Template:Automatic taxobox

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Documentation for the automated taxobox system

This page gives more details on using the {{Automatic taxobox}} template, one of a number of "automated taxobox templates". Please ensure that you are using the right template; see Which taxobox should I use?. In particular, articles about species should almost always use {{Speciesbox}}, not this template.

If this is your first time using any of the automated taxobox templates, the pages linked in the navigation box provide information on different parts of the system. It's a good idea to at least read the introduction.

Every automatic taxobox should contain the following general layout, often with many additional parameters:

For zoological taxa:

{{Automatic taxobox
|taxon = Canis
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
}}

For botanical taxa:

{{Automatic taxobox
|taxon = Nepenthes
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

The taxon is the scientific name for whatever the article is about. If you've never entered an authority, you can get help with that from the relevant WikiProject (see a directory at WP:TOL#Scope and descendant projects.

Hit "preview". If it looks correct, you're done. Save your changes. Please don't save the page until you've first checked for and resolved all issues with the automatic taxobox.

At the end of this guide is a list of all parameters available as well as definitions for all the parameters introduced by {{Automatic taxobox}}. Most parameters from the manual {{Taxobox}} template are valid in an automatic taxobox, and for descriptions of some of the parameters, see the documentation for that template.

Straightforward examples

{{Automatic taxobox
|taxon = Cheiroglossa
|authority = C.Presl<ref name=POWO_17068350-1/>
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision =
  {{Linked species list
  |Cheiroglossa malgassica|(C.Chr.) Pic.Serm.
  |Cheiroglossa palmata|(L.) Presl
  }}
|subdivision_ref = <ref name=POWO_17068350-1/>
}}

{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Late Miocene]] – present, {{fossil_range|5.95|0}}
| image = Panthera tigris tigris Tidoba 20150306.jpg
| image_caption = [[Tiger|Tigress]] in [[Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve]]
| taxon = Panthera
| authority = [[Lorenz Oken|Oken]], 1816<ref name=CatSG2017/>
| subdivision_ranks = Extant species
| subdivision =
*''[[Tiger|Panthera tigris]]''
*''[[Snow leopard|Panthera uncia]]''
*''[[Jaguar|Panthera onca]]''
*''[[Lion|Panthera leo]]''
*''[[Leopard|Panthera pardus]]''
| subdivision_ref = <ref name=CatSG2017/>
}}

Creating and manipulating

"Missing taxonomy template"

If you see the message "Missing taxonomy template (fix):", you didn't mess up the automatic taxobox. This error means that there isn't yet a taxonomy template for the value you've given |taxon=.

Creating the taxonomy template

To begin resolving this ugly red error, right-click the "fix" link and open that link in either a new tab or a new window. On the landing page, you should be editing a template corresponding to whatever taxon is at the end of the page's title. (For a complete guide to taxonomy templates, start at Introduction to taxonomy templates.)

First, fill in the rank parameter. Use the Latin name. There are many options here (see Wikipedia:Automated taxobox system/taxonomy templates#rank for a list of supported ranks). Some examples are as follows:

• regnum
• phylum
• classis
• ordo
• familia
• tribus
• genus
• clade or cladus
• unranked

If what you need is something extremely atypical, you can actually just type it there instead of one of the supported ranks. It might break the taxobox, but that's what Wikipedia talk:Automated taxobox system is for.

You'll see |link= is already filled in for you with to give

link={{subst:#titleparts:{{subst:PAGENAME}}|2|2}}

which happens to be wikisyntax for "the part of the title of the page that comes after "Template:Taxonomy/". In other words, it will be the name of the taxon. You can leave it alone unless the name of the taxon isn't the name of the page it links to. For example, the taxon Spheniscidae is at Penguin. In this case, you would add Penguin| before {{subst:#titleparts:{{subst:PAGENAME}}|2|2}} to give

link=Penguin|{{subst:#titleparts:{{subst:PAGENAME}}|2|2}}

or you could replace what is there already to give

link=Penguin|Spheniscidae

Next, we have the |parent= parameter. All that you need to type here is the name of the immediate parent taxon, beginning with a capital letter. Use the |refs= parameter to cite a source which says that the taxon belongs in that parent taxon – in case someone challenges it later. (The only case in which you might consider omitting this parameter is if you're using a WikiProject approved taxonomy, e.g. APG for flowering plants.)

If it's an extinct taxon, fill in the |extinct= parameter with <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" id="" style="" inline="1">yes</syntaxhighlight> (or <syntaxhighlight lang="text" class="" id="" style="" inline="1">true</syntaxhighlight>). If it's extant, you can delete the whole line (or leave the value blank).

Now preview the taxonomy template page. If there are no error messages, then close it. Go back to the automatic taxobox you were making. Press "preview" again and now it should be ok. If there are error messages on the taxonomy template page, it probably means you have to repeat the process to create the taxon's parent' taxonomy template. Continue previewing and creating taxonomy templates for the ancestor taxa until the "taxonomy missing" errors cease.

