X-Ray Photography: The Time Is Now

When is an enterprising individual going to start x-raying everything and submitting the photos on iNaturalist? You know we want to see it! Just saying.

5 Likes

After they learn to navigate comfortably in a lead suit and other safety protocols while hauling the portable X-ray unit Santa brought? :joy:

10 Likes

Comrade, the future is already here:

x-ray

(and second, associated observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/198067769)

14 Likes

Haha! Who needs safety protocols?! I’d call safety protocols old-fashioned, but, uh, that’s not exactly the history of x-rays, is it? Let’s just say - out of fashion! We want to see more species, let’s give 'em a dose of something that’ll help!

On a more serious note, one could document the location and then take the specimen off-site - yes? :slightly_smiling_face:

Yes, definitely.

Yes!!! Amazing! I knew somebody would have some goods - I want more! :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like

Contact your local wildlife veterinarian or wildlife rescue group and ask them to join iNat.

4 Likes

That’s probably a better idea than mine - trying to squirrel away some organism in my cheek the next time I go to the dentist! :grin:

11 Likes

I’m new but I’m hoping to contribute brightfield microscope photography because that’s one of my big hobbies, would this help fulfill community desires to see new perspectives on critters? I don’t think I have the budget for a radiography hobby lol :smiling_face:

8 Likes

honestly that would be incredible

1 Like

Absolutely! The details one can get with brightfield microscopy- and what one can find - are really cool!

I could post my recent abdominal x-ray but it wouldn’t be all that informative or useful to science.

I have colleagues who have done a fair amount of turtle x-raying to count shelled eggs.

5 Likes

I’m just sitting here imagining a dentist’s reaction to this-
“Okay, open wide”
(a blue-tongued skink sticks its head out between your teeth and hisses)
(Dentist screams, calls security, and then has a story to tell that none of their friends ever believe)

10 Likes

That’s awesome! I’d love to see more microscope photography in iNat. And there’s a lot of stuff that really needs micro to even identify properly (most mosses, for instance)

1 Like

In the unlikely event that anyone actually tries to do this please be aware there there are legal problems above and beyond harm/disturbance to wildlife, a portable X-ray machine may be seen as terrorism, especially since 2013 when a terrorist (he was in the KKK) was arrested in my county while in the process of building a portable X-ray beam with a lethal dose of radiation for terrorist purposes.

(for those outside the US, the KKK is a racist organization created to oppose equality after the end of slavery in the US)

3 Likes

That is really cool, it looks like you can even see prey in it!

Makes me think of this video lol:
“Built My Own X-Ray After a Hospital Charged Me $69,210.32” by William Osman

2 Likes

I’ve got CT scans of some of my observed organisms that I should really figure out linking… and this summer I’m going to do some other 3D scanning of marine inverts that I’ll definitely be linking to observations once the data is put together.

4 Likes

@jnstuart - turtle egg x-rays would definitely be cool!

@ja_fields - I look forward to seeing those scans! By the way, everybody, @ja_fields already has some really awesome observations - worth checking out.

Also, turns out the same guy who documented the snake/fish x-rays has one more - look at this neat bat!


https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/135277353 - with an excellent write-up, too!

2 Likes

It would be interesting but hard to get things to species level as most non-human identifications are using visual wavelengths for key morphological type diagnostic features instead of radiographs, CT scans, or MRIs

1 Like