Template:Speciesbox/doc

Documentation for the automated taxobox system

{{Speciesbox}} is one of the automated taxobox templates used to generate a taxobox automatically. (As of February 2019, there were 8 such templates.) It's part of the "automated taxobox system", and is used for taxa (groups of organisms) at the rank of species (excluding viruses). The pages linked in the navigation box provide information on different parts of the system.

Note: If you are a new user, it's a good idea to read the automated taxobox system introduction first; in particular to be sure that you are using the right automated taxobox.

This template is used to display a taxobox for a species whose parent's taxonomy is stored in taxonomy templates. A requirement is that the name of the species is displayed as a simple binomial (i.e. in the form Genus species). In a few special cases, the name of the species is displayed differently (as for example at Halictus? savenyei), when {{Automatic taxobox}} is used.

Note that the Speciesbox template does not require or make use of a taxonomy template for the species; it only uses the taxonomy template for the parent taxon, normally the genus.

Usage

Usage is basically the same as {{Automatic taxobox}} (with a few variations noted below).

There are five main cases to consider in using this template:

• Simple cases, where the species is not a hybrid so that the × symbol is not present, the genus name is unique and not duplicated between kingdoms, and the species is not the only one in the genus.
• Hybrid species names, where the symbol × is required.
• Species where the genus name is duplicated between kingdoms, so the taxonomy for the genus must distinguish between kingdoms (e.g. Acanthocarpus (plant) and Acanthocarpus (crab)).
• Monospecific genera, where the species and genus articles are combined, with the article title being the genus name.
• Parent taxon not the genus, where the parent taxon must be specified as it cannot be deduced from the binomial.

Simple cases

If the article is about a species whose binomial and genus name are both straightforward (e.g., no rank between the species and its genus, no hybrid symbol, no parenthesized disambiguation in the genus name), then the minimum requirement is to specify the taxon parameter:

• |taxon=name of the species without any formatting (e.g. Quercus major, Lobatus gigas)

(Alternatively you can use the genus and species parameters separately – this is different from {{Automatic taxobox}}:

• |genus=name of the genus without any formatting (e.g. Quercus, Lobatus)
• |species=specific epithet or name without any formatting (e.g. major, gigas)

This slightly reduces the processing needed.)

It's not necessary to include {{italic title}} in the article; this will be added automatically by the Speciesbox template if needed.

For more complicated cases, see the other sections below.

Simple examples

• Page at the binomial name; displayed taxobox to have the binomial name as its title, e.g. Lobatus gigas.

{{Speciesbox

| taxon = Lobatus gigas --recommended 

| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) --optional; this is the authority for the binomial (species) name

... --other optional parameters, e.g. for an image

}}

Alternatively, use separate parameters for the genus name and the specific name/epithet.

{{Speciesbox

| genus = Lobatus

| species = gigas

| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) --optional; this is the authority for the binomial (species) name

... --other optional parameters, e.g. for an image

}}

• Page at the binomial name; displayed taxobox to have the common name as its title, e.g. Allium moly.

{{Speciesbox

| name = Golden garlic --required if title of taxobox ≠ taxon name

| taxon = Allium moly

| authority = L. --optional; this is the authority for the binomial (species) name

... --other optional parameters, e.g. for an image

}}

• Page at the common name; displayed taxobox to have the same common name as its title, e.g. Lily of the valley.

{{Speciesbox

| name = Lily of the valley --optional (defaults to page title)

| taxon = Convallaria majalis --essential

... --other optional parameters, e.g. for an image

}}

Extinct species

If the genus is extinct, the extinct status will be picked up automatically from the taxonomy template for the genus, and a † placed before the species name in the taxobox.

If the species is extinct, but the genus is not, then to achieve the same effect, use one of

• |extinct=yes (true is also accepted)
• |extinct=DATE – for recently extinct species, such as the Dodo, to show when it became extinct. DATE is free-form text: examples are "1780", "about 1700", "after 1791". The DATE text will be displayed if (and only if) |status= is set to "EX" or equivalents in different status systems.

