This essay contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. Essays may represent widespread norms or minority viewpoints. Consider these views with discretion. It is not a Wikipedia policy. |
This page in a nutshell: There are currently many (perhaps too many) different ways in which articles about plants and animals are categorized in Wikipedia. |
Wikipedia [a] contains around 400,000 [1] articles about taxa (groups of animals, plants etc). This essay contains information about how such articles are currently categorized and guidance for editors about categorizing them. [b]
Categories that are based purely on taxonomy (e.g. Category:Mammals) are generally well populated (i.e. most/all of the relevant articles are in the category), but other categories in which taxa articles are placed (e.g. a "Spiders of Latvia" category) are often very underpopulated (and may also have unclear inclusion criteria).
The essay is intended to assist editors to efficiently and consistently categorize articles in a way that is useful (to readers and editors). Many categories for taxa that have been created and partly populated have later been deleted.
“ | Ultimately a species article should look the same and be categorized the same, whether it's a mollusc or moth. | ” |
— A WP:TOL editor interviewed in Signpost December 2019 |
Most taxa articles are about a species; some are about a subspecies, a genus or a higher taxonomic group. Some are well-developed articles, but many are very short articles (in some cases a single sentence [2]).
In this essay italic font indicates a reference to a deletion discussion.
The ways in which taxa articles (for example, an article about a species of fish) are currently [c] categorized include those listed below. In this section each characteristic (or group of characteristics) has been identified by a one-letter code.
Many of these categories are very incomplete. For example, (as of 2020) about 10% of the articles about fungi are in subcategories of Category:Fungi by edibility. [5]
In this section 2-letter and 3-letter codes (based on the 1-letter codes defined in the section above) are used to refer to the combinations of characteristics.
Intersection categories based on 2 characteristics one of which is type of organism include -
Intersection categories based on 2 characteristics (not including type of organism) include -
Intersection categories based on 3 or more characteristics include -
Note: Do not create new types of intersection categories (e.g. Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus that are now extinct) without careful consideration and discussion with other editors.
Note: Petscan can be used to find articles that are at the intersection of 2 categories - e.g. Hymenoptera described in 2017, but very few readers (and not all editors) know about it. [i]
section under development
|
---|
2 characteristics c d e f g h l n o p r s t u v x y b bc bd be bf bg bh bl bn bo bp br bs bt bu bv bx by c . cd ce cf cg ch cl cn co cp cr cs ct cu cv cx cy d cd . de df dg dh dl dn do dp dr ds dt du dv dx dy e ce de . ef eg eh el en eo ep er es et eu ev ex ey f cf df ef . fg fh fl fn fo fp fr fs ft fu fv fx fy g cg dg eg fg . gh gl gn go gp gr gs gt gu gv gx gy h ch dh eh fh gh . hl hn ho hp hr hs ht hu hv hx hy l cl dl el fl gl hl . ln lo lp lr ls lt lu lv lx ly n cn dn en fn gn hn ln . no np nr ns nt nu nv nx ny o co do eo fo go ho lo no . op or os ot ou ov ox oy p cp dp ep fp gp hp lp np op . pr ps pt pu pv px py r cr dr er fr gr hr lr nr or pr . rs rt ru rv rx ry s cs ds es fs gs hs ls ns os ps rs . st su sv sx sy t c d e f g h l n o p r s . u v x y u c d e f g h l n o p r s t . v x y v c d e f g h l n o p r s t u . -- y x c d e f g h l n o p r s t u -- . y y c d e f g h l n o p r s t u v x . 3 characteristics (including b) |
Editors should follow all the general rules regarding categorizing articles (e.g. don't place an article (directly) in 2 categories where one is a parent of the other). Some specific guidance:
Editors working on the category structure for taxa articles should follow all the general rules regarding category structures (e.g. rules that prevent category loops). Some specific guidance:
The table below shows (using mice as an example) which taxonomic levels are used in different places in the category structure.
Note: This table is intended to have words in blue (linked to a category) and "X"s in red (indicating no category) - assuming there are no category redirects. Any words in red or "X"s in blue indicate a change to the category structure since the table was created/updated (i.e. the table should be updated).
T | Prehistoric t | Extinct t | T of Africa | Mesozoic t of Africa |
---|---|---|---|---|
Organisms | life | taxa | Biota | life |
Eukaryotes | eukaryotes | X | X | X |
Animals | animals | animals | Fauna | animals |
Bilaterians | X | X | X | X |
Deuterostomes | deuterostomes | X | X | X |
Chordates | chordates | chordates | X | X |
Vertebrates | vertebrates | vertebrates | Vertebrates | vertebrates |
Teleostomi | X | X | X | X |
Tetrapods | tetrapods | X | X | tetrapods |
Amniotes | X | X | X | X |
Synapsids | synapsids | X | X | synapsids |
Therapsids | therapsids | X | X | X |
Mammals | mammals | mammals | Mammals | mammals |
X | eutherians | X | X | X |
X | placental mammals | X | X | X |
Rodents | rodents | rodents | Rodents | X |
Muroid rodents | X | X | X | X |
Muridae | murids | X X | X X | X X |
Link to table: User:DexDor/BioCat/TemplateA
Note: The number of levels in the category structure may be greater than the number of levels shown here because the category structure also includes "...by classification" categories. For example, between Category:Rodents and Category:Mammals there is Category:Mammals by classification.
