How do I tag a Top Identifier please

Good morning
Please can you advise me how to tag a Top Identifier please?

As an example I have this Scrub Hare [link removed by moderator] stuck as Needs ID. It’s a reasonable picture, there is no doubt in my mind that it is a Scrub Hare and as far as I know is the only species of Hare in Sabi Sands. However someone has suggested it as Hares & Jackrabbits. I don’t know why someone would do that if they don’t know what it is, they haven’t even disagreed with my ID. I would like to tag a couple of identifiers in please. I have other records like this.

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You can tag people by using an ‘@’ in front of their username. Like this @GlosterBirder

There are more than one reason why someone might identify on a broader taxonomic level, so if you want to know in this case in particular you will have to ask the person who have done the identification. However given that the person doesn’t disagree with your ID, he has probably just given the best identification that he was able to based on his knowledge.

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Thank you very much. Surely if you don’t really know it’s better not to add to the debate?

I can’t really see how it takes anything away from the debate. I would say in this case it does add more certainty about the genus, because there are now three people who agree it is in the genus Lepus. So it adds something. It can also be a way of getting notifications from the observation. They might be interested in knowing what species it is. But again, you will have to ask them if you’re curious to know why.

Basically it’s a functionality of the site, so I wouldn’t worry about it.

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The broader ID (hares) can also be used if someone is less convinced than you are that the photo is enough for a species-level ID and has good reason to express that opinion. I use that often with the groups I ‘specialize’ in.
f.e. someone might enter ‘Japanese Cormorant’ because “hey it is a cormorant, it is in Japan…so it must be Japanese Cormorant”
If the features are visible I will correct the ID or confirm, if they are not I will add family-ID cormorants (there are 2 similar cormorants in Japan -and 2 others in the family)

I would not down-ID a plant (I know little about those) just because I happen to know the genus a plant might be in. People do do that quite often, and I think it muddies the water a bit…

But it is not against Inat policy I suppose.
cheers,
Gerben

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Personally, if I change an ID on an observation (I ‘specialize’ in Noctuid moths), I will say why. Sometimes I will know an ID is incorrect, but don’t know what the correct id is. Rather than leave the incorrect one, I’ll bump it up to what do know. Again, I try to explain my reasons, but not every one does.

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It doesn’t sound like they changed the observation ID, they added a supporting ID, which just sets the Community Taxon and has no detriment.

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