Hybrid botanical species

The hybrid sign, ×, should not be italicized, whereas the rest of the binomial should be. The example below shows how to achieve the desired effect. In this case, the single taxon parameter can't be used.

{{Speciesbox

| genus = Polygonatum

| species = × hybridum

| ...

}}

Notes:

• The × character is available in the list under the edit text box. (If you use {{hybrid}}, the automatic italicization of the article title won't work.)
• In the article body, you can either use ''Polygonatum'' × ''hybridum'', or ''Polygonatum {{hybrid}} hybridum'' to obtain the correct italicization.

Genus names duplicated across kingdoms

A special case is where the name of the genus is duplicated in different kingdoms, e.g. Acanthocarpus, which is used for a plant and a crab. The taxonomy template for the plant has to be at Template:Taxonomy/Acanthocarpus (plant) to allow there to be a separate page at "Template:Taxonomy/Acanthocarpus (crab)". Consider the page Acanthocarpus preissii. The taxobox has to be set up in this way:

{{Speciesbox
| genus   = Acanthocarpus (plant)
| species = preissii
| ...
}}

The corresponding taxonomy template for the genus, Template:Taxonomy/Acanthocarpus (plant), contains the line:

| link = Acanthocarpus (plant)|Acanthocarpus

to ensure that wikilinks are to "Acanthocarpus (plant)" whereas the displayed genus name is "Acanthocarpus".

Note that this approach is only necessary when the disambiguation is needed because genus names are duplicated across kingdoms.

Monospecific genera

Another special case is where the article is about a genus with only one species. The article will be at the genus name, but the final taxon to be displayed in the taxobox should be the species. An example is Aphyllanthes, with the sole species Aphyllanthes monspeliensis.

{{Speciesbox

|taxon = Aphyllanthes monspeliensis

|parent_authority = L. --authority for genus

|authority = L. --authority for binomial (i.e. the species)

|... --other optional parameters

}}

The use of the Speciesbox template with the taxon parameter set to the species name ensures that the taxobox ends with the binomial name even though the page title is the genus name. The mediawiki software automatically replaces the generated wikilink [[Aphyllanthes]] by bold text since it goes to the same page. In this case we want to display the authority for both the species and the genus, since there is no other article. The parameters parent_authority, grandparent_authority, etc. are the way to display authorities up the classification hierarchy.

Parent taxon is not the genus

By default, the Speciesbox template uses the genus name as the name of the parent taxon. If this is not the case, because the parent taxon is at a rank between the species and its genus, such as subgenus or botanical section, then use:

• |parent=parent_taxon

"Template:Taxonomy/parent_taxon" must then exist. Conventions for the name of a taxonomy template at a rank between species and genus include:

• "Template:Taxonomy/Genus (Subgenus)" for a zoological subgenus, e.g. Template:Taxonomy/Mus (Coelomys)
• "Template:Taxonomy/Genus subg. Subgenus" for a botanical subgenus, e.g. Template:Taxonomy/Pinus subg. Pinus
• "Template:Taxonomy/Genus sect. Section" for a botanical section, e.g. Template:Taxonomy/Pinus sect. Trifoliae

Thus if a zoological subgenus is to be shown, then the taxobox is set up in this way:

{{Speciesbox
| name = House mouse
| parent = Mus (Mus)
| taxon = Mus musculus
| ...
}}

Nonstandard formatting

Further information: Template:Automatic_taxobox/doc § Exceptional_cases

In some exceptional cases the values shown for the species name and the binomial may require some non-standard formatting. A "binomial" with more than two "words", non-alphabetic characters other than a hyphen, or a need to leave some elements of the name unitalicized require nonstandard formatting. These cases are handled by {{Automatic taxobox}}, not Speciesbox. Examples of exceptional cases include: provisional names for undescribed species (e.g. Quassia sp. 'Mount Nardi', where the provisional name should not be italicized), and uncertain genus placement (which may be specified with a ? as in Halictus? savenyei, or with "" as in "Colostethus" poecilonotus.

