search queries.

Get Controlled Terms

Provides standardized vocabulary values for specific biological attributes, like...

Get Identifications

Retrieves records of species identified by users, including the original observation...

Get Observation

Fetches all details for a single, specific wildlife sighting using its unique ID.

Get Observations By User

Gathers all observations made by one user, allowing you to track their activity...

Get Projects

Finds community-run biodiversity projects focused on specific places or types of wildlife.

Get Species Counts

Generates a count summary of observed species, grouped by location, user, or scientific group.

Get Taxon

Pulls the full scientific details—including rank and conservation status—for any...

Search Observations

Runs a powerful search across millions of observations, using filters for location...

Search Taxa

Searches the full catalog of species and groups (genera, families) by name or...

Security and governance baked right in.

Pick your AI client below to get set up. Just create a Vinkius account, subscribe, and you're instantly up and running. We handle the entire backend infrastructure, delivering out-of-the-box support for HTTPS Streamable, SSE, and OAuth2—zero messy routing required.

Claude AI

Claude AI

1

Open Claude Settings

Go to claude.ai, click your profile icon, then navigate to Customize → Connectors.

2

Add Custom Connector

Click the "+" button and select Add custom connector. Paste your Vinkius endpoint URL:

https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp

Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your token from cloud.vinkius.com. For OAuth-protected servers, expand Advanced settings to add credentials.

3

Start a conversation

Open a new chat. The iNaturalist integration is available immediately — no restart needed.

Choose How to Get Started

Build a custom MCP for your own tools, or connect a ready-made integration from our catalog.

Build Your Own

Turn any API into an MCP. Import a spec, define Agent Skills, or deploy with MCPFusion.

  • Import from OpenAPI, Swagger, or YAML specs
  • Create Agent Skills with progressive disclosure
  • Deploy to edge with MCPFusion framework
  • Built in DLP, auth, and compliance on every call
  • Real time usage dashboard and cost metering
  • Publish to catalog or keep private
Start building

Make Your AI Do More

Start with iNaturalist, then connect any of our 5,100+ other servers whenever your AI needs more. One click, no limits.

  • Use this MCP plus 5,100+ others, all in one place
  • Add new capabilities to your AI anytime you want
  • Every connection is secured and compliant automatically
  • Track usage and costs across all your servers
  • Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more
  • New servers added to the catalog every week
iNaturalist MCP server cover

Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by iNaturalist. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.

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Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more

The Model Context Protocol standardizes how applications expose capabilities to LLMs. Instead of operating in isolation, your AI gains direct access to external platforms, live data, and real-world actions through secure, standardized connections.

This connection provides 10 powerful capabilities that interface natively with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other compatible AI platforms. No middleware. No custom integration required.

Tracking species sightings used to be a mess of manual database checks.

If you're doing field research, today means manually cross-referencing IDs. You might check the website for observations, then jump to an academic journal site to confirm the genus, and finally use a map tool just to get location boundaries. It’s hours of clicking through tabs and copying names.

With this MCP, you keep all that data flow contained in one chat window. Ask your agent about 'all observed species near the river last spring.' You instantly get structured totals and records without ever leaving your interface.

get_species_counts Gives you population numbers, not just sightings.

The old way was to manually count every photo or record that mentioned a species. If the data came from 50 different sources, you’d have to do 50 separate tallies. That's prone to error and takes forever.

Now, use `get_species_counts`. You tell it the area and the time frame; it returns the definitive count summary immediately. It shifts your focus from counting data points to interpreting ecological patterns.

What your AI can actually do with this

Want to know what's actually in a patch of woods? This MCP lets your agent search the world’s biodiversity database conversationally. You stop guessing and start getting actionable, structured data.

Need to track local wildlife populations or confirm a scientific name? Your agent pulls everything from observation records—photos, locations, dates, and expert identifications. You can run species count analyses across specific areas, filter results by photo quality grade (research vs. casual), and pull full taxonomic details for any organism you find.

This is built to take the complexity out of real-world ecology data. Instead of hopping between academic databases, your agent handles it all in one query. It's a core piece of the Vinkius catalog that lets you turn vague curiosity into hard data points.

Built · Hosted · Managed by Vinkius iNaturalist MCP - Biodiversity & Species Data Search
Server ID 019d8448-a14f-7249-8901-5fafc89d1bda
Vinkius Inspector
Compliance Grade A+
Score 98.33/100
Vinkius Inspector Badge — Score 98.33/100

Questions you might have

How do I find all species in a specific area using search_observations? +

You need to use search_observations. Simply provide the desired location and date range. The tool returns records that match your geography and time parameters.

Is get_taxon reliable for confirming scientific names? +

Yes, get_taxon is designed to pull authoritative details. It gives you the full taxonomic rank, common name, and conservation status for maximum accuracy.

Can I find out what other users in my area have seen using get_observations_by_user? +

You can check a specific user's history with get_observations_by_user. This tool returns all their recorded sightings, letting you see patterns of activity.

What is the best way to search for different genera or families? Use search_taxa. +

Using search_taxa allows you to browse and filter by rank (like family or genus) rather than just a specific species name. This is great for broad comparative research.

If I know a specific observation ID, how do I get all its details using `get_observation`? +

You pass the unique ID directly into get_observation. This tool returns every piece of data associated with that single sighting, including photos and precise location coordinates.

What is the best way to find standardized terms for annotation options, like life stages or phenology? Should I use `get_controlled_terms`? +

Yes, get_controlled_terms provides official vocabularies. It gives you standardized lists for things like plant life stage and sex, ensuring your data uses consistent terminology.

I want to compare how many different species are found in an area versus just searching for them. Does `get_species_counts` help me with metrics? +

get_species_counts is designed for quantitative data, not just listing. It returns observation counts grouped by a taxon, place, or user, letting you survey abundance.

When I see an identification, how does `get_identifications` help me track who proposed it or which species were considered? +

This tool lets you filter identifications based on the proposing user or a specific taxon. It shows the proposed species alongside the original observation record.

Do I need an iNaturalist account? +

No! All public endpoints work without authentication. Just start searching. For write operations (creating observations, identifications), you'd need OAuth2 authentication.

What kind of species data is available? +

iNaturalist has 150M+ observations of plants, animals, fungi, insects and more. Each observation includes species ID, photos, location, date, observer info and community identifications.

Can I search for species in my area? +

Yes! Use search_observations with place_id, or lat/lng/radius parameters to filter by location. You can also use get_species_counts with place_id to see which species are most commonly observed in an area.

Built & Managed by Vinkius 30s setup 10 tools

We've already built the connector for iNaturalist. Just plug in your AI agents and start using Vinkius.

No hosting. No infrastructure. No complex setup.
All 10 tools are live and waiting. You're up and running in seconds.

Vinkius runs on Claude Claude
Vinkius runs on ChatGPT ChatGPT
Vinkius runs on Cursor Cursor
Vinkius runs on Gemini Gemini
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Vinkius runs on VS Code VS Code
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Vinkius runs on Vercel Vercel
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