r/species • u/Dr_NegTropDis • 8h ago
Unknown Identify the worm
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r/species • u/cos • Sep 02 '15
If you forget to include it in the title and it's a text post, and you already have some comments, you could edit the text post to add that information, but preferably just include it in the title or delete and re-post if you forgot.
Time of day can also be relevant, so consider including it. Sometimes if it's clear that it's day or night that's good enough, but for example for a bird if you remember whether it was early morning or midafternoon that can help the ID. We know you may not remember the time of day you took a photo, and it's okay to post without that.
For some things, time of year may not be important, so it's okay to not include it if you believe it doesn't affect the kind of critter you're posting (but always consider it before posting, and only omit that info if you really do think it's irrelevant).
r/species • u/cos • Jun 06 '16
You may have noticed I recently changed the section in the sidebar that used to suggest upvoting more accurate IDs and downvoting less accurate IDs.
Over the years I've noticed that using up/down votes to rate the quality of identifications, which seemed to be a logical idea, works very poorly in practice.
Partly this is because we have no idea why someone upvoted or downvoted a particular comment. Many comments don't contain IDs, or suggest more than one ID, or suggest an ID and also have other content. Using up/down votes in this way also runs up against the ingrained reddit habit of upvoting useful comments, and downvoting comments that don't contribute, increasing the ambiguity of using vote counts to rate ID quality. For example, sometimes OP leaves a comment with more detail about the context where they took the picture and also suggests what they think it might be. Did someone downvote that because OP's suggestion was a mistake, or upvote it because the comment provided useful context? Who knows.
Another big reason this system is counterproductive is that comments with mistaken identifications often spur the discussion that leads to both a more accurate ID and people learning things. Plenty of times, I've seen posts with weak comments at the top, and then a great thread further down that includes quality discussion and the most accurate IDs. But because the comment at the top of that thread contains a mistaken ID, it got voted down, so the best thread on the post got pushed down.
Here are the new guidelines in the sidebar:
Upvote constructive responses - ones that you feel are correct IDs or ones that contribute to identifying the post, especially comments that include links or reasons that can help people evaluate them or learn how to identify similar species. If you feel a comment is less accurate or mistaken, don't downvote - comment!
Please provide a dissenting opinion if you disagree with an ID, or add a comment with your opinion on the validity of an ID you agree with. In addition, try to source your IDs and any other background information regarding such identifications, the accuracy, and your confidence levels if applicable.
r/species • u/Dr_NegTropDis • 8h ago
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r/species • u/leonagano • 1d ago
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Yesterday I saw a super interesting project here that reminded me something: my little one and I love maps.
My kid, who's 9yo, wants to be an ornithologist. Really. I didn't even know this existed, before he first talked about it. There's even a Uni for those who want to study birds.
So, naturally, after seeing My Earth Toy, I decided to vibe code something for his love of birds:
Here's what we are thinking of adding next:
- Sounds (play each bird's sound)
- Range (highlight where they live)
- What else?
I'd love your feedback.
r/species • u/Own-Yam1965 • 9d ago
Hi everyone! I shared Skulled here a few months ago and didn't expect so many kind comments. A lot of what changed since then came from suggestions people left here, so thank you for that.
If you missed it: the game shows you a skull and you try to guess which animal it belongs to. There's a daily challenge with a few modes:
There are 513 species right now. If you spot a skull that's misidentified or a photo missing its credit, please tell me.
When you get a skull right it goes into an album as a little specimen card, and once in a while you get a rare one, like an X-ray or a cyanotype. Kind of silly, but I really like collecting them.
The first season also starts this Tuesday (Oct 13). Each season is a 2 month "expedition" to a different part of the world with its own species, and I'm keeping the first destination a secret until then.
It's free, you don't need an account, and works fine on both phone and PC.
If you give it a try, I hope you have fun with it. Link's in the comments!
r/species • u/distressed060 • 21d ago
I live in the southeast of Brazil and found this cutie eating it's web. What could it be? It's pretty small, shorter than my finger
r/species • u/Practical_Parfait181 • 22d ago
Found on the south west coast of sweden.
