Currently, when uploading an observation, iNat defaults to ‘Complex’ (if the species is part of a Complex), instead of the species BUT only displays the species name during the upload process.
An example of this is Phidippus audax (a common Salticid). When uploading the observation, the iNat software detects the words ‘Phidippus audax’ within the names of the photo files I am uploading and fills the species box with those two words, not ‘Complex Phidippus audax’. The full ‘Complex Phidippus audax’ only shows up when the observation is uploaded. Upon seeing this after uploading, I’m then forced to edit the observation to correct it.
Since iNat software defaults to Complex, then display the ‘Complex’. Displaying only the species name is misleading & time-wasting.
You’ve got my vote! This would certainly do a lot to help for taxa such as Narceus americanus and Porcellionides pruinosus, in which they are almost always not IDable to species.
We discussed this and are considering how best to display taxonomic rank in the UI. What makes it difficult to do in the “Species” field in the uploader is that the field is also a text search field, so adding “complex” or “section” to it is tricky. One option would be to display the rank below the Species field, which I think could work, it just needs to be designed well.
I agree this is a major time sink and a very frustrating aspect of adding observations to iNat. One suggestion would be to have species displayed in one color and complxes or sections displayed in a different color.