# Incorrect color code for a species? **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Tags:** question\ **Created:** [June 7, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970 "2019-06-07T17:41:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jill\_reid-aka-abhaya-va](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jill_reid-aka-abhaya-va/32/2860_2.png) [@jill\_reid-aka-abhaya-va](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jill_reid-aka-abhaya-va)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970/1 "2019-06-07T17:41:35Z")
I have searched but cannot find what the color codes mean when I look at my list of observations, however, it seems to be based on the following as best as I can tell: blue = vertebrates red = invertebrates pink = fungus/lichens green = plants If this is the color code, then the species Apheloria virginiensis (millipede) is the wrong color - it shows up as blue (vertebrate) when it should be red (invertebrate). I don’t know if this is true for other species/genera or higher taxa in this category - I just know this seems out of place for my own observation. ---
**Author:** ![psweet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/psweet/32/3156_2.png) [@psweet](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/psweet)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970/2 "2019-06-07T18:13:29Z")
It’s a bit unwieldy, but your observation falls into the scheme the site uses. Red is for Insects and Arachnids – Myriapods fall into the “other animals” category, for which they use blue. Don’t know why… ---
**Author:** ![mangum](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/mangum/32/1591_2.png) [@mangum](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/mangum)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970/3 "2019-06-07T19:28:55Z")
Here are all the colors that iNaturalist uses and what they generally mean: ![27%20PM](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/c/ccef787b7dfb176554d56ed3ae8c7a2213c37712.png) Green = Plants Red = Insects, Molluscs, Arachnids, Blue = Ray finned fishes, Birds, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals, and “Other Animals” Pink (kind of a Magenta) = Fungi Including Lichens Brown Red = Kelp, Diatoms, and Allies Purple = Protozoans Gray = Unknown, Prokaryotes, Bacteria, and Viruses (see discussion of the problems with this grey icon here: [https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/icon-color-for-prokaryota/1464](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/icon-color-for-prokaryota/1464)) Apheloria virginiensis would fall under the “Other Animals”, which includes an assortment of organisms like Myriapods, Cartilaginous fish, Crustaceans, Flatworms and Worms, Sea Stars, Rotifers, etc. ---
**Author:** ![pisum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/91b2a8/32.png) [@pisum](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/pisum)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970/4 "2019-06-07T20:29:37Z")
there’s a legend on the Explore map: ![tbd_legend](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/6/60c14e68301e3f5f9b0e00cbe9006dd054b4b3f5.jpeg) i agree about the strangeness of some of the color coding, but it is what it is… i wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a bug though. ---
**Author:** ![tchakamaura](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/tchakamaura/32/1800_2.png) [@tchakamaura](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/tchakamaura)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970/5 "2019-06-08T00:48:26Z")
I think Other animals should be orange, not blue, as most ‘other animals’ are arthropods like all the taa currently coded orange. ---
**Author:** ![jill\_reid-aka-abhaya-va](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jill_reid-aka-abhaya-va/32/2860_2.png) [@jill\_reid-aka-abhaya-va](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jill_reid-aka-abhaya-va)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970/6 "2019-06-08T14:32:20Z")
Thanks so much to all of you - I’m sorry I didn’t see the map legend as that would have explained it. Perhaps they’ll reconsider the “other animal” category at some point. The little organism icons don’t show up for me except briefly upon loading my observations (and then are replaced with location markers instead) or it might have made more sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![daniel112](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/daniel112/32/1068_2.png) [@daniel112](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/daniel112)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970/7 "2019-06-12T14:14:01Z")
I agree. I was surprised to see other arthropod observations with a blue icon. Orange should be for all invertebrates, IMO, if you’re going to use it for insects, mollusks, and arachnids. [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/25743549](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/25743549) (Why would crustaceans have blue icons, when they are more closely related to insects than either arachnids or mollusks?) ---
**Author:** ![tchakamaura](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/tchakamaura/32/1800_2.png) [@tchakamaura](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/tchakamaura)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970/8 "2019-06-12T21:55:00Z")
> Why would crustaceans have blue icons, when they are more closely related to insects than either arachnids or mollusks? > That’s the kind of thing which was bugging me too. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/7/7831452cf7f0d653ff1ffd34176334b7ef1b6a17.png) [@system](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/incorrect-color-code-for-a-species/3970/9 "2019-10-19T19:32:25Z")
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