Why does everyone call lumpy altocumulus 'mammatus'? I keep seeing people mix those up

I spotted some real mammatus over the field behind my house last Tuesday and when I looked up the photos online every other post is calling regular bumpy clouds mammatus... Are people just not checking the cloud underside shape or am I missing something?

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thomas_wright411d ago

Ngl I used to be one of those people who just called any lumpy cloud mammatus without thinking twice. Honestly, I thought they were all the same thing until I actually looked up proper photos and realized real mammatus has those distinct pouch shapes hanging down underneath, not just bumpy tops. It's wild how many posts online just slap the label on anything with texture. I get the confusion because altocumulus can look pretty dramatic too, but once you see the real deal it's hard to mix them up again. Tbh I wish more people would zoom in on the underside before they hit post, it's not that hard to tell the difference once you know what to look for.