A few Wikipedians have come together to make some suggestions about how we might organize data in these articles. These are only suggestions, things to give you focus and to get you going, and you shouldn't feel obligated in the least to follow them. But if you don't know what to write or where to begin, following the below guidelines may be helpful. Mainly, we just want you to write articles! For updates on Tree of Life and its subprojects, there is a monthly newletter published here to which you can subscribe.
This WikiProject is both a daughter project of WikiProject Biology and a meta-project in its own right. WikiProject Tree of Life aims primarily to represent the taxonomy and relationships of living organisms, as well as their extinct relatives, in a tree structure. Since there are millions of species, not all will be included, but we aim to handle as many as information, time, and interest permit. However, as a meta-project, Tree of Life directly includes only articles which have meaning across taxa or which pertain to taxonomy and systematics in general, or which do not fall under one of our daughter WikiProjects. A full directory of daughter WikiProjects has been listed below in the form of a cladogram. To see a directory of our sister WikiProjects under WikiProject Biology, see this link.
To see activity levels and active editors for these projects, use the Wikiproject Directory tool and find the project in question for further information. Some projects may not be listed. Current labels are based solely on template tags at the top of WikiProject pages and do not represent an in-depth assessment of the activity level of any project by WikiProject Tree of Life.
Other projects outside of Tree of Life:
- WikiProject Agriculture
- WikiProject Animal anatomy
- WikiProject Animals in media
- WikiProject Animal rights
- WikiProject Veterinary medicine
Article alerts
Today's featured articles
- 03 Jul 2022 – Common tern (talk · · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
- 28 Jun 2022 – Red panda (talk · · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
Did you know
- 02 Jun 2022 – Ezo flying squirrel (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Maculosae tegmine lyncis (t · c); see discussion
- 12 May 2022 – White-nosed saki (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Vikster28 (t · c); see discussion
- 07 May 2022 – Rafflesia lawangensis (talk · · hist) was nominated for DYK by Ornithoptera (t · c); see discussion
Articles for deletion
- 16 Jun 2022 – Semecarpus magnificus (talk · · hist) was AfDed by YorkshireExpat (t · c); see discussion (5 participants)
- 16 Jun 2022 – Semecarpus magnificum (talk · · hist) AfDed by YorkshireExpat (t · c) was closed (deleted); see discussion (5 participants)
Proposed deletions
- 19 Jun 2022 – Leptologia (talk · · hist) PRODed by Emery Cool21 (t · c) was redirected to Agrochola (talk · · hist)
Redirects for discussion
- 19 Jun 2022 – Paengi (talk · · hist) →Flammulina filiformis was RfDed by Plantdrew (t · c); see discussion
- 15 Jun 2022 – Turkey parrot (talk · · hist) →Kākāpō was RfDed by Rosguill (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Jun 2022 – Fat land parrot (talk · · hist) →Kākāpō was RfDed by Rosguill (t · c); see discussion
- 29 May 2022 – Black anther (talk · · hist) →Melanthera was RfDed by Plantdrew (t · c); see discussion
- 22 May 2022 – Dendrobaena veneta (talk · · hist) →Dendrobaena hortensis was RfDed by Artoria2e5 (t · c); see discussion
Miscellany for deletion
- undated – Category:Taxonomic articles by quality (talk · · hist) MfDed was closed; see discussion
Featured article candidates
- 23 May 2022 – Mandrill (talk · · hist) was FA nominated by LittleJerry (t · c); see discussion
Featured list candidates
- 29 Nov 2021 – Paleobiota of the Posidonia Shale (talk · · hist) was FL nominated by Yewtharaptor (t · c); see discussion
Good article nominees
- 12 Jun 2022 – White-fronted falconet (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by AryKun (t · c); start
- 12 Jun 2022 – Bare-headed laughingthrush (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by AryKun (t · c); start
- 12 Jun 2022 – Hose's broadbill (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by AryKun (t · c); start
- 12 Jun 2022 – Wallace's fruit dove (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by AryKun (t · c); start
- 12 Jun 2022 – Bornean stubtail (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by AryKun (t · c); start
- 12 Jun 2022 – Chestnut-hooded laughingthrush (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by AryKun (t · c); see discussion
- 12 Jun 2022 – Crimson-headed partridge (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by AryKun (t · c); start
- 12 Jun 2022 – Whitehead's spiderhunter (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by AryKun (t · c); see discussion
- 12 Jun 2022 – Whitehead's broadbill (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by AryKun (t · c); start
- 04 Jun 2022 – Wildlife of North Macedonia (talk · · hist) was GA nominated by Chipmunkdavis (t · c); see discussion
- (7 more...)