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. |
See discussion at a user talk page
This essay contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. Essays may represent widespread norms or minority viewpoints. Consider these views with discretion. It is not a Wikipedia policy. |
This page in a nutshell: There are currently many (perhaps too many) different ways in which articles about plants and animals are categorized in Wikipedia. |
Wikipedia [a] contains around 400,000 [1] articles about taxa (groups of animals, plants etc). This essay contains information about how such articles are currently categorized and guidance for editors about categorizing them. [b]
Categories that are based purely on taxonomy (e.g. Category:Mammals) are generally well populated (i.e. most/all of the relevant articles are in the category), but other categories in which taxa articles are placed (e.g. a "Spiders of Latvia" category) are often very underpopulated (and may also have unclear inclusion criteria).
The essay is intended to assist editors to efficiently and consistently categorize articles in a way that is useful (to readers and editors). Many categories for taxa that have been created and partly populated have later been deleted.
“ | Ultimately a species article should look the same and be categorized the same, whether it's a mollusc or moth. | ” |
— A WP:TOL editor interviewed in Signpost December 2019 |
Most taxa articles are about a species; some are about a subspecies, a genus or a higher taxonomic group. Some are well-developed articles, but many are very short articles (in some cases a single sentence [2]).
In this essay italic font indicates a reference to a deletion discussion.
The ways in which taxa articles (for example, an article about a species of fish) are currently [c] categorized include those listed below. In this section each characteristic (or group of characteristics) has been identified by a one-letter code.
Many of these categories are very incomplete. For example, (as of 2020) about 10% of the articles about fungi are in subcategories of Category:Fungi by edibility. [5]
In this section 2-letter and 3-letter codes (based on the 1-letter codes defined in the section above) are used to refer to the combinations of characteristics.
Intersection categories based on 2 characteristics one of which is type of organism include -
Intersection categories based on 2 characteristics (not including type of organism) include -
Intersection categories based on 3 or more characteristics include -
Note: Do not create new types of intersection categories (e.g. Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus that are now extinct) without careful consideration and discussion with other editors.
Note: Petscan can be used to find articles that are at the intersection of 2 categories - e.g. Hymenoptera described in 2017, but very few readers (and not all editors) know about it. [i]
section under development
|
---|
2 characteristics c d e f g h l n o p r s t u v x y b bc bd be bf bg bh bl bn bo bp br bs bt bu bv bx by c . cd ce cf cg ch cl cn co cp cr cs ct cu cv cx cy d cd . de df dg dh dl dn do dp dr ds dt du dv dx dy e ce de . ef eg eh el en eo ep er es et eu ev ex ey f cf df ef . fg fh fl fn fo fp fr fs ft fu fv fx fy g cg dg eg fg . gh gl gn go gp gr gs gt gu gv gx gy h ch dh eh fh gh . hl hn ho hp hr hs ht hu hv hx hy l cl dl el fl gl hl . ln lo lp lr ls lt lu lv lx ly n cn dn en fn gn hn ln . no np nr ns nt nu nv nx ny o co do eo fo go ho lo no . op or os ot ou ov ox oy p cp dp ep fp gp hp lp np op . pr ps pt pu pv px py r cr dr er fr gr hr lr nr or pr . rs rt ru rv rx ry s cs ds es fs gs hs ls ns os ps rs . st su sv sx sy t c d e f g h l n o p r s . u v x y u c d e f g h l n o p r s t . v x y v c d e f g h l n o p r s t u . -- y x c d e f g h l n o p r s t u -- . y y c d e f g h l n o p r s t u v x . 3 characteristics (including b) |
Editors should follow all the general rules regarding categorizing articles (e.g. don't place an article (directly) in 2 categories where one is a parent of the other). Some specific guidance:
Editors working on the category structure for taxa articles should follow all the general rules regarding category structures (e.g. rules that prevent category loops). Some specific guidance:
The table below shows (using mice as an example) which taxonomic levels are used in different places in the category structure.
Note: This table is intended to have words in blue (linked to a category) and "X"s in red (indicating no category) - assuming there are no category redirects. Any words in red or "X"s in blue indicate a change to the category structure since the table was created/updated (i.e. the table should be updated).
T | Prehistoric t | Extinct t | T of Africa | Mesozoic t of Africa |
---|---|---|---|---|
Organisms | life | taxa | Biota | life |
Eukaryotes | eukaryotes | X | X | X |
Animals | animals | animals | Fauna | animals |
Bilaterians | X | X | X | X |
Deuterostomes | deuterostomes | X | X | X |
Chordates | chordates | chordates | X | X |
Vertebrates | vertebrates | vertebrates | Vertebrates | vertebrates |
Teleostomi | X | X | X | X |
Tetrapods | tetrapods | X | X | tetrapods |
Amniotes | X | X | X | X |
Synapsids | synapsids | X | X | synapsids |
Therapsids | therapsids | X | X | X |
Mammals | mammals | mammals | Mammals | mammals |
X | eutherians | X | X | X |
X | placental mammals | X | X | X |
Rodents | rodents | rodents | Rodents | X |
Muroid rodents | X | X | X | X |
Muridae | murids | X X | X X | X X |
Link to table: User:DexDor/BioCat/TemplateA
Note: The number of levels in the category structure may be greater than the number of levels shown here because the category structure also includes "...by classification" categories. For example, between Category:Rodents and Category:Mammals there is Category:Mammals by classification.
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. |
See discussion at a user talk page