#identification guide

[atollnews]

classic Atoll tour poster (2021), sent in by fan

[morbidsmenagerie]

US Native Scorpion ID

So this is a project I’ve wanted to do for a while but was extremely daunted by. the task. Identifying US native scorpions is hard, a lot of literature on the subject is out of date and there are precious few knowledgeable people that are working on the subject. To make matters harder for me, I wanted to aim this guide at the layman naturalist, someone who was going to look at surface level identification features but not know or care what trichobothria patterns were. As such, I’d like to write a disclaimer and say this guide is for entertainment purposes only. I have excluded many, many species from it and chose to only focus on scorpions I thought were common, readily identifiable, or interesting. I also excluded subspecies, and intentionally picked examples for the pictures I thought were the most obvious or distinct. Some scorpions in the US are medically significant, and anyone can have an allergic reaction to a sting, so caution must be taken when identifying. I also took most of these pictures off inaturalist or bugguide, but I will supply some of my own pictures here when applicable. Family organization is based on the classification currently up on TheScorpionFiles, but taxonomy is subject to change so that's another disclaimer.

Without further ado, let’s talk about scorpions.

The US is a treasure trove of scorpion activity. We are home to 7 unique families of scorpions, some of which are only found in the US and Mexico. The southwestern United States is one of the most diverse and populated scorpion hot spots in the world. Despite this variety, most people don’t pay much attention to the scorpions they live alongside. Aside from a few standout examples (Arizona Bark Scorpion, Desert Hairy Scorpion) US native scorpions are almost entirely unknown. I wanted to make this guide to introduce people who didn’t know much about scorpions to some of the diversity the US has to offer, as well as be a basic primer to scorpion identification and morphology.

So first things first, some basic scorpion biology.

Some important things to note in this diagram is the chela refers to the wide part of the pincers not including either the fixed or movable finger. The hand refers to the chela plus the fixed finger, with the movable finger connecting to the hand. Similarly, the aculeus refers to just the stinger, and the vesicle refers to just the venom bulb before the stinger. The telson refers to the aculeus plus the vesicle. The telson sometimes includes a subaculeur tooth, which looks like a second, smaller stinger on the vesicle. This can be an important diagnostic feature. I will informally refer to a scorpion's “claw”, “body”, and “tail” to make things easier. Another important diagnostic feature is the presence of granulation, which are distinct bumps on a scorpion carapace that makes it look granular or rough. Sometimes the granulation can be in a distinct line, which is called a carinae. There are smooth carinae too, which are just raised distinct lines without granulation, but I won’t be talking about those in this guide. This guide is primarily going to focus on features you can easily see without flipping a scorpion over or using a microscope, so although I highly recommend you look into scorpion biology I won’t go into too much here. 

The Scorpions

Anuroctonidae

Two large “humps” on the prosoma

Noticeably darker fingers

Swollen stinger, more prominent in males 

Median eyes close together and on a raised darkened hump, almost giving the appearance of having one median eye

Buthidae

Thin claws

Long, thin tail (markedly longer in males)

Front of prosoma has a slight “v” shape

Chactidae

Distinct “v” in front edge of the prosoma

Diplocentridae

Distinct subaculear tooth

Distinctly shiny

Little to no granulation

Distinct “v” shape in front edge of prosoma

Hadruridae

Hairy tail

Large

Front of prosoma curved outwards

Superstitioniidae

Vaejovidae

Front edge of prosoma mostly straight with only slight notching

One of the most diverse family of scorpions, highly variable in appearance

References

Francke, O. F. 1975 . A new species of Diplocentrus from New Mexico and Arizona (Scorpionida ,

Diplocentridae) . J. Arachnol. 2 :107-118 .

Haradon, R. M. 1983 . Smeringurus, a new subgenus of Paruroctonus Werner (Scropiones, Vaejovidae).

J. Arachnol., 11 :251-270.

Soleglad, Michael & Fet, Victor. (2004). The systematics of the scorpion subfamily Uroctoninae (Scorpiones: Chactidae).. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología. 10.

Stockmann, R., & Ythier, E. (2010). Scorpions of the World. N.A.P. Editions.

