Thanks @rowan_m
Yikes, according to this I still need to get 23980 species for South Africa, and 5470 species for my municipal area. And 2759 species for my town area.
A lot of work ahead.
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Fun
Global = 47/50
28. White clover
36. Poison ivy
47. Creosote bush
Alaska = 47/50
9. Salmonberry
47. Western hemlock
48. Mule deer
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For Europe, the place I spent most of my time so far, I have to go to place 86 to find something I am not aware if I have observed it yet or not.
I never have been to north america, so I miss about half of the global top 50.
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It is interesting that some of the plants are only on the most observed list because they have some super observers.
Creosote bush has been observed 17,000 times by one user… https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=true&taxon_id=68205&place_id=&preferred_place_id=1&locale=en&view=observers
White Snakeroot has been observed several thousand times by several NYC people. I’m not sure if they were trying to map every snakeroot in the city or what. (though checking back, I realize this is in the top 100, not top 50) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?verifiable=true&taxon_id=119048&place_id=&preferred_place_id=1&locale=en&view=observers
Otherwise, I think I have seen almost everything on the list except the creosate bush and the mule deer, but the list of species does seem to lean heavily towards common species found in Eastern North America.
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And, talking about biases in tops. Just did a quick survey for Baltic countries top 10:
Lithuania
Helix pomatia
Pyrrhochoris apterus
Xanthoria parietina
Anas platyrhinchos
Urtica dioica
Veronica chamaedrys
Lamium album
Taraxacum officinale
Trifolium repens
Ciconia ciconia
Latvia
Pyrrhochoris apterus
Xanthoria parietina
Anas platyrhinchos
Taraxacum officinale
Ciconia ciconia
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Achillea millefolium
Helix pomatia
Lamium album
Urtica dioica
Estonia
Corvus cornix
Larus argentatus
Anas platyrhinchos
Motacilla alba
Parus major
Turdus pilaris
Fringila coelebs
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Passer domesticus
Cygnus olor
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I restricted it to America since I’ve never really left the country. First one by order I hadn’t seen was snakeroot. After that I don’t know if I’ve seen the eastern bumblebee. Next one up is mayapple (never even heard of that). A lot of plants I’ve never knowingly seen starting around there. Animalwise I think Anna’s hummingbird is next.
Herp wise, Eastern Newt, Eastern Red Backed Salamander (I’ve never even been in that ones’ range) and the Southern Alligator Lizards are the first ones I’ve never seen.
Mammalwise… the eastern chipmunk
Fish, it’s smallmouth bass.
Arachnids its the spiny backed orbweaver (which looks really neat).
If you restrict it to Texas (where I’ve lived most of my life) I’ve seen everything in the top 100±-Carolina snailseed was the first thing I don’t think I’ve seen (or if I have I didn’t recognize it).
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Incredible the Creosote bush observer! When you look at their observation map of just that one species, it looks like you can basically assemble a map of the road system of that area of the southwest US just from their obs!
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You should look at the observer’s map! I have ambitions to be like that and highlight major roadways with observations. 
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For me worldwide it’s definitely easier to list what I HAVE seen (I am 12/50):
Pieris rapae, Trifolium repens, Sturnus vulgaris, Columba livia, Achillea millefolium, Harmonia axyridis, Taraxacum officinale, Branta canadensis, Passer domesticus, Anas platyrhynchos, Apis mellifera, Danaus plexippus
For New Zealand I was pleasantly surprised to be 50/50)… although I saw someone note how far down the list they were good to…? I don’t have #51 Petroica macrocephala !
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I like these things cause I find them fun. Here is my global list of not-seen-yets:
8: Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed deer)
16: Achillea millefolium (Common yarrow)
17: Sceloporus occidentalis (Western fence lizard)
20: Agelaius phoeniceus (Red-winged blackbird)
21: Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady)
22: Cathartes aura (Turkey vulture)
27: Alliaria petiolata (Garlic mustard)
33: Odocoileus hemionus (Black-tailed deer)
34: Thamnophis sirtalis (Common garter snake)
37: Sciurus niger (Fox squirrel)
38: Junco hyemalis (Dark-eyed junco)
39: Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Bald eagle)
42: Pandion haliaeetus (Osprey)
43: Egretta thula (Snowy Egret)
44: Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed)
45: Phalacrocorax auritus (Double-crested cormorant)
47: Larrea tridentata (Creosote bush)
48: Meleagris gallopavo (Wild turkey)
So thats 32/50 ticked off the lifers list.
