http://fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/

Field Guides-Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL (2026)

12/31/2025

In 2025, our webpage paused new publications from January to early November for significant back-end improvements. As soon as we received the green light from our IT Department, our team jumped on the task of publishing as many guides as possible before our winter break. We worked weeks and weekends, day and night, for one and a half months (November & December), and published 44 field guides.

🤞 We are currently closed for new submissions and hope to reopen as soon as possible next year.

12/31/2025

This 18-page field guide to the Plants of the Moorlands and Montane Forests of the Ilinizas Peaks, Ecuador, was created through exploration of the Ilinizas mountains and study of their unique biodiversity. It was designed to fill a gap in accessible information and respond to rapid environmental changes—like glacial retreat, expanding agriculture, mining, and wildfires—that threaten these ecosystems. These challenges highlighted the need to organize and share knowledge about local plant life.

By strengthening understanding and appreciation of high-Andean biodiversity, this guide aims to promote sustainable tourism, education, and conservation as alternatives to extractive activities that currently impact the region and other Ecuadorian ecosystems.

https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1794

12/30/2025

This 17-page field guide documents 185 species belonging to 40 plant families associated with the grassland areas in the Morro do Osso.

Morro do Osso is a granitic formation that reaches an elevation of 143 m. It stands in the southern zone of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, near the margin of Lake Guaíba. In 1994, the city established the Morro do Osso Municipal Natural Park at this site. This created an urban biodiversity conservation unit. The park encompasses approximately 127 hectares of protected area. It preserves remnants of native vegetation and maintains the ecological processes of the Atlantic Forest and Pampa biomes.

Numerous field expeditions to the park, combined with a rigorous taxonomic identification process supported by regional specialists, led to the creation of this guide. It serves as an indispensable tool. The guide highlights the remarkable biological richness of these areas. These areas face constant anthropogenic pressure, which threatens their long-term persistence.

Download the complete field guide on our webpagehttps://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1682

12/25/2025

The Field Guides team wishes you all “Happy Holidays!”

Photo: watercolor effect in our Palicourea (Rubiaceae: Palicoureeae) of Costa Rica field guide, page 25 (December 25, 2025).

12/23/2025

🌱 New Brazilian field guide alert! “Endemic Plants of the State of Rio de Janeiro Threatened with Extinction from the Serra da Maria Comprida State Natural Monument" is now available on our website!

Authors: Felipe Tubarão, Paulo Cezar Estrella Jr., Renata Maria Abreu de Andrade

https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1754

12/23/2025

Bird lovers: check out our field guide, "Birds of Urahuasha Protected Area." Urahuasha borders the Cordillera Escalera Regional Conservation Area, a 1,500 km² protected region in Peru’s northern Cordillera Oriental, established by local farmers in 1992.

The more than 200 photos featuring 63 species in this 24-page field guide were collected during 2021 and 2022. Mist nets were set almost daily in various habitats to study the predatory behavior of insectivorous birds.

Nets were opened early and checked hourly until late afternoon. Captured birds were measured, photographed, and had feather samples sent to UNMSM (The National University of San Marcos, Lima) for analysis. Birds were released either immediately or after up to 30 hours of behavioral experiments, always in the same spot and under good weather conditions.

Authors: Pável Matos-Maraví, César Ramírez Garc, Daniel Linke, Letty Salinas Sánchez, Jacqueline Hernández Mejía, Valery Nicole Paquita Eche Navarro.

https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1737

12/22/2025

Get your copy of our new field guide, "Amphibians and Reptiles of the Santa Rita del Opon Village.", COLOMBIA.
Authors: Sebastian Zorro-Murillo, Giovanny A. Herrera-Pachon, Mariajose Fontecha-Espinosa, Duván Felipe Fonseca-Acuña, Natalia Marina Munar-Noguera, Darling Giselle López-Carreño

https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1736

Message from the authors: This guide is a tribute to the roots, land, and community that inspired our study and protection of nature. We created this guide to document the amphibian and reptile fauna associated with the area, thereby contributing to scientific knowledge about the region's herpetological diversity and encouraging communities to recognize and appreciate this resource, ultimately developing educational and conservation strategies for the area.