Good article reassessments
- 03 Mar 2022 – Staffordshire Bull Terrier (talk · · hist) was nominated for GA reassessment by Justlettersandnumbers (t · c); see discussion
Requests for comments
- 11 Oct 2021 – Malassezia (talk · · hist) has an RfC by Alexander Davronov (t · c); see discussion
Peer reviews
- 13 Jun 2022 – Life (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by Interstatefive (t · c); see discussion
- 27 May 2022 – Chicken turtle (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by BigDom (t · c); see discussion
- 17 May 2022 – Dwarf pufferfish (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by Primium (t · c); see discussion
- 20 Feb 2022 – Ondogurvel (talk · · hist) has been put up for PR by Sauriazoicillus (t · c); see discussion
Requested moves
- 17 Jun 2022 – Australian scrub python (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to Simalia kinghorni by BarrelProof (t · c); see discussion
- 12 Jun 2022 – Takahē (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to South Island takahē by Columbianmammoth (t · c); see discussion
- 12 Jun 2022 – Kākā (talk · · hist) is requested to be moved to New Zealand kākā by Columbianmammoth (t · c); see discussion
- 05 Jun 2022 – Southern rock python (talk · · hist) move request to Southern African rock python by BarrelProof (t · c) was moved to Southern African rock python (talk · · hist) by Mellohi! (t · c) on 13 Jun 2022; see discussion
- 05 Jun 2022 – African rock python (talk · · hist) move request to Central African rock python by BarrelProof (t · c) was moved to Central African rock python (talk · · hist) by Mellohi! (t · c) on 13 Jun 2022; see discussion
Articles to be merged
- 19 Jun 2022 – Fraxinus parryi (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Fraxinus dipetala by Premeditated Chaos (t · c); see discussion
- 18 Jun 2022 – Sclerocalyptus (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Neosclerocalyptus by Patachonica (t · c); see discussion
- 03 Jun 2022 – Bidens ferulifolia (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Bidens aurea by Loupeter (t · c); see discussion
- 02 Jun 2022 – Bruckenthalia (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Erica (plant) by Kazamzam (t · c); see discussion
- 16 May 2022 – Nephrops norvegicus (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to scampi by Parzival1919 (t · c); see discussion
- 09 May 2022 – Cuniculus hernandezi (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Mountain paca by HFoxii (t · c); see discussion
- 09 May 2022 – Mountain paca (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Cuniculus hernandezi by HFoxii (t · c); see discussion
- 08 May 2022 – Macrocystis integrifolia (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Macrocystis by Artoria2e5 (t · c); see discussion
- 08 May 2022 – Macrocystis pyrifera (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Macrocystis by Artoria2e5 (t · c); see discussion
- 02 May 2022 – Nesorhinus philippinensis (talk · · hist) is proposed for merging to Nesorhinus by FunkMonk (t · c); see discussion
- (59 more...)
Articles to be split
- 04 Jun 2022 – Cockchafer (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by 26zhangi (t · c); see discussion
- 26 Mar 2022 – List of organisms named after famous people (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Mrbeastmodeallday (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Mar 2022 – Rapeseed (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- 05 Feb 2022 – Asoriculus (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Hemiauchenia (t · c); see discussion
- 08 Dec 2021 – Hypotype (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Leomk0403 (t · c); see discussion
- 16 Oct 2021 – Tetrahymena (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by CycoMa (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Sep 2021 – Stenonychosaurus (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by HannahMoss (t · c); see discussion
- 26 May 2021 – Pea enation mosaic virus (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Awkwafaba (t · c); see discussion
- 11 Apr 2021 – Paradracaena (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by YorkshireExpat (t · c); see discussion
- 01 Nov 2020 – Corroboree frog (talk · · hist) is proposed for splitting by Bobamnertiopsis (t · c); see discussion
- (1 more...)