Though, since the global top observed species is biased towards North America (since that’s where the majority of observers are), here is a list for Asia:
7: Motacilla alba (White wagtail)
18: Hyla japonica (Japanese tree frog)
19: Macaca fascicularis (Long-tailed macaque)
22: Broussonetia papyrifera (Paper mulberry)
28: Parus major (Great tit)
31: Bubulcus ibis (Cattle egret)
32: Pyrrhula pyrrhula (Eurasian bullfinch)
40: Gorsachius melanolophus (Malayan night heron)
47: Himantopus himantopus (Black-winged stilt)
49: Halcyon smyrnensis (White-throated kingfisher)
40/50. A little better.
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Probably not, they’re pretty localized to the western third of your state. Range map - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LaramieLindsey/MammalsOfTexas/master/Maps/Fig_176_Odocoileus_heminonus_mule_deer_map.jpg
Also, this is an excellent guide to the mammals of Texas if you’re interested - https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nsrl/mammals-of-texas-online-edition/Table_of_Contents/Table_of_Contents.php
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I was wondering where you were. I see Muleys on a daily basis, White-tailed occasionally if you go in the high valleys. Since I’ve seen them my whole life, I would think your best bet at finding one for the state is Guadeloupe Mountains and Fort Davis area. Usually where there are mountains, there are Mule Deer.
1 Like
I was interested to see my stats too:
World
Species I’ve recorded on iNat:
1 . Anas platyrhynchos - Mallard
2 . Apis mellifera - European Honey Bee
3 . Danaus plexippus - Monarch
6 . Passer domesticus - House Sparrow
7 . Branta canadensis - Canada Goose
10 . Sciurus carolinensis - Eastern Gray Squirrel
11 . Ardea alba - Great Egret
15 . Taraxacum officinale - Common Dandelion
19 . Columba livia - Rock Pigeon
24 . Sturnus vulgaris - European Starling
28 . Trifolium repens - White Clover
33 . Odocoileus hemionus - Mule Deer
40 . Pieris rapae - Cabbage White
42 . Pandion haliaetus - Osprey
Score 14/50
(Not so good!)
Australia
Species I’m missing:
53. Vulpes vulpes - Red Fox
59. Pseudocheirus peregrinus - Common Ringtail Possum
61. Macropus fuliginosus - Western Grey Kangaroo
64. Epacris impressa - Common Heath
76. Banksia marginata - Silver Banksia
93. Rhinella marina - Cane Toad
94. Burhinus grallarius - Bush Stone-Curlew
98. Phaps chalcoptera - Common Bronzewing
Score: 50/50
Score: 92/100
I went all the way down to 250 out of interest and managed 203/250 which was pretty cool.
It shows me that I am due to go on an expedition to the southern half of the country sometime soon to tick off the majority that I am missing.
Good fun, thanks for starting the topic!
Nick
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Yep, I saw that on the range map. The only reason I said I was unsure if I’ve ever seen one is because I have passed through or stopped in West Texas and California (and states in between) prior to joining iNat, so it’s possible I’ve seen one in the past without realizing it.
Sort of like I’ve seen Eastern Grey Squirrels in their native New York before joining iNat, but my only iNat observation is of an invasive one in London.