Special instructions for species

Species articles only use this template in exceptional circumstances; instead use {{Speciesbox}}. See that page and its documentation. The exceptional cases are discussed below.

The reason is that whenever {{Automatic taxobox}} is used with |taxon=taxon-name, a template named "Template:Taxonomy/taxon-name" must either exist or be created in order to specify the taxonomic position of taxon-name. However, for species this is not necessary, because the taxonomic position of the species can be found by extracting the genus name from the full binomial, and then looking for "Template:Taxonomy/genus-name". So using {{Speciesbox}} considerably reduces the number of taxonomy templates needed and avoids there being different taxonomies for different species in a genus.

Making the links bold

When a taxobox appears in an article, the taxon the article is about should have its name displayed in bold. For this to work, the |link= parameter in its taxonomy template must be right. Suppose the taxon in question has the name taxon-name and the article it appears in has the title article-title. Then in the template "Taxonomy/taxon-name":

• if taxon-name and article-title are the same, you should see |link=taxon-name
• if taxon-name and article-title are different, you should see |link=article-title|taxon-name.

Ensure the link is entered so that it points directly to the article on that taxon without being redirected first. If the page gets moved, the taxon template that links to that article will need to be updated in order to maintain the proper bolding.

Change the taxobox header

By default the header to the taxobox will be based on the target taxon and the page title and it will automatically be italicized if it's a genus (this template, {{Automatic taxobox}}, shouldn't normally be used for species).

If you want a different header (e.g. the common name), then specify |name=.

Add an image

Use the |image= and |image_caption= parameters just like you would with the {{Taxobox}}.

If you want a second image, add |image2= and |image2_caption=.

Synonyms

Here's an example of what to add to a taxobox where Genius and Geniosus happen to be synonyms of the named zoological taxon: <syntaxhighlight lang="moin">

|synonyms=
* Genius Baggins, 1934
* Geniosus Harvey, 1734

</syntaxhighlight> (Dates are omitted for botanical taxa.) For long lists of synonyms, {{Genus list}} and {{Taxon list}} make entry easier. Don't forget to complete |synonyms_ref=.

Forcing a taxon to display

If there's a particularly notable taxon of a minor rank, such as Theropoda (which contains all carnivorous dinosaurs) chances are that you'd like the taxon to display in every single taxobox that it could possibly be displayed in. Navigate to that taxon's taxonomy template. The link should be "Template:Taxonomy/" followed by the name of the taxon. In the case of Theropoda, the link would be "Template:Taxonomy/Theropoda". Add the code |always_display=true anywhere you'd like inside braces, and that should force the taxon to display all the time regardless of its rank.

Correcting a taxonomy

Every automatic taxobox has an edit link on the right end of the bar that says "Scientific classification" (it was a red pencil icon as of April 2019). That link should give you access to a full listing of that taxon's taxonomy.

From there, you may edit a taxon by clicking "Edit" next to its name. Doing so allows you to access the corresponding Template:Taxonomy/ page, where you can assign a different parent, rank, display text, link, references, extinction status, or "display always" value. Any edits you make to one of these templates will affect all its descendant taxa, so keep that in mind while editing.

Exceptional cases

The great majority of taxa can be handled fully automatically by one of the automated taxoboxes once the necessary taxonomy templates at the rank of genus and above have been created. The automation includes italicizing the names of appropriate ranks. However, there are some exceptional cases where manual formatting of taxon names is needed; for example, the automatic formatting does not work correctly when uncertain names are indicated by surrounding them by double quotes, or for candidatus names in the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes.

For these exceptional cases, it is possible to supply the full wikitext of genus and species names.

• |taxon= now specifies the lowest ranked taxon that will be handled automatically via a taxonomy template
• if this taxon is not a genus, |genus_text= supplies the full wikitext of the genus name, complete with all required formatting including bold text if it is the lowest ranked name in the taxobox. If not the lowest rank, a link should be included for navigation.
• |species_text= supplies the full wikitext of the abbreviated species name, complete with all required formatting, including bold text if it is the lowest ranked name in the taxobox; the species name should be complete with an abbreviated genus name (e.g. '''"''C.''" ''poecilonotus''''' to produce "C." poecilonotus)
• |binomial_text= supplies the full wikitext of the binomial name (the text that appears in the binomial box of a species taxobox), again complete with all the required formatting; however binomials are automatically made bold, so this element is not needed

If the article has the unusually formatted scientific name as its title, it will also be necessary to use {{DISPLAYTITLE:...}} to format the article title and |name= to supply the formatted heading for the taxobox.

Examples

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Quassia'' sp. 'Mount Nardi'}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|name = ''Quassia'' sp. 'Mount Nardi'
|taxon = Quassia
|species_text = {{nowrap|'''''Q.'' sp. 'Mount Nardi''''}}
|binomial_text = ''Quassia'' sp. 'Mount Nardi'
}}

• The taxonomic hierarchy from the genus Quassia upwards is obtained from taxonomy templates, starting with Template:Taxonomy/Quassia. Clicking on the red pencil icon takes you to this template.
• The wikitext for the species row and the binomial box are used exactly as supplied. (The {{nowrap}} in the species text ensures that parts of the name don't wrap onto the next line, and wouldn't be needed if an image made the taxobox wider.)