Articles for creation
- 26 Apr 2022 – Draft:Adeilosmilus (talk · · hist) has been submitted for AfC by 174.93.12.37 (t · c)
- 26 Apr 2022 – Draft:Schizopelma bicarinatum (talk · · hist) has been submitted for AfC by MaskedLynx (t · c)
- undated – Draft:Oligodon russelius (talk · · hist) has been submitted for AfC
- 13 Jun 2022 – Draft:Aymaratherium (talk · · hist) submitted for AfC by 174.88.30.132 (t · c) was accepted to Aymaratherium (talk · · hist) by Artem.G (t · c) on 16 Jun 2022
- 08 Jun 2022 – Draft:Rinorea melanodonta (talk · · hist) submitted for AfC by CycoMa1 (t · c) was accepted to Rinorea melanodonta (talk · · hist) by 97198 (t · c) on 19 Jun 2022
- 03 Jun 2022 – Draft:Juchuysillu (talk · · hist) submitted for AfC by 142.181.72.25 (t · c) was declined by Robert McClenon (t · c) on 16 Jun 2022
Article titles
In cases where there is a formal common name (e.g. for birds), or when common names are well-known and reasonably unique (e.g. "Cuvier's dwarf caiman"), they should be used for article titles. In all other cases, scientific names should be used.
See Wikipedia:Naming conventions (flora) for article titles for plants and Wikipedia:Naming conventions (fauna) for article titles for animals.
Note the following guidelines in using scientific names:
- Names of genera are always italicized and capitalized, e.g. Homo, Rosa, Saccharomyces.
- Species epithets are always italicized and preceded by the name of the genus, either in full or abbreviated (e.g. Homo sapiens or H. sapiens; never just sapiens), as an epithet may also be used for a different species in another genus. They are never capitalized.
- Names of higher taxa are capitalized but not italicized, e.g. Hominidae, Mammalia, Animalia.
- Common (vernacular) names are not capitalised (except for proper names that are part of them). See Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Animals, plants, and other organisms.
For a monotypic taxon (one that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon), a single article should cover both taxa (unless the higher-ranked one has had multiple circumscriptions, and an article is written to cover them all). If there is no common name, the article should generally go under the scientific name that is most often used when discussing the two taxa, or under the scientific name of lowest rank if there is no clear preference. However, for a monotypic genus (one that contains a single species), the genus name should be used, as it is included in the binomial nomenclature, and the genus title is more concise than the binomial. For instance, the order Amphionidacea, which has the single species Amphionides reynaudii, is discussed at Amphionides. If the name of a monotypic genus is shared with another topic, it is usually more appropriate to use a binomial as a natural disambiguation, rather than using a parenthetical disambiguating term for the genus. E.g., Alberta magna is a more natural search term than Alberta (plant genus).
Not all species need have separate articles. The simplest (and probably best) rule is to have no rule: if you have the time and energy to write up some particularly obscure subspecies that most people have never even heard of, go for it! As a general guideline, though, it's best to combine separate species into a single entry whenever it seems likely that there won't be enough text to make more than a short, unsatisfying stub otherwise. If the entry grows large enough to deserve splitting, that can always be done later.
A useful heuristic is to create articles in a "downwards" order, that is, family articles first, then genus, then species. If you find that information is getting thin, or the family/genus is small, leave the species information in the family or genus article. Don't try to force it down any further.
Taxon article template
Articles about taxa, such as families, genera, or species, typically contain some or all of these sections:
- (Physical) Description
- Taxonomy
- Distribution and habitat
- Ecology and behavior
- Conservation
- Uses
- Culture
See the general taxon template and descendant project pages, such as the WikiProject Plants taxon template, for more detail specific to different groups.
Taxoboxes
Example taxobox Cetaceans Temporal range: Eocene – Present
Early | |
---|---|
Clockwise from top: sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), narwhal (Monodon monoceros), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), killer whale (Orcinus orca), gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Clade: | Cetaceamorpha |
Infraorder: | Cetacea Brisson, 1762 |
Parvorders | |
(see text for families) | |
Diversity | |
Around 88 species |
- The full taxobox guide is located at Wikipedia:Automated taxobox system/intro.
Detailed taxonomic information, including notes on how taxa are defined and how they vary between different systems, belongs in the article proper. Where possible, however, a standard table will be provided to allow easier navigation between related groups and quick identification of what sort of organisms are being discussed. These are called taxoboxes. A typical taxobox is shown at right (it belongs on the top right of the page Cetacea).