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I used to live a couple of years in Mexico and we’ve visited California once. So the species from the list that I’ve not seen are:
13. Cardinalis cardinalis
30. Anaxyrus americanus
34. Thamnophis sirtalis
35. Pachydiplax longipennis
37. Sciurus niger
39. Haliaeetus leucocephalus
44. Asclepias syriaca
45.Erythemis simplicicollis
48. Meleagris gallopavo
49. Anolis carolinensis
50.Bombus impatiens
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World
Seen:
01 Mallard
02 Western Honey Bee
03 Great Blue Heron
04 American Robin *
07 Canada Goose
10 Great Egret
11 Eastern Grey Squirrel
12 Asian Lady Beetle
15 Common Dandelion
19 Rock Pigeon
20 Red-winged Blackbird *
21 Painted Lady
26 Song Sparrow
28 White Clover
32 Seven-spotted Lady Beetle
38 Dark-eyed Junco
39 Bald Eagle *
40 Cabbage White
41 Common Raccoon *
19/50, but only 15/50 recorded on iNat. Pretty sure I’ve seen at least one of the deer species in the top 50 but I’m not sure which so left it off the list. Missing 30/50
South Korea
Missing:
03 Gensan Salamander
24 Suwon Tree Frog
30 Sinanodonta lauta
33 Korean Brown Frog
48 Jeju Salamander
50 Boreal Digging Frog
44/50 observed and posted to iNat
Lots of Korean amphibians shared on iNaturalist, with amphibians in spots 1-4 and making up 6 of the top 10 most observed species in the country. You have to go down to number 28 to find the first mammal and it’s the only one in the top 50, so we have as many mussels as mammals represented there.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=6891&view=species
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Having a mollusk at top-30 is very cool!
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Living in northeastern United States (Pennsylvania), the World list appears to heavily favor my region…
I reviewed the first 100 on the World list and I have not seen only eleven of them. These are the eleven I have not seen in-person (in the wild)…
Western Fence Lizard
Mule Deer
Snowy Egret
Creosote Bush
Green Anole
Great-tailed Grackle
Gulf Fritillary
Stinging Nettle
Black-crowned Night Heron
Red-shouldered Hawk
Garden Snail
I was pleasantly surprised by my number considering I have lived my entire life in Pennsylvania and visited only a few bordering states. I’ve Observed quite a few of these too - and I’ve only been here actively since June of 2020!
Edited to add…consulting my observations, these are the species I have not yet Observed on iNat:
house sparrow
red-tailed hawk
common dandelion
rock pigeon
european starling
white clover – added 8/5/20!
yellow-rumped warbler
fox squirrel
common raccoon
osprey
double-crested cormorant
common eastern bumblebee
common ivy
american coot
white snakeroot
blue jay
barn swallow
coyote
ribwort plantain - added 8/5/20!
lesser celandine
brown pelican
white-crowned sparrow
oxeye daisy - correction…I do have this one!
Some of these I am certain I’ve photographed, I suppose I felt they were too common to add to iNat!
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Since most of the global top species are North American, I have not seen many
World
(8/50) So I’ll only put the ones I’ve seen
- Apis mellifera
- Odocoileus virginianus
- Ardea alba
- Harmonia axyridis
- Taraxacum officinale
- Achillea millefolium
- Columba livia
- Trifolium repens
Colombia
(30/50) Most of Colombia’s Top 50 are birds, so I haven’t seen many of them.
–Missing–
- Thraupis episcopus
- Melanerpes rubricapillus
- Rupornis magnirostris
- Sciurus granatensis
- Momotus aequatorialis
- Euphonia laniirostris
- Troglodytes aedon
- Piranga rubra
- Colibri coruscans
- Stilpinia vitriola
- Turdus ignobilis
- Sayornis nigricans
- Forpus conspicillatus
- Myiozetetes cayanensis
- Ramphocelus didiatus
- Gonatodes albogularis
- Sporophila nigricolis
- Ortalis columbiana
- Stilpina cyanicolis
- Ramphocelus flammigerus
Top 50 Plants of Colombia
After my failure with the top Colombia and with the global Top I decided to see the top of plants in Colombia. I was much better. (44/50)
Missing
- Tabebuia rosea
- Ceiba pentandra
- Espeletia grandiflora
- Castilleja arvensis
- Handroanthus chysanthus
- Espeletiopsis corymbosa
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The following species are species I haven’t observed (on iNat or otherwise) out of the 50 most observed on iNat:
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) - 4th overall
Great Egret (Ardea alba) - 10th overall
Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) -15th overall
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) -17th overall
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) -21st overall
Common Slider (Trachemys scripta) -23rd overall
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) -29th overall
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) -31st overall
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) -36th overall
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) -40th overall
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) -41st overall
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) -44th overall
38/50 if we are keeping score lol
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