Leslie H. Harris

Forum username: leslie
Location: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Posts: 1,416 across 861 threads
Threads started: 47
Active years: 2004–2020
Primary forums: Critter Identification (1,249), Photo / Video Showcase (66), The Galley: General Chat (45)
Specialization: Marine invertebrate identification, nudibranch and crustacean taxonomy

Community Role

leslie was Wetpixel’s foremost marine life identification specialist, contributing 1,249 of 1,416 total posts (88%) in the Critter Identification forum — the highest single-forum concentration of any prolific contributor on the site. Their affiliation with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County gave them direct access to world-class taxonomists, and they regularly consulted museum colleagues to resolve difficult identifications for the community.

Active from 2004 through 2020, leslie’s peak came in 2007 with 275 posts, followed by sustained high activity through 2012. They maintained a remarkably consistent presence across 11 distinct years of posting, returning as late as 2020 with 3 posts after a seven-year hiatus. Their willingness to identify marine organisms — from common reef fish to obscure deep-sea crabs — made the Critter ID forum function as a genuine taxonomic reference service.

leslie’s expertise extended well beyond simple identifications. In the “Slimy thing” thread, they initially identified a mysterious flat, translucent organism as a sea cucumber of the genus Euapta or Synapta, then engaged in a collegial scientific debate with fellow contributor “art” about whether it might instead be a nemertean worm — ultimately noting “I used to work on them. I’m willing to be convinced and equally willing to admit I’m wrong,” revealing their professional research background (^[1]). In the “Sea tarantula” thread, they demonstrated their scientific rigor by initially suggesting the creature was a real spider, then waking up in the night to fact-check, self-correcting that stalked eyes indicated a crab rather than a spider, and consulting Jody Martin, the crustacea curator at their museum, who identified the animal as likely a member of the primitive crab family Homolodromiidae, genus Dicranodromia or Homolodromia (^[2]).

Notable Contributions

• De facto Critter Identification authority, answering marine life ID questions across 1,249 posts in 861 threads, covering nudibranchs, crustaceans, holothurians, nemerteans, pycnogonids, and countless other taxa
• “Slimy thing” thread (41 total replies): Identified mysterious Indonesian organism, debated classification with peers, and consulted specialists, demonstrating collaborative scientific identification (^[3])
• “Resource for translating latin fish names?” (8 posts, 42 replies): Offered to translate scientific names from reference books for the community, helping underwater videographer RebreatherDave with invertebrate etymology (^[4])
• “Never before photographed, possibly undescribed species” (5 posts, 22 replies): Contributed to discussion of a rare tapetail fish (family Mirapinnidae) photographed in Cozumel, one of only ~100 specimens ever observed (^[5])
• “Sea tarantula” (5 posts, 13 replies): Self-corrected a spider identification to a primitive deep-sea crab after overnight research, then obtained a genus-level ID from the museum’s crustacea curator (^[6])
• “Unknown animal living in a featherstar” (7 posts, 16 replies): Identified obscure crinoid-associated organisms (^[7])
• “Weird Mantis Shrimp behaviour” (6 posts, 18 replies): Provided behavioral context alongside mantis shrimp identification (^[8])
• “Unknown pelagic egg mass” (6 posts, 25 replies): Helped identify unusual pelagic organisms (^[9])
• Also contributed to Conservation and the Environment (28 posts) and Photo / Video Showcase (66 posts), revealing engagement beyond pure taxonomy

Activity Profile

• Peak year: 2007 (275 posts)
• Forum concentration: 88% of all posts in Critter Identification — the most specialized contributor among prolific members
• Museum connections: Regularly consulted curators and specialists at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, including crustacea curator Jody Martin and nemertean/holothurian researchers
• Scientific approach: Combined direct identification with honest uncertainty, peer debate, and specialist referrals — a model of scientific rigor in a community forum setting

References