There are three main sections to the taxobox:
- A header showing the name of the group, sometimes followed by a representative image.
- A table showing the placement of the group in a typical classification system.
- A footer, whose content varies, showing the binomial name or a species, or a list of subgroups for higher taxa.
Some items that are often included, but are not (necessarily) standardized, include:
- Breeding organizations' classifications (Dingo)
- Range map (see, for example, Orca)
- Synonyms (European lobster)
Position: The taxobox generally belongs at the top right corner of the article, unless it has been decided otherwise on the relevant talk page - for instance, if the article is not primarily about the biological group.
For cultivars — cultivated varieties of plants — don't use a taxobox; instead use a cultivar infobox ({{Infobox cultivar}}) as described at Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Cultivar infobox.
For breeds of animals, don't use a taxobox; instead use the appropriate breed template; see for example Wikipedia:WikiProject Dogs/Dog breeds task force and Wikipedia:WikiProject Equine/Horse breeds.
Talkpages
Tag talkpages with: {{WikiProject Tree of Life|class=|importance=}}
Categories
Major groups should be given their own categories. When possible, these should use the common name in the plural, except for plants, where WikiProject Plants uses scientific names by default (see WP:NCFLORA). In general, only articles about major subgroups should be added, and more specific articles should be included in subcategories. However, when there are only a few articles about members of the group, they can all go directly into the main category. Use your judgement on when to split, aiming for an approximate category size of 10-50 articles.
Note that in addition to taxa, categories may also contain informal subgroups. For instance Category:Primates may include an article or subcategory for monkeys, although they are not treated as a formal group. They may also include some other articles that pertain specifically to members of the group, although they are not about them.
Categories for articles about the biota[1] of a region should be based on the common grouping of that region used by zoological, botanical, mycological etc. publications. For example, if it is common to separate a region based on political boundaries (as in parts of Europe), categories should be separated by countries. If it is common to separate regions based on geographic features (such as New Guinea), categories should be separated by geographic region.
References
- ^ Biota are the total collection of organisms of a geographic region or a time period. See: Biota (ecology)
Taxonomic resources
The taxonomy of many groups is in a state of flux as taxonomic experts strive to incorporate the findings of Molecular phylogenetics, so it is not always possible to find a single satisfactory classification, and we would be doing a great disservice by pretending otherwise. The best would be to try and find out what the current consensus is, if there is one, and make notes on variant systems. In this, the following resources may be helpful:
General taxonomy
- Catalogue of Life - The Catalogue of Life is the most comprehensive and authoritative global index of species currently available. It consists of a single integrated species checklist and taxonomic hierarchy. The Catalogue holds essential information on the names, relationships and distributions of over 1.7 million species. This figure continues to rise as information is compiled from diverse sources around the world. Results are explicit about their primary sources but may trail behind primary databases such as World Register of Marine Species.
- M. A. Ruggiero et al.: A Higher Level Classification of All Living Organisms PLOS One, 2015; also a few corrections here. A Classification of all life down to the level of order, to be implemented through the Catalogue of Life. Families are not included, although they can be found at this 2014 version here (as an excel spreadsheet, some orders etc. changed for the 2015 version)
- NCBI database − The Taxonomy Database is a curated classification and nomenclature for all of the organisms in the public sequence databases. This currently represents about 10% of the described species of life on the planet. It attempts to incorporate phylogenetic and taxonomic knowledge from a variety of sources.
- UC Berkeley: History of life through time − phylogenetic cladograms; many well-summarized groups with illustrations; many pages "under construction"; links to other useful sites
- Mikko's Phylogeny Archive - A private archive of various phylogenetic trees.
- Index to Organism Names - Clarivate Analytics (formerly Thomson Reuters, formerly Biosis) - zoological names only, taxonomic hierarchy is useful a starting point but not necessarily up-to-date or complete.
- The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) - A comprehensive source (at least to c.2012) for genus names and their authorities for "all life", taxonomy is fairly up-to-date in some portions (higher plants, algae, fungi), variable in others; not all genera yet allocated to families.
- Paleobiology Database [1]: taxonomic and distributional information about the fossil record of plants and animals, complete for many well-known taxa, less so for others.
- Systema naturae − usually gives multiple breakdowns for groups, which is sometimes confusing but can be very useful.
