Note on Posting Proper Photos for Identifying Lottia (Limpets)

Nature Talk
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For limpets, it is beneficial to get shots of the top and bottom and the sideview. The top and bottom shows the patterns while the sideview shows the shape of the limpet. I know this is a small post but if you have anything else to add, please do!

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This type of information is best for journal posts or copypastas that you can share on relevant observations

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Lottia is a very difficult genus to identify sometimes, so having an uneroded individual is best. A photo of the live animal under the shell can also be helpful.

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Wanted to add that I find it helpful to add side view when the top is facing upwards and another side view when the open side is upwards to show the pattern being revealed by the bright sunlight. Just learned that from my most recent walk to the beach today. :)

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Late reply but I honestly don’t like how journal posts are not as viewed as much as the forum posts. My reason for posting this post on here was to get feedback and other tips from others. My mistake with this post was using the nature talk category instead of the tutorial category since that has more tips for posting observations.

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You can link journal posts in the comments of your identifications so that users who observe Lottia will see them. Posting tips on the iNat forum doesn’t effectively get the information across to the people who need them as the vast majority of observers aren’t on the forum, let alone Lottia observers, and the users who are on the forum are most likely already knowledgeable in the taxa they want to observe.

I believe a user who wants information on how to observe Lottia will find it easier to learn from a journal post an identifier shared as opposed to having to independently find a topic on this forum. Additionally, a user that might not be that interested in Lottia would be more likely to read through a journal post sent to them than a forum thread they’d independently stumble upon.

If you’d like to learn more about a taxon I’d recommend messaging one of its identifiers on iNat. Again, there are more identifiers on iNat than on the forum.

Just my thoughts.

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I think this should be in the nature talk category as “Tutorials” is meant for tutorials on how to use iNaturalist and iNat-related things.

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