You might be interested in using this tool for identifying, allowing you to select any higher taxon (and also to browse lower taxa, if you want to select a subspecies).
This tool is a Windows desktop application that communicates with the iNat server. It has evolved since the previous presentations on the forum. Presently :
There are 2 modes for using the program for direct identifications:
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Option OnlyCacheReview: the program loads a [huge] local cache of observations (filled earlier when populating the Phylogenetic Projects, then filters the cache applying the CV-based filter you choose, then the program checks online the observations filtered in order to get the current “Community ID”, and in order to filter out observations already reviewed or identified by you, and only then the program downloads the photos and displays the observations. In this mode no requests for CV suggestions are sent to the iNat server, as a consequence this mode spares the server ressources at best.
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Option ReviewGenera: the program downloads observations (basic datas + CV suggestions) from the iNat server based on a predefined URL filter (consisting in one or several taxa of your choice, for instance “Crassulaceae”), stores all data in a separate local cache (so that you can close/reopen the program without data loss), then filters the observations applying the CV-based filter you choose, then displays the observations. This mode is named ReviewGenera because the program will download only observation presently identified at the rank genus.
I like both modes, they are complementary in the way they targets observations. Using CV-based filters at the rank species, I can ID 100+ observations of the same species in a few minutes, just checking the photos and clicking on “Submit ID”.
In short, in comparison to identifying from the iNat web site, the extra features are:
- suggestion of a higher taxon (this discussion in the forum), when the CV is not “pretty sure”,
- quick access to all higher taxa, in order to submit any higher taxon as your ID,
- quick access to lower taxa (on click on a button “Children“), including subspecies and hybrids (never proposed by the iNat web site),
- filter observations to review based on their Computer Vision data (in addition to the URL-based filter, targetting for instance the current observation ID and/or a place),
- local cache of preloaded observations datas (+ preloaded photos of the next 50 observations to review), making the review/identification process much faster.
If you are interested, we need to further discuss so that I undersand your habits/targets, preconfigure the tool for you and preload some data, to allow you be ready to identify and have a better first experience with the tool.