- www.itis.gov − now part of Catalogue of Life an automated reference database of scientific and common names for species built within a working hierarchy. ITIS partners with Species 2000 to build the Catalogue of Life. Covers a lot of ground, but is often incomplete or idiosyncratic. ITIS pages older than a few years or with no review date should not be used, and in general ITIS cannot be considered a reliable source on its own. (Note domain used to be www.itis.usda.gov . Deleting the usda component may restore the link.
- Species 2000 − now part of Catalogue of Life a list of specific taxonomic (current) databases, covering contemporary and fossil organisms.
- Systax - a database system for systematics and taxometry based at the University of Ulm, Germany, which can be used as an alternative to the Itis system listed above.
- Kluge Principles of taxonomy
- Global Names Index - A repository of ~18 million names (species, genus + alternate names and attributions from author) from a multitude of source.
Marine organisms
- World Register of Marine Species [2] - an authoritative searchable database of marine organisms, from vertebrates to viruses. The taxonomic editors for each section are the experts in their group of organisms.
Animals
- Animal Diversity Web from the University of Michigan - Very informative
- Lepidoptera and other species (mostly related to Lepidoptera, such as popular butterfly plants, etc.). Info collected from other sources, not sure how accurate it all is. Interesting note: he has a (open source) perl script generating range maps automatically from distribution text.
- BugGuide.net--extensive resource on taxonomy and identification of North American arthropods. Experts in many fields visit and help with taxonomy.
- Diptera.info--extensive resource on taxonomy and identification of Diptera. Experts members help with taxonomy
- Hymis forum--extensive resource on taxonomy and identification of Hymenoptera. Experts members help with taxonomy
- Fauna Europaea - Database of all European land and freshwater animals.
- Amphibians and Reptiles
- AMNH database - Preferred taxonomy used by WikiProject Amphibians and Reptiles.
- ITIS, Reptilia - Preferred taxonomy used by WikiProject Amphibians and Reptiles.
- Birds
- Avibase - Database including all the world's bird species.
- IOC World Bird List - Preferred source of vernacular names and taxonomy used by WikiProject Birds
- Bivalves (Mollusca)
Wikiproject Bivalves is using the taxonomy of Bieler, R., Carter, J.G. & Coan, E.V. (2010) Classification of Bivalve families. Pp. 113-133, in: Bouchet, P. & Rocroi, J.P. (2010), "Nomenclator of Bivalve Families with a Classification of Bivalve Families" Malacologia 52(2): 1-184, which can be found at: Philippe Bouchet & Jean-Pierre Rocroi, Rüdiger Bieler, Joseph G. Carter, & Eugene V. Coan. 2010: Nomenclator of bivalve families with a classification of bivalve families. Malacologia 52: 4-112.
- Brachiopods
- Emig C. C., Bitner M. A. & Álvarez F., 2019. Brachiopoda Database.
- Cephalopods (Mollusca)
- CephBase - Superb information about Cephalopod classification. Preferred taxonomy used by WikiProject Cephalopods.
- Fish
- FishBase - Huge database giving basic info on thousands of fish. Preferred taxonomy used by WikiProject Fishes.
- Gastropods (Mollusca)
Please use the taxonomy of Bouchet and Rocroi, for details see Taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). This is the taxonomy we have updated to at WikiProject Gastropods. Please note that this taxonomy uses clades between the ranks of class and superfamily. For published updates to some parts of this taxonomy that have occurred since 2005, see Changes in the taxonomy of gastropods since 2005.
In 2017 a revised and updated and expanded taxonomy was published in Malacologia 61(1-2), 1-526 : Philippe Bouchet, Jean-Pierre Rocroi, Bernhard Hausdorf, Andrzej Kaim, Yasunori Kano, Alexander Nützel, Pavel Parkhaev, Michael Schrödl, and Ellen E. Strong "Revised Classification, Nomenclator and Typification of Gastropod and Monoplacophoran Families," Malacologia 61(1-2), 1-526. It also introduced again the use of additional ranks: suborder, order and subclass, replacing the use of the word "clade"
- Mammals
- Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition (MSW3) - Database of mammalian taxonomy. Preferred taxonomy used by WikiProject Mammals.
- Mesozoic mammals - Containing much information about Mesozoic mammals and relatives.
