Rules and Resources

Rules:

• - Plants and other sessile organisms are not included if they have been planted, cultivated, or otherwise cared for by human hands or human means; However, wild offshoots of cultivated specimens are counted, as are specimens that are cultivated in the soil and then left to fend for themselves successfully for a time (ie. overgrown garden plants).


• - Animals and other motile organisms are not included if they are currently in deliberate non-natural captivity outside of their native (or introduced) zone(s). In the case of smaller organisms with faster life cycles such as bacteria, lab-grown specimens are similarly disqualified. Exceptions can be made for species that are globally domesticated (cattle) or extinct in the wild (Hawaiian Crow).


• - In all cases, images of whole, live specimens are strongly preferred; Exception can be made for detached parts and deceased specimens, given that the part or cadaver in question still composes most of the specimen's mass (ie. near-complete skeleton or carapace) or is clearly and undoubtedly indicative of species (ie. easily recognizable flower, fruit, or skull).

Resources:

• iNaturalist: Majority of specimen identification, main reference for taxonomic ranks and common names
• BugGuide: Higher-order identification of arthropods
• PlantNet: Higher-order identification of plants
• OneZoom's Tree of Life: Main reference for phylogenetic order
• Wikipedia: Main reference for definitions and facts
• Wiktionary: Main reference for scientific name origins and meanings