Italicizing the article title

The template can normally determine whether the page title matches the species or the genus in the taxobox, and if so outputs {{italic title}}, so usually it is not necessary to add this template. In a very few cases the automatic italicization will be wrong (e.g. if the article is at the English name and this is the same as the genus name, such as Hippopotamus). Automatic italicization can be over-ridden by setting |italic_title=no.

Requirement for correct display

The template will generate a taxobox which will display correctly only if the taxonomy for the genus (or |parent=) has already been created (i.e. "Template:Taxonomy/genusname" or "Template:Taxonomy/parent" already exists). If it does not, you will be asked to create it. One way is to look for the "fix" link and open it.

Displaying intermediate ranks

By default, only major ranks are displayed. The parameter |display_parents= can be set to display intermediate ranks, for example setting |display_parents=4 will show the next four parent taxa even if they would not otherwise be shown. Note that the genus counts as one of these.

See also

• An example: Template:Speciesbox/example
• {{Paraphyletic group}}
• {{Taxonbar}}

Tracking categories

• Category:Pages using speciesbox with unknown parameters (0)
• Category:Speciesboxes relying on page title‎ (0)
• Category:Speciesboxes with incorrect parameters specifying the taxon‎ (0)

Template Data

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Speciesbox in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Speciesbox

An infobox for species of organisms where {{tl|Automatic taxobox}} is used at the genus and higher ranks