- Platyhelminths (Turbellaria)
Baguñà, J.; Riutort, M. (2004). "Molecular phylogeny of the Platyhelminthes". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 82 (2): 168. doi:10.1139/z03-214., reflected in "Turbellarian taxonomic database".
- Solenogastres (Mollusca)
- WP's taxonomy currently uses García-Álvarez, Óscar; v. Salvini-Plawen, Luitfried (2007). "Species and diagnosis of the Families and Genera of Solenogastres (Mollusca)" (PDF). Iberus. 25 (2): 73–143. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011.
- Spiders
- World Spider Catalog - Preferred taxonomy used by WikiProject Spiders
Plants
- The Plant List is the de facto standard used by WikiProject Plants at the genus and species levels in most cases. The Plant List aggregates information from other databases (some of which are listed below) which may be updated more frequently than The Plant List itself, so it may be desirable to cite the source database. Be aware that for some genera, synonymy is calculated algorithmically with no human review. In these cases, The Plant List should not be regarded as a reliable source. Genera with algorithimically computed synonymy can be identified by heavy reliance on Tropicos (TRO) as a source.
- Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2016). An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 181, 1-20. available here: Available online. The current authoritative source for flowering plants at family level and above, updated from APG I/II/III.
- Angiosperm Phylogeny Website : incorporates the latest taxonomic research; continuously updated.
- Accepted names and synonyms of taxa from volume 24 of the Flora of North America (Poaceae and relatives)
- The Missouri Botanical Garden is searchable by species, and where this is available, will give the accepted classification, and the degree to which it is accepted. Also lists authors, synonyms and homonyms. Far from complete.
- Vascular Plant Families - a systematic and alphabetical index of the non-flowering and the flowering plant families with the Cronquist system and the phylogenetic system of Judd et al. (2002) (i.e. APG)
- USDA/NRCS PLANTS Database - Not complete, but nice. Resource for some PD images. Common names used are usually only common in the USA and may not be used worldwide.
- L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. http://delta-intkey.com - Unique resource, updated to about 1998 (note that especially the lists of genera are outdated) - includes classifications of Cronquist; Dahlgren; Dahlgren, Clifford and Yeo; and APG (i.e. APG I, of 1998)
- System of Embryophytes by A. Novikoff & B. Barabasz-Krasny, 2015. A good modern treatment of fossil and extant plants (angiosperms excepted), particularly useful for fossil genera and families (with a small number of errors and some omissions). Not completely congruent with the treatment of modern plant divisions by Ruggiero et al, 2015 as given above; a version of Novikoff & Barabasz-Krasny's "System" with modifications for compliance with the latter treatment is included in IRMNG, the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera, see listing above in "General Taxonomy".
- Gymnosperm Database - very good coverage of gymnosperms
- HortiPlex Plant Database - Searchable by common or scientific name. Submitted by gardeners- may not be in line with current taxonomy.
- ILDIS A database of legume taxonomy, includes synonyms and accepted names, common names and detailed bibliographies for many species.
- Likewise, the following sites can help find taxonomic authors and abbreviations:
- IPNI, authors search Note that the author database is separate from the plant name databases: the author database is authoritative. The plant name databases are "as is" and should be used as a search aid (invaluable as such) rather than as any kind of authority.
Fungi
- Index Fungorum - database of fungus species, genus and higher names, with all historical synonyms and indication of current name
- MycoBank - nomenclatural and taxonomical database, similar in purpose and coverage to Index Fungorum
- ITIS, which covers other kingdoms as well
Protists and prokaryotes
- BIOS database of bacteria, archea and cyanobacteria names, with bibliography.
- List of Bacterial names with Standing in Nomenclature - Bacteria have a formal approved nomenclature, all approved names can be found here.
- List of Approved Bacterial Names - list provided by the American Society for Microbiology.
- AlgaeBase - database of algae species, very large but not complete
Viruses
- International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) [3] - the de facto standard for Wikipedia virus articles to method. A good place to see this in action and get an idea of how it works can be found at Virus classification.
- Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) database ([4]) also is a useful resource for virus taxonomy.
Requests
Taxa
Photographs
If you wish to have a photo uploaded please add {{Image requested|animals}} on the talk page of the article. Category:Wikipedia requested photographs of animals lists these requests - if you can upload a photograph of any of these it would be appreciated.