Stahnke, H. L . 1974 . Revision and keys to the higher categories of Vejovidae (Scorpionida). J .

Arachnol. 1 :107-141 .

Stockwell, S. A. and J. A. Nilsson. 1987. A new species of Diplocentrus Peters from Texas

(Scorpiones, Diplocentridae). J. Arachnol., 15:151-156.

Williams, S. C. (1980). Scorpions of Baja California, Mexico, and Adjacent Islands. OCCASIONAL PAPERS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.

Photos used were primarily taken off of inaturalist, though some of them are my own.

Here's the Google Doc where everything's together as well.

[automotiveamerican]

Dirt Daily. A Flat Fender Jeep history lesson and Identification guide - Fred Williams

Everyone loves the early Willys Flatfender Jeeps, but not everyone knows their history or the different models. I’ve been a Jeep fan for a long time so I thought I’d tell you everything I know about flatfenders, which isn’t everything, but it is a lot. These are the early Jeeps that started during World War 2 and became a national treasure and the sparked the start of the off-roading past time.…

[identifying-isopods-in-posts]

Dichotomous key is nowhere near functional yet so here’s a little anatomy diagram I made.

[collinsportmaine]

Vampire Identification Guide

The Vourdalak is French film is based on a Russia novella that predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 58 years. It tells the tell of a family waiting for Gorcha (their patriarch) to return from fighting the Turks. Before leaving he warned them, if he returned after 6 day - do not let him enter the house. But he returns on the 7th day!

Vourdalaks are from Balkan and Slavic folklore - vampires that return from the grave to feed on their family, decimating their bloodline and feasting on the blood of all those they hold dear.

A unique element of this French film is the Gorcha is depicted as a life size puppet, voiced by the director Adrien Beau.

[atomicpirateperson]

having trouble finding the difference between the larry and rob species?

if it has a good posture and straight legs, it's a larry!

if it looks like a bunch of snakes pretending to be a larry, it's a rob!

hope this helped!

[rebeccathenaturalist]

I have THE biggest, BEST news EVER--

I GOT A BOOK CONTRACT!!!!!!!!

I am exceptionally pleased to announce that I have just signed a contract with Ten Speed Press (a division of Penguin Random House) to publish...

The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go!

It is slated for publication in early Summer 2025, and will be written for anyone who wants to be able to identify the living beings around them regardless of educational level or experience. A HUGE thank you to my literary agent Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC, and my editor at Ten Speed Press, Julie Bennett!

This isn't just another field guide--it's a how-to book on nature identification that helps you go from "I have no idea what this animal/plant/fungus is and I don't know where to start" to "Aha! I know how to figure out what species I'm looking at/hearing!" Those familiar with my nature ID classes know that I emphasize skills and tools accessible to everyday people. Whether you're birdwatching, foraging, or just enjoying the nature around you, my goal is to help you be more confident in figuring out what living beings you encounter wherever you go--and not just in the Pacific Northwest. 

The Everyday Naturalist will not only explain what traits you need to pay attention to like color, size, shape, location, etc. and how to use them to differentiate among similar species, but will also detail how and when to use tools like apps, field guides, and more. (And given the current kerfuffle about A I generated foraging books, I will of course include information on how to determine the veracity of a given book or other resource.) And my editor and I have already been discussing some great additions to the book that will make it even more user-friendly!

Are you excited about this? I certainly am! I wanted to wait until the pixels were dry on the contract before going public with this (though my newsletter subscribers got to hear about it last month, lucky them!) It still doesn't feel real, but I'm already working on the manuscript so it'll sink in soon enough.

I will, of course, keep you all apprised of my progress because this project is going to be a big part of my life over the next several months as I write and edit and write and edit and wash, rinse, repeat. So keep your eyes on this space for updates (and feel free to add yourself to my monthly email newsletter here, too!)

[missmyloko]

A Look In My Book!

