Should I delete this observation (a rock)?

Should i delete this observation?
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/33980272
https://inaturalist.org/observations/33980272

  • Yes :+1:
  • No :-1:

0 voters

You don’t have to if you don’t want to, just keep in mind it won’t get ID’ed or reach RG, iNat is geared towards extant organisms

1 Like

upload it to Rockd or another geology place, and if they say there that it’s a sign of life, consider uploading it to iNat

7 Likes

I am pretty much certain that is not a fossil, so I say, delete it.

4 Likes

I actually just posted a related topic yesterday:

https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/extant-vs-extinct-observations/9859?u=peywey

So long as it can be proven that your observation contains an organism, extant or extinct, it has a place on iNat. Just bear in mind that extinct organisms will be flagged as lacking recent evidence of an organism. It’s also possible many people won’t bother to ID it. And many IDs for extinct organisms will only be as accurate as genus level. Though the observation won’t ever become research grade, it is al waa says nice to have days there that may pertain to the natural history of living organisms.

1 Like

Re. whether there is an organism evident in the rock sample, my opinion as a geologist is that I agree with the other commentators on iNaturalist NZ (though I can’t comment there as I’m not a member) that I don’t see evidence of a fossil in that rock. It looks like crystallization of calcite (or, possibly, quartz) along an old fracture surface.

3 Likes

If that is the case, and there is no evidence of an organism, then I also agree that the observation doesn’t really belong on iNat.

Edit: My geological knowledge is very limited, so naturally, I would defer to the expertise of of an actual geologist. Seeing as my area of expertise is more biological and ecological, my natural instinct is to question the possibility of life.

I added a link to the main iNat site too. It’s all the same database, so you can just change the NZ in the URL to org and it’ll bring you to the main iNat site: https://inaturalist.org/observations/33980272

1 Like

I would love to know about a geology website similar to iNat

1 Like

ROCKD, the phone app, is roughly similar. I installed it this morning and it does show pics that people have uploaded. Pretty interesting, but not a lot of users (yet). Haven’t explored its functionality yet.

2 Likes

I will definitely look into this Thanks @pfau_tarleton

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