Cladograms
If you would like for a cladogram to be created for an article visit Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Cladogram requests.
Related WikiProjects
- WikiProject Animal rights
- WikiProject Evolutionary biology
- WikiProject Ecoregions
- WikiProject Forestry
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Wiki Makes Video/Parks
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Wiki Makes Video/Wildlife
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles/Global Names Index
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Paleontology
On other Wikimedia Foundation projects
- WikiProject Taxonomy on Wikidata (add yourself to this list to be notified of relevant Wikidata activity)
- WikiProject Tree of Life on Wikimedia Commons
- Wikispecies for scientific users (FAQ)
Participants
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Userboxes
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Sample articles
A number of articles under this WikiProject and its descendants have been recognized for their excellence by the Wikipedia community as featured articles or featured lists, and may serve as good models. The articles are sorted by WikiProject:
- General: Archaea, Bacteria, Ediacaran biota, Helicobacter pylori, Myxobolus cerebralis, Starfish
- Amphibians and Reptiles: Australian green tree frog, Cane toad, Crocodilia, Frog, Green and golden bell frog, Hawksbill sea turtle, List of snakes of Trinidad and Tobago, List of Testudines families
- Arthropods: Isopoda, Jaekelopterus, Megarachne, Millipede, Onychopterella
- Birds: Albatross, American goldfinch, Arctic tern, Bald eagle, California condor, Common raven, Elfin woods warbler, Emu, Kakapo, List of birds of Florida, List of birds of Kansas, List of birds of Nicaragua, List of birds of Thailand, Mourning dove, Procellariidae, Red-tailed black cockatoo, Seabird
- Dinosaurs: Albertosaurus, Archaeopteryx, Compsognathus, Diplodocus, Dinosaur, Iguanodon, List of dinosaur genera, Psittacosaurus, Stegosaurus, Styracosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor
- Fungi: Amanita muscaria, Amanita ocreata, Amanita phalloides, Cyathus, Gyromitra esculenta, List of Armillaria species
- Mammals: Elephant, European hare, Giraffe, List of fruit bats, List of mammals of Florida, List of mammals of Korea
- Cats: Bobcat, Cougar, Jaguar, Lion, List of felids, Smilodon
- Cetaceans: Baleen whale, Blue whale, Fin whale, Humpback whale, Killer whale, Right whale, Sei whale, List of cetacean species
- Dogs: Beringian wolf, Dire wolf, Golden jackal, List of canids
- Monotremes and Marsupials: Platypus, Short-beaked echidna, Tasmanian devil, Thylacine
- Primates: Lemur, List of lemur species, The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates, Primate, Ring-tailed lemur, Slow loris
- Plants: Cucurbita, Ficus macrophylla, Lambertia formosa, List of basil cultivars, List of the largest genera of flowering plants, Verbascum thapsus
- Sharks: Cretoxyrhina, Goblin shark, Megalodon, Oceanic whitetip shark, Pigeye shark, Porbeagle, Silky shark
To do
New articles
To browse Tree of Life subjects that require articles, see the Tree of Life list of requested articles. If adding to the list of requests, make sure to include scientific names, as it will make it easier for others to track down information. One-sentence stubs are discouraged: try to create a worthwhile start class article, with a taxobox, and sources properly cited. When adding weblinks, look for standard references first, such as the IUCN and its sub-commissions.
Specific request lists also include:
- Missing encyclopedic articles about animals.
- Missing encyclopedic articles about plants
- Requested articles about plants (botany)
- Fact-check new biology articles nominated for "Did you know ...?" here. The link is to all nominated articles, but binomial species names are easy to pick out. Successful candidates will be linked to from our Main Page, so let's make them look good!
Cleanup
Please add {{missing-taxobox}} to the talk page of articles that need taxonomic information.
Articles needing taxoboxes
Articles needing attention
- Biology pages needing attention (cleanup, expansion, wikification, expert needed, etc.)
Articles needing attention
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Articles without images
- Category:Taxonomic articles needing attention
- Plant articles needing attention
- Plant articles needing expert attention
- Wikipedia requested images of plants
- Unidentified plant images - Unidentified plants on Commons
Assessment
Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Assessment
Popular pages
Popular pages, a bot-generated list of pageviews, useful for focused cleanup of frequently viewed articles.
Quality operations
Quality operations, a bot-generated detail activity log.