On The Twelfth Day of Fun I present... a look inside my book! Thank you for making The Guide To Kimono such a success! For those of you who have bought a copy already, thank you so much! For those of you who are on the fence or just want to know more before you buy, then this is for you! First, let's look at some pages that relate to the karyukai, specifically, that of hikizuri/susohiki:

Next, let's look at darari obi:

For those of you who continuously ask about how to date and price your kimono, this book is full of information to do just that and examples to give you ideas of what's worth what. Here's a snippet on what can raise or lower the price of your kimono:

Prior to this page is an index of over 150 common, uncommon, and rare kimono motifs in English, romaji, and kanji (with visual examples to boot!). Another example of a page that shows how to date is as follows:

You may have noticed that the estimated price on the kimono shown on the page above has changed since I featured it a few days ago. This is due to some newer kimono coming onto market in the past year that have sold for similar prices that were higher than the published price, but that price on the page would still be considered a fair price if trying to sell (which are what the prices in the book are). So, if any of this has interested you then you can pick up a copy at any of the links below: Amazon America (currently on sale!) Barnes & Noble USA Amazon Canada Indigo Canada Amazon UK (also on sale!) Waterstones UK Schiffer Publishing Worldwide (Small Edit: So apparently the links are working on and off and may be having an issue on Tumblr's end right now [I double checked the URLs and they are correct], so if they're not working then just go to the websites themselves and type "The Guide To Kimono" into the search bar. Thanks!)

[worstloki]

love the concept of the 8 other realms being very well-known throughout the wider galaxies but Asgard is considered obscure knowledge that even if someone has heard Asgard then the name is all they know

[tomswifty-fr]

I think my number one art tip that isn't actually drawing related is that you have to curate a bunch of reference/inspiration resources and it can't just be pinterest or google images. You need your own stuff.

Option one: Photo books. Get them from the library and copy or photograph your favorite pages. Even better, you can buy these at thrift stores or library sales for cheap. Or you can pirate legally download them, which is less recommended because half the appeal of these things is flipping thru them and they look great on a shelf. The good ones are gonna be glossy and huge.

(first six I grabbed to photograph: cambridge glass, stained glass, and oriental rugs are great to grab ideas for patterns/color palettes; weathervane has great stylized animal designs; movies is for people, poses, and clothes; bilder is mainly people and cityscapes)

Option two: Non-google, non-pinterest websites. There are two paths here: big galleries like DPLA/Europeana/Wikimedia Commons/etc or specific topic websites (I get a lot of use out of UniformFreak, Featherbase, and Skull Index). Bookmark them when you find them bc who knows if you'll be able to find them again. The advantage of the first is a lot of options, the advantage of the second is they can get real specific.

(theoldrobots.com, incredible collection of robot pictures)

The main advantage of these is you're gonna be getting unique reference materials. A lot of times, photos in print books aren't gonna be available online because the photos are taken specifically for the book. This especially applies to older books which may not have an ebook version or have been scanned.

Basically, the idea is that the more wells you're drawing from, the better your stuff is gonna be. Google images, etc., is great if you need to quickly check something like where the leg bends on a horse or find a mechanical shape to trace for a sketch. If you're browsing it for ideas... use something better.

[semolinaart]

Some dragons of silicon:

Silicon Moissanite Opal Quartz Aventurine Agate

I'll finish this chapter, I swear! There are only 12 (13) dragons of different types of quartz left (hilfe)

[morbidsmenagerie]

Vaejovidae

Paruroctonus boreus

Dark body

Prosoma in front of median eyes is lighter than rest of prosoma

Back edge of tergites lighter than front edge, giving lined appearance

Chela bulky with strong carinae

Most Northern occuring scorpion, only scorpion like it from Oregon north. Also occurs in higher elevations than most other scorpions

Wide range, found from Washington and Montana south to Arizona, Colorado, and California

Paruroctonus silvestrii

Prosoma and body have silver mottled coloring

Chela bulky with strong carinae

Found throughout California

Paruroctonus becki

Distinguished from Paravaejovis by the lack of terminal denticle on the dorsolateral carinae of the tail

Can sometimes have a dusky semicircle going from median eyes to lateral eyes, similar to in Hadrurus arizonensis

