Celebrating Cotopaxi’s GSB 2025 discoveries, and looking ahead to 2026!
From flowering plants to amphibians and insects, the Great Southern BioBlitz 2025 in Cotopaxi, Ecuador, brought together observations documenting the area’s biodiversity. Thank you to everyone who explored, photographed, uploaded observations and helped with identifications!
Cotopaxi’s 2025 results
The project recorded 147 observations representing 115 unique taxa:
🌿 Plants: 131 observations and 99 unique taxa.
🦋 Animals: 15 observations and 15 unique taxa.
🍄 Fungi: one observation representing one taxon.
Plants accounted for almost 89% of observations, with contributions from nine observers. Animal discoveries included amphibians, birds, mammals and insects, adding further variety to the results.
A closer look at the plants
Several plants appeared repeatedly in the observations. Lupinus pubescens, Plantago rigida and Valeriana rigida each featured in three observations.
Other discoveries, each recorded twice, included:
Some observations were identified to genus, including Geranium, Draba and Neobartsia. These records are useful reminders that you do not need a species-level identification to contribute.
Thank you to our contributors
A special acknowledgement goes to @marceloamores, who contributed 128 observations documenting 101 unique taxa. Thank you also to @becrodrice, @thomas9990, @cecillopart, and everyone else who contributed observations or identification expertise.
Every contribution helps build a fuller picture of the biodiversity around us.
Join us for GSB 2026!
Let’s build on these discoveries and encourage more people to explore Cotopaxi’s biodiversity!
📅 Observe wildlife: 27–30 November 2026📤 Upload observations and help with identifications by 14 December 2026
Whether you are an experienced naturalist or trying iNaturalist for the first time, you are welcome to participate.
To get ready:
Create or check your iNaturalist account and make a practice observation.
Find and join your local 2026 project through the GSB 2026 umbrella project.
During the event, photograph or record wild plants, animals and fungi, keeping accurate dates and locations.
Upload your observations and help identify what others found.
Take clear photos, include useful angles and keep each observation focused on one organism. If you do not know its name, start with a broader identification—the iNaturalist community can help.
Visit our How to participate guide for more information.
What will Cotopaxi discover in 2026? Join us and help find out!
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