12/21/2025

Caño Mitimiti, located in the municipality of Puerto Gaitán, Meta, Colombia, has long served as a vibrant hub for Biology student fieldwork at the Universidad de Los Llanos. Most Zoology fieldwork is conducted there, taking advantage of the area’s rich natural resources. This guide was created to support students attending ichthyology courses during fieldwork. It provides a practical and straightforward reference for identifying species. By connecting students with nature through hands-on activity, this 9-page field guide builds environmental awareness and commitment to fish conservation.

Download the complete guide on our webpage.
https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1704

Authors:
Laura Yinet Suarez Contento, Leandro Rodriguez Umana, Miguel Ángel Cortés Hernández, Jefer Danny Cano Calderon, Luis Felipe Collazos Lasso, Elizabeth Aya Baquero

12/15/2025

Discover our latest guide from the remarkable state of Ceará, Brazil!

The Plants of Recordações Farm is a 20-page field guide, produced after years of data collection and analysis. It is for botanists, students, conservationists, and nature enthusiasts. The guide recognizes the area's rich floral diversity. The authors conducted 16 field expeditions from 2020 to 2024. They developed a detailed survey through sample collecting and photographic records.

These expeditions uncovered 188 species from 117 genera and 46 plant families. The researchers recorded Isocarpha spathulata, a species newly described to science (Rebouças & Roque, 2023). They also discovered four other species that had never been previously recorded in Ceará.

Autores: Maria Iracema Bezerra Loiola, Raimundo L. S. Neto, Luana Mateus de Sousa, Francisco Diego Sousa Santos, Rubens Teixeira de Queiroz, Maria Eduarda Sousa Barros

Download the complete guide and explore, share, and help celebrate the unique plant life of Recordações farm.

Search for guide number 1780 on our webpage.
https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1780

12/15/2025

Exciting news! We now have a collection that includes 36 Mexican field guides, with the latest addition being "Riodinidae of the Los Tuxtlas Tropical Biology Station," Mexico. Additional guides can be found on our webpage for this biological station, located in the core area of the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve.

Authors: Martha Madora Astudillo (Estación de Biología Tropical Los Tuxtlas) & Rosamond Coates (Instituto de Biología, UNAM)

Grab your free copy here: https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1742

12/14/2025

Visit our website (https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides) to acquire your free copy of our brand-new field guide of “Selected Herbaceous Plants of the Missão Velha Waterfall Geosites”, State of Ceará, Brazil.

Herbaceous plants have flexible stems and a short life cycle; they grow, bloom, and complete their cycle in a few months or even a year. Because they are less studied than trees and shrubs, they often go unnoticed, but they are an essential part of the Caatinga, the predominant vegetation in the region.

Showcasing 50 unique species, this guide is a testament to the passion and curiosity of Biological Sciences undergraduates at URCA (Universidade Regional do Cariri). Through hands-on fieldwork, floristic survey, and research, students bridged the gap between classroom learning and real-world discovery in the heart of the study area.

When knowledge is within reach, our relationship with nature undergoes a transformation. This field guide opens doors for learners of all backgrounds, offering hands-on insights into local flora and supporting conservation efforts by highlighting the Caatinga’s irreplaceable ecosystem.

https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1802

Authors: José Francisco Erison Silva, Janilson Santos de Jesus, Josefa Ricarte da Silva, Maria Arlene Pessoa da Silva, Valéria da Silva Sampaio

11/30/2025

The municipality of Pitalito is located in the upper Magdalena River basin in Huila, Colombia. It covers an area of 653 km², with nearly 14,000 hectares designated as protected under 176 municipal nature reserves and two regional natural parks. Currently, Pitalito is home to 70 validated species of mammals, which account for 12.7% of Colombia's total mammal diversity.
This field guide features 59 species, illustrated with photos from camera trap monitoring conducted by the local Environment and Risk Management Department since 2017, as well as additional images from observations made by the authors and other individuals affiliated with institutions and community monitoring groups operating within the municipality and its surrounding areas. This guide is the culmination of many hands' efforts.

Mammals of the Municipality of Pitalito by
Fabian Galindez Mutiz, Jorge Luis Peña Núñez
https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/1715

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