me & bestie when we find a really good blade of grass

Riverweeds are flowering plants that live in fast-moving rivers. Pablo Carrillo-Reyes (pcarreyes on iNaturalist) found this colony of Marathrum on a river trail near Yelapa, Jalisco. He’s a botany professor at the University of Guadalajara and curator of its herbarium.🧵⤵️

You're looking at a possible FIRST-EVER iNaturalist record of this delightfully fuzzy moth, scientific name Lindnerica semireducta!

A well-known common name for this animal is a Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis). We think it's the most weasel one could be.

Ariel Bonkoski is based in Minnesota & teaches mushroom foraging & identification. As said by iNat community member cabrabrazy: “She puts in SO MUCH WORK to ID this difficult group of fungi and deserves recognition for her efforts. We call her the Polypore Queen.” (1/3)

#iNatTogether ran from September 18 through 28, and we asked one thing of everyone: bring someone outside with you and explore nature together. You did! iNaturalist Ambassadors hosted more than 280 events across the world — we loved them all, but here are just a few highlights.

Beetles, birds, jumping spiders, frogs, and so much more! Since September 18, more than 4,500 people have shared over 80,000 observations of more than 14,000 species for the first-ever #iNatTogether celebration.

Do you use #iNaturalist data in research—or advise students who do? We put together a practical guide to using iNaturalist data in scientific research, covering how to access, acquire, analyze, and attribute the data, with examples in R and Python. Paper: doi.org/10.1093/bios... #ecology

#ICYMI: My latest publication uses secondary observations on @inaturalist.bsky.social to expand our knowledge of predatory gastropod diets! 🐚🐌 Check out the #openaccess early view of the paper at @canjzoology.bsky.social @cdnsciencepub.com! cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/... 🧪🌍🦤🦑

iNaturalist observations drastically expand knowledge of naticid predation in the northwest Atlantic

Comprehensive knowledge of predator diets is essential for studying predator-prey dynamics and understanding predation risk for species of economic importance and conservation concern. Globally, natic...

cdnsciencepub.com

Tarantulas, stalked jellies, stunning beetles, & so much more — you've already found so many incredible things during the first-ever #iNatTogether celebration, and there's still time! Find an event near you, meet some new friends, and get outside to look closer at your nearby nature: buff.ly/7fsX6vs

We're hiring! iNaturalist is looking for an HR & Administrative Associate to join our Administration team. This is a hybrid role (must reside within 50 miles of San Rafael, CA). Apply by October 9: app.beapplied.com/apply/jzkmcn...

Time to get outside & touch some grass! #iNatTogether has officially started. 😎 👀 If you want to meet new people to explore nature with, find an iNat Together event near you, hosted by some of our incredible iNaturalist Ambassadors: www.inaturalist.org/pages/inatto...

which one(s) are you?

This beautiful viper species — Azemiops feae — is found at altitudes up to 1000 meters in mountain areas of northern Vietnam through southern China, southeast Myanmar and southeast Tibet.

Heads up: iNaturalist will be offline for 1.5 hours beginning Wednesday, September 16 at 9pm Pacific Daylight Time. More details: forum.inaturalist.org/t/1-5-hours-...

Meet Pyrola sumatrana! "A rare, locally endemic tropical Pyrola species. This is possibly the first image of a living plant of this species on the internet," says Kai-Philipp Schablewski, an experienced plant identifier on iNaturalist.

Pollinators are struggling in a lot of places, but no scientist can be everywhere at once. September 12 is Butterfly Big Day, a worldwide day of heading outside to notice local butterflies — and helping protect them through community science.

GO TOUCH GRASS (with your friends)

There are just over 320 iNaturalist observations of the Chilean Black Snail (Macrocyclis peruvianus), the largest land snail in Chile and the only living species in its genus. Read Pablo's story: www.inaturalist.org/blog/135712-...

it's inevitable 🤷 📸 by Tim Paasila

This adorable jumping spider is Fuentes yucatan — and you're looking at the first-ever iNaturalist record of the genus Fuentes! From the observer: "It's also the first record of the genus (and species) from Guatemala. Existing records are from Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama."

Look closely: this tortoise beetle is carrying around a dozen tiny hitchhikers. They're parasitoid wasps, each under 2mm, riding on a female Aspidomorpha chlorotica and waiting for her to lay her eggs, which they'll eventually parasitize.

It's always a good day to admire a snail. (You're looking at the species Plectostylus araucanus!)

In 2021, Kevin Faccenda started walking the University of Hawai'i campus, collecting every grass species he could find. Right outside the botany building, he found one that had never been recorded in Hawai'i. He's been working on grass taxonomy ever since.

Look closer at your local lilies! This one is Lori's Water-lily (Nymphaea loriana), which is known from only 3 populations in the wild. From naturalist Dustin Snider's notes on this observation: "Visited with local botanist Dave Biggs — a bucket lister for us both!"

Nankeen Night Herons (Nycticorax caledonicus): always majestic, never fail to bring the mood.

There are 31 iNaturalist observations of the harvestman Algidia viridata. Sebastian Doak has made 22 of them. Read his story: tr.ee/AwmgQ0_gh3

You're looking at the first and only iNaturalist record of a Puno Shade Lizard (Alopoglossus andeanus)! Reptile identifier Pete Zani noted the keeled scales on the side of its neck, smooth and bluntly pointed belly scales, and a few other features that align with the description of this species.

Meet the Indo-Pacific Rock-boring Urchin (Echinometra mathaei) ... "boring" only in the sense of drilling a socket into solid rock with its spines and its teeth, then living in it. Dull it is not!

Behold: two Long-bodied Cellar Spiders (Pholcus phalangioides) preying on a centipede in Brazil. They're an introduced species there, and around much of the world ... you might have one near you, too!