Personal favorite: I recorded this hybrid warbler in May 2017:
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/7384687
Balance of opinion is, this is a hybrid Black-throated Green Warbler/Canada Warbler. I’ve never seen or heard a bird like it, before or since.
Runner-up: my Ontario sightings of White-tailed Jackrabbit:
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/6546532
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/3476774
My understanding is, there are only five records for this species in Ontario, including these two.
I think these are the rarest observations of mine, mostly new species for iNat;
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70816752 Bothrops barnetti, a little-known species of lancehead endemic to Peru
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72833621 Pseudogynoxys cordifolia, a new kind of Aster.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72815684 A rarely-seen white variant of Ipomoea asarifolia which is used to make ropes.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70450106 This strange variegated plant??
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=621848 Trichomycterus punctulatus, a new species of pencil catfish.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70816633 Pimelodella yuncensis, a new species of long-whiskered catfish.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70449499 What I think is a new species of strangler fig for iNat (Ficus jacobii)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/66627859 What I think is some kind of Symphyotrichum from the Marañon Dry Forest
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/69431487 Apparently the only observation of Tabebuia chrysantha in Peru?
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/68827635 Not exactly rare, but here are the first photos of the vichayo or Incan guayaba tree (Beautempsia avicenniifolia), in fruit (both unripe and ripe)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70253281 First observation for the region of Rauvolfia tetraphylla!
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70012870 Another new species, Tillandsia rauhii.
(and I have another observation that’s even rarer, but I can’t upload it right now)
:) I hope you liked them!
I managed to get the first observation for an entire order 3 years ago: the Bursariomorphida. It was most likely Bursaria truncatella, one of the largest known ciliates; I could easily see it beneath the coverslip without using my microscope. Not necessarily rare, but certainly under-observed.
I am quite impressed with your photography. Your pics are really well done. :)
Nice photos, and welcome to the forum!
Thank you so much! I’ve gotten a little bit better with my macro shots since I first started.
Thanks! I’ve been on iNat for a while, but the forum seem really fun and useful too.
I haven’t recorded anything rare, but have been involved in confirming the ID’s of some new species for iNat. The latest was from a fellow in Iran who tagged me ( Agrotis obesa from استان مرکزی، ایران on October 02, 2019 by Mohammad Amin Ghaffari · iNaturalist.ca). In true iNat fashion several folks were involved, and a resource project has been started for moths in that area!
I think a few of the fish I find are a bit rare. But mostly because people have to really look to find them (and in water too).
Besides that, only 1 undescribed species is what I can think of
Is there an easy way to determine which species/taxa you are the sole observer of?
I haven’t found one – I just add things to my list by hand as I notice them, and periodically go through and check each one to make sure that I’m still the only observer.
This tool displays which taxa you’ve seen that are least observed overall, and by extension can show if there’s any taxon for which you’re the sole observer: https://elias.pschernig.com/wildflower/leastobserved.html
I have the first identified record of an entire subfamily of Braconidae wasp - Microtypus (Microtypinae) - thanks to Dr Michael Sharkey https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/154057556
Very cool. I’ve seen this on the breeding grounds in Wisconsin.
Literally only one known adult specimen:
My rarest find is Orobanche ebuli, a parasitic plant that was previously undiscovered in my region and that I found on an unusual host and morphology.
An iNat user saw my observation, identified it and urged me to present it to a herbarium, but unfortunately I didn’t make it in time last year; when I returned to collect a sample the plants were destroyed, probably by boars. I will do my best this summer.
Which doesn’t necessarily equate to its being the rarest. According to that tool, I’m the sole observer of Sargassum pacificum, but I suspect that is an artifact of who identifies what. And also, putatively, the sole observer of Taraxacum obtusifrons, but that is just my best guess based on limited information, and almost nobody attempts dandelions. I doubt either of these taxa are actually rare.
What would be really cool, though, is to be the sole observer of something with multiple observations. If the “global” column and your username column both had the same number >1.
I’ve got that covered for Ripiphorus neomexicanus (5) and genus Microtypus (3)
That’s not that hard though, just need to find a couple of specimens, nearby or not, I had it with quite a few taxa, but now there’re more observers, so it doesn’t count now.