Template parameters

This template prefers block formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Color as	color_as	Taxon defining the taxobox color if needed (normally not) Example Animalia	String	optional
Italic title	italic_title	Specifying "no" suppresses italicization of page title. Used only when a scientific name is identical to a vernacular name. Example no	Unknown	optional
Name	name	Title of the taxobox; may be the English name of the group	String	optional
Fossil range	fossil_range	The geologic time span during which the group is generally known to have existed, given in eras; the template {{Fossil range}} is the most common method of presenting this information Example {{Fossil range|Middle Triassic|Present}}	Template	optional
Image name	image	An image of member of the species, given without the File: or Image: prefix and without double brackets Example Argopecten irradians.jpg	File	suggested
Image upright	image_upright	Used to adjust the displayed size of an image with an extreme aspect ratio. Values under 1.0 decrease the size of an image (most useful for very tall, narrow images). Values over 1.0 increase the size of an image (possibly useful for short, wide images). If a second image is present the value of this parameter will be applied to it too unless over-ridden by image2_upright Example 0.8	Number	optional
Image alt text	image_alt	Text describing what is depicted in the image	String	optional
Image caption	image_caption	A caption for the image, if any is necessary. Do not simply repeat the name of the taxon	String	optional
Image2	image2	A second image of a member of the species, given without the File: or Image: prefix and without double brackets. It is desirable to display images of both sexes of sexually dimorphic species.	File	optional
Image2 upright	image2_upright	Used to adjust the displayed size of the second image if the required adjustment is different from the first image. Values under 1.0 decrease the size of an image (most useful for very tall, narrow images). Values over 1.0 increase the size of an image (possibly useful for short, wide images) Example 0.8	Number	optional
Image2 alt text	image2_alt	Text describing what is depicted in the second image	String	optional
Image2 caption	image2_caption	A caption for the second image, if any is necessary. Do not simply repeat the name of the taxon	String	optional
Conservation status	status	The conservation status of the taxon as assigned by a particular authority Example LC	String	optional
Conservation status system	status_system	The authority assigning a particular conservation status Example IUCN3.1	String	optional
Conservation status reference	status_ref	A citation that supports the displayed status and status_system parameters	Unknown	optional
Conservation status2	status2	The conservation status of the taxon as assigned by a second particular authority Example LE	String	optional
Conservation status2 system	status2_system	The second authority assigning a particular conservation status Example ESA	String	optional
Conservation status2 reference	status2_ref	A citation that supports the displayed status2 and status2_system parameters	String	optional
Extinct	extinct	The date a species was declared extinct (specifying |status=EX is required in order for the date to display). Alternatively, if a non-numeric value is given, displays † to indicate that a species is extinct Example 1066	Unknown	optional
Classification status	classification_status	The status of the scientific group, usually presented as either Disputed or Accepted Example Disputed	String	optional
Great-great-grandparent authority	greatgreatgrandparent_authority	The describing authority for the greatgreatgrandparent taxon of a species. Should only be specified when the greatgreatgrandparent, greatgrandparent, grandparent and parent taxa are monotypic	String	optional
Great-grandparent authority	greatgrandparent_authority	The describing authority for the greatgrandparent taxon of a species. Should only be specified when the greatgrandparent taxon is monotypic	String	optional
Grandparent authority	grandparent_authority	The describing authority for the grandparent taxon of a species. Should only be specified when the grandparent taxon is monotypic	String	optional
Parent authority	parent_authority	The describing authority for the parent taxon of a species. Should only be specified when the parent taxon is monotypic	String	optional
Parents to display	display_parents	The number of parent taxa to be displayed above the one specified by the taxon parameter; not normally needed Example 3	Number	optional
Taxon	taxon	Scientific name (binomial) of the species with no formatting; a entry point into the taxonomic hierarchy. Alternatively, |genus and |species can be used (and are required in some cases) Example Homo sapiens	String	optional
Genus	genus	Scientific name of the genus with no formatting; a entry point into the taxonomic hierarchy. Used in conjunction with |species Alternatively, |taxon may be used instead of |genus and |species (but |taxon will not function properly when a genus requires parenthetical disambiguation) Example Homo	String	optional
Parent	parent	The immediate infrageneric parent taxon containing a particular species, with no formatting. Requires a taxonomy template.	String	optional
Species	species	Scientific name (species epithet) of the species with no formatting; used in conjunction with |genus. Alternatively, |taxon may be used instead of |genus and |species (but |taxon will not function properly when a genus requires parenthetical disambiguation) Example sapiens	String	optional
Describing authority	authority	The describing authority for the species in the appropriate format, which differs between nomenclature codes; presence or absence of parentheses is meaningful Example Wilkes, 1810 – animal; (L.) Mill. – plant	String	required
Bacterial strain type	type_strain	The name of a strain that was used to define a bacteria species	String	optional
Subdivision ranks	subdivision_ranks	The name of the next lowest rank(s) in the taxonomic hierarchy	String	optional
Subdivision reference	subdivision_ref	A reference supporting the subdivisions shown in the list	Unknown	optional
Subdivision	subdivision	A list of taxa at the next lowest rank(s) in the taxonomic hiearchy. When there are many (10+) taxa at the lower rank, they should be displayed in the body of the article, not the taxobox	String	optional
Range map image	range_map	The name of the image file, if any, showing the species' geographic habitat range, without the File: or Image: prefix and without double brackets	File	optional
Range map image upright	range_map_upright	Used to adjust the displayed size of a range map. May be useful when the range map has an extreme aspect ratio (use values <1 for tall/narrow range maps, and >1 for short/wide range maps). May also be necessary if an image_upright parameter is specified Example 0.8	Number	optional
Range map image alt text	range_map_alt	Text describing the range depicted in the map Example Map of Africa, with shading indicating the species occurs in the eastern part of the island of Madagascar	String	optional
Range map image caption	range_map_caption	A caption for the range map, if any is necessary	String	optional
Range map image2	range_map2	The name of a second image file, if any, showing the species' geographic habitat range, without the File: or Image: prefix and without double brackets. Mostly useful when a species has a narrow range, in order to display maps at different scale	File	optional
Range map image2 upright	range_map2_upright	Used to adjust the displayed size of a second range map. May be useful when the range map has an extreme aspect ratio (use values <1 for tall/narrow range maps, and >1 for short/wide range maps). May also be necessary if an image_upright parameter is specified Example 0.8	Number	optional
Range map image2 alt text	range_map2_alt	Text describing the range depicted in the second map Example Map of Madagascar, with shading indicating the species occurs in the eastern part of the island	String	optional
Range map image2 caption	range_map2_caption	A caption for the second range map, if any is necessary	String	optional
Taxonomic synonyms	synonyms	Taxonomic synonyms. These should be displayed in a collapsed list format if there are many of them.	Unknown	optional
Taxonomic synonyms reference	synonyms_ref	A reference supporting the synonymy shown in the list	Unknown	optional