The Symbiota Image Library is designed to manage images obtained from field expeditions, physical specimens, and photo vouchered observations. Simple field images lack specific locality information or were obtained outside of the portals geographic boundaries. These images are linked only to the taxonomic name and are accessible from the Taxon Profile pages (see links below).
Specimen images are linked directly to the specimen record. These images are accessible from the Occurrence (specimen) Details page (see links below), as well as from the Species Profile page of the latest identification of the specimen. An annotation of the specimen identification will also adjust the scientific name to which the image is linked. When available, larger versions of the specimen image are offered as an optional link, thus enabling the user to download and zoom in on specific features of the specimen. Being able to access images of specimen vouchers from species checklists is of particular value to researchers. If there is any doubt that a species occurs within an area, one can look at the supporting specimen data and images associated with that observation, thus verifying or challenging the information.
For information on how to submit an image to a Symbiota biodiversity portal, see the Image Submission page.