Durso, Andrew M., et al. "Crowdsourcing snake identification with online communities of professional herpetologists and avocational snake enthusiasts." Royal Society open science 8.1 (2021): 201273.

This study explores the potential of online citizen science and crowdsourcing as tools for improving snake species identification, which is crucial for addressing the medical challenges associated with venomous snakebites. By conducting a week-long online challenge that attracted over 1,000 participants worldwide, the research demonstrates that a global online community, comprising both professional herpetologists and avocational snake enthusiasts, can rapidly (under 2 minutes) and accurately (69–90%) identify snakes. Despite a limited number of participants being proficient in species-level identification even with geographic information, the challenge revealed a high level of enthusiasm and engagement among participants. The study suggests that connecting healthcare workers and clinicians with these online communities could enhance snakebite identification, treatment data, and outcomes by leveraging the expertise of professional herpetologists and skilled enthusiasts. It underscores the value of innovative citizen science approaches in training, capacity building, and fostering collaborations between medical professionals and snake identification experts.