Chela narrow with some visible carinae

Color highly variable

Serradigitus gertschi

Brown in coloration with variable levels of mottling

Fingers have distinctly “hooked” tips

Found throughout California

Smeringurus mesaensis

Long legs and tail

Body and prosoma with little to no granulation

Pale yellow in color

Fingers the same color as chela

Distinct long hairs on tibia and basitarsus

Some color varieties have an orange-peachy tint to pedipalps and tail

Found in the southwest from southern California to Nevada and Arizona

Smeringurus vachoni

Chela blocky and has darker lines

Fingers darker than chela

Prosoma and body uniformly dark, area between median eyes and front of prosoma almost entirely dark

Males have distinct tooth on movable finger

Found in the southwest from southern California to Nevada and Arizona

Smeringurus aridus

Lighter in color, only dark area if present is around median eyes

Fingers darker than chela

Found in Southern California

Paravaejovis confusus

Uniformly brown with no mottling

Fingers not distinctly longer than chela

Found in the southwest from Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and southern Oregon and Idaho

Paravaejovis puritanus

Uniformly brown with no mottling

I think they look shinier than the other Paravaejovis, but this is not a diagnostic characteristic

Can have dusky tints around the joints of the legs

Found in southern California

Relatively large, one of the largest Paravaejovis

Chela narrow

Paravaejovis waeringi 

Uniformly brown with no mottling

Matte

Fingers distinctly longer than chela

Chela more narrow looking, almost the same width as the fingers

Found in southern California

Paravaejovis spinigerus

Brown, can be solid or slightly lined

Chela round and fat, with relatively short fingers

Tail distinctly large and thick

Tail has distinct carinae that form dark lines

Found primarily in Arizona, only occasionally in surrounding states

Vaejovis carolinianus 

Color variable from uniformly dark brown, to dark brown with slightly lighter, reddish legs and pedipalps

Sometimes has mottling on prosoma

Thick tail without subaculear tooth

Lightly granulated, no carinae

Found in the Southern United States from Louisiana to North Carolina, up into Kentucky

Paruroctonus boreus, note the lack of mottling, the lighter region in front of the median eyes to the edge of the prosoma, and the lighter back edge on the tergites that gives a “lined” appearance. 

Paruroctonus silvestrii, note the mottled silver pattern on the whole of the prosoma. 

Paruroctonus becki, note the thin, smooth tail compared to Paravaejovis, the narrow chela, and the presence of the dusky semicircle in the second pic.

Serradigitus gertschi, note the minimal dark brown patterning and the distinct hooks on tips of the fingers. 

Smeringurus mesaensis, note the lack of tint on the prosoma and the fingers not being significantly darker than the chela.

Smeringurus vachoni, note the distinct darker carinae on the chela and the dark fingers, and the tint on the prosoma going almost completely to the front edge. Middle picture is of the larger tooth present in males. Cutting edge of fingers has multiple teeth or waves (called scalloping). 

Smeringurus aridus, note the darker fingers and the slight crescent tint around the median eyes. Cutting edges of the fingers are straight with almost no scalloping. 

Paravaejovis confusus, note the uniform brown coloration and the fingers being only slightly longer than the chela. 

Paravaejovis puritanus, note the shiny brown appearance, the dusky tint around the leg joints, and the narrow chela.

Paravaejovis waeringi, note the uniform brown appearance and the fingers being distinctly longer than the chela.

Paravaejovis spinigerus, the patterning ranges from striped to solid brown. Note the distinct lines on the carinae of the tail, and the tail’s bulkier, spikier appearance. Also note the short fingers and bulbous chela. 

Vaejovis carolinianus, note the mottling and light granulation in the second picture. 

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[inferior-fairy]

Modern au where Obi-Wan and Anakin are rival birders going for county/state records each year

[talonsin]

I really love birdwatching. I saw a goldcrest right outside my window yesterday and I'm still so excited by it!!! they're the smallest bird in europe!!

[identifying-isopods-in-posts]

Isopod differentiation guide is in the works

[collinsportmaine]

Vampire Identification Guide

I haven’t see the new version of Salems Lot yet, but photos are showing up on the internet. Here’s a shot of Alexander Ward as Kurt Barlow.

I’m glad they decided to go in the direction of Reggie Nalder’s 1979 version which was very creepy. Rutger Hauer looked like a blond Dracula and simply wasn’t threatening.