Species Identification Subreddit

Because it bit you and you might die.
Because you're at the top of the food chain.
Because evolution itself is evolving.
Because not knowing is ignominious.
Because it's what's for dinner.

About

Devoted to the crowdsourced identification of unidentified species of any specimen including fungi, plants, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.

You post it, and we'll try to identify it.

Goal

The goal is to label the specimen in each post with the common name(s), species name, and possibly add links to sources of information that can back up that claim.

Formatting

Submit a photo or photos of the organism in question and the community will try its best to figure out the specimen's phylogeny classification.

Successful IDs necessitate decent information regarding the specimen. Any relevant info regarding the specimen from multiple photographs (different angles, proximity, et cetera), sighting details, and other circumstantial information is encouraged.

At the very least, make the best attempt to give a location and or time of year and or time of day for the submission. If the photo(s) in question are blurry or less than stellar, please provide a few decent visual details in the description.

Subreddiquette

Hopefully, everyone in the community can chime in and a consensus can be reached.

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.

Also, please adhere to the reddiquette rules and guidelines.

Subreddita

Kingdom: Animalia

• /r/animals
• /r/animalID
• /r/zoology

Phylum: Chordata

Superclass: Osteichthyes

• /r/whatsthisfish

Classes: Reptilia/Amphibia

• /r/snakes
• /r/herpetology

Class: Aves

• /r/birdpics
• /r/whatsthisbird

Class: Mammalia

• /r/whales
• for all pet-related subs, see /r/pets’ sidebar

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Arachnida

• /r/arachnids
  
• /r/spiders
  
• /r/tarantulas
• /r/Scorpions
• /r/amblypygids
• /r/vinegaroons

Class: Insecta

• /r/butterflies
• /r/insects
• /r/entomology
• /r/whatsthisbug
• /r/mantids
• /r/ants

Phylum: Annelida

• /r/leeches

Kingdom: Plantae

• /r/whatsthisplant
• /r/botany
• /r/berries
• /r/flowers
• /r/gardening
• /r/GuerrillaGardening
• /r/treeplanting

Kingdom: Fungi

• /r/mycology
• /r/shroomers

Fossils

• /r/fossilid

Microscopic (Kingdom: Chromista, Protozoa, Bacteria)

• /r/microbiology

General

• /r/answers
• /r/askscience
• /r/biology
• /r/discoveredspecies
• /r/ecology
• /r/invasivespecies
• /r/science
• /r/softscience

Resources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylogenetics
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylogenetic_tree
• http://species.wikimedia.org/
• http://bugguide.net/
• http://www.whatsthatbug.com/
• http://www.ispot.org.uk/
• http://www.projectnoah.org/