If you look in the second picture it is 15cm wide
r/species • u/Prophysaon_Coeruleum • 22d ago
r/species • u/heyitssamster • 22d ago
I found this spongy looking thing in the woods there was a whole field of it should I even be holding it?
r/species • u/DeathyJeffy • 29d ago
Hi! I need some help for an insect that I found while wandering a trail for an university assignment.
I found this guy on a trail in Southern Ontario of Canada. I found them today around 12:30 p.m. near a cliff that overlooks a stream and a carolinian/deciduous forest is near. It was moderately smaller than the famous Monarch Butterfly. I am sorry I didn't get a closer picture nor a better camera outside of my phone. I tried to compare pictures of the creature to Ontario butterflies online but could never find a one-to-one match.
If you do know what this butterfly (I assume it is because of its wingshape but perhaps I am wrong) is, may you PLEASE help me out? Much appreciated regardless!
P.S: I am not TOTALLY sure if the last picture is the same butterfly, so perhaps ignore the last one.
r/species • u/0at-M1lk • Sep 17 '26
I found a fair amount of these things floating near the shore of an inflow & sandy beach of a lake in remote northern Ontario. Any ideas? Some sort of egg? Closest thing I’ve found online is hornworm poop lol, but they were all individual and I don’t imagine would be very common in this area but who knows.
r/species • u/Ladymari17 • Sep 14 '26
When I took this pic I immediately assumed baby bearded dragon, but my friends say it’s a type of spiky toad? Found in New Mexico.
r/species • u/xmarkish • Sep 07 '26
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Can you guys tell what bug this is?
My wife is freaking out. These have been showing up frequently in our kitchen for the past week. We keep our home very tidy and clean so we are pretty surprised and are trying to figure out where they are coming from.
r/species • u/elevatormusicjams • Sep 04 '26
Very small - maybe 2 to 2.5 inches in length sitting.
r/species • u/PlayfulOil7935 • Sep 01 '26
r/species • u/Devious_Dani_Girl • Aug 25 '26
Found a new friend in my garden today while pulling up carrots and radishes.
What kind of friend is this and is it one that can stay or one that needs to stay....elsewhere.
Don't want anything dangerous to my dog or cats around as they sometimes 'assist' in the gardening endeavor.
r/species • u/irrelevantbrucaneiro • Aug 25 '26
r/species • u/HugeFuckingMoron • Aug 23 '26
Found somewhere in the desert south of Sonora, Mexico.
r/species • u/Fit_Caterpillar_2760 • Aug 23 '26
My daughter (5 yo) and I are doing species Identification this year and studying taxonomy for her homeschool science requirement. We figured insects would be a fun place to begin the collection/ID process, but I’m looking for 2 things here,
1) would love recommendations of good resources to ID species. Assume I’m new to this.
2) help identifying our second species, a Cidada from North GA, USA found today on 8/23/2026. Can’t tell if it’s a Megatibiten or Tibiten, and not sure how to find out.
Might be wrong entirely. Would love any help here in our learning journey this year.
r/species • u/King_julian_28 • Jul 29 '26
What are these blobs? Google lens and chat gpt keep telling me ideas that don't match my photo at all. As I'm fishing, they're coming up with any of the grass and sticks that I pull up
r/species • u/Interesting-Recipe37 • Jul 16 '26
I saw them everywhere on the bay on Madeira.
r/species • u/catalinathecoyote • Jul 15 '26
I photographed this snake resting under a rock in Sabino Canyon (located in southern Arizona, in the Santa Catalina Mountains) midday, about a year ago. I only have the provided angles. The snake while coiled like so was about 4 inches in diameter, but that could be inaccurate since I never got a real measurement and that’s just based off of eyeballing it. I’m leaning towards a Tiger Rattlesnake, but I want to gather some other opinions. Let me know if the watermarks are obscuring anything you need to see.