<syntaxhighlight lang="moin"> </syntaxhighlight>

• The taxonomic hierarchy from the family Dendrobatidae upwards is obtained from taxonomy templates, starting with Template:Taxonomy/Dendrobatidae. Clicking on the red pencil icon takes you to this template. No taxonomy template is used for the genus.
• The wikitext for the genus and species rows, plus the binomial box, are used exactly as supplied. (The   in the species wikitext prevents the two parts of the name appearing on separate lines; it's not always necessary.)

Available parameters and how to use them

All parameters

{{automatic taxobox
|color_as=
|italic_title=
|name=
|fossil_range=
|oldest_fossil=
|youngest_fossil=
|status=
|status_system=
|status_ref=
|status2=
|status2_system=
|status2_ref=
|trend=
|image=
|image_upright=
|image_alt=
|image_caption=
|image2=
|image2_upright=
|image2_alt=
|image2_caption=
|classification_status=
|taxon=
|authority=
|parent_authority=
|grandparent_authority=
|greatgrandparent_authority=
|greatgreatgrandparent_authority=
|display_parents=
|genus_text=
|species_text=
|binomial_text=
|type_genus=
|type_genus_authority=
|type_species=
|type_species_authority=
|diversity=
|diversity_link=
|diversity_ref=
|subdivision_ranks=
|subdivision_ref=
|subdivision=
|type_strain=
|range_map=
|range_map_upright=
|range_map_alt=
|range_map_caption=
|range_map2=
|range_map2_upright=
|range_map2_alt=
|range_map2_caption=
|synonyms=
|synonyms_ref=
}}

Italic title

It is not usually necessary to do anything to italicize the page title and supply an italicized taxobox name if |name= is absent; both are normally handled automatically. Since 28 May 2021, this includes page titles that are botanical names containing a connecting term, like Banksia ser. Banksia.

The automatic italicization fails for pages whose title contains a parenthesised subgenus, such as Camponotus (Dendromyrmex), because by default parenthesised terms are treated as a disambiguators and not italicized. In this case, add |italic_title=taxon to force the page title to be treated as a complete taxon name.

In a very few special cases, the correct italicization has to be produced manually. In such cases:

• put |italic_title=no in the taxobox to prevent the automatic attempt to italicize the page title and to add an italicized taxobox name
• add {{DISPLAYTITLE:}} above the taxobox template with the fully formatted page title after the colon
• put |name= in the taxobox with a fully formatted taxobox name.

Parameter |taxon=

Generally, this is the name of the taxon the article is about. In the resulting taxobox, this parameter is the one that is bolded. (To bold multiple taxa, see #Making the links bold.)

More accurately, if |taxon=TAXON, the system will expect there to be a page at "Template:Taxonomy/TAXON". In some circumstances, TAXON may not be the name of the taxon, e.g. if a plant and animal share the same genus name, there may be two taxonomy templates called "Template:Taxonomy/GENUS (plant)" and "Template:Taxonomy/GENUS (animal)". In such cases, something like the following is required:

{{Automatic taxobox
| taxon = GENUS (plant)

This ensures that the system links to the right taxonomy template.

If this parameter is omitted, as of December 2012 the system will attempt to infer what its value should be from the page name. Omitting the taxon parameter is strongly deprecated and may not be supported in future.

Parameter |name=

If the title of the taxobox should be different from the default value, enter it here. This is most commonly used for common names.

Parameter |authority=

This parameter is similar to the authority parameters in the {{Taxobox}}. The only difference is that you don't have to specify the rank this authority matches up with – it will pair it with the taxon listed in the |taxon= parameter.

Parameter |fossil_range=

There are two ways of using this parameter.

1. |fossil_range=recognized period name, e.g. |fossil_range=Devonian – assumes the taxon has fossils only in this period and produces a display accordingly.
2. |fossil_range=any other value – displays the value provided. Often this will be a use of the template {{Geological range}}, e.g. |fossil_range={{Geological range|Devonian|Jurassic}}; however, it can also be plain text, e.g. |fossil_range=Probably Devonian–Jurassic.

See also |oldest_fossil= and |youngest_fossil= below.

Parameters |oldest_fossil= and |youngest_fossil=

These parameters are an alternative way of specifying the fossil range. If |youngest_fossil= is omitted, its value defaults to "Recent". |oldest_fossil=Devonian with |youngest_fossil=Jurassic has the same effect as |fossil_range={{Geological range|Devonian|Jurassic}}. If either parameter has a value that is not recognized as a period name, then plain text is output.

Parameters |status=, |status_system=, and |status_ref=

See Template:Taxobox/species/doc.

Tracking categories:

• Category:Taxoboxes with an unrecognised status system (0)
• Category:Taxoboxes needing a status system parameter (0)
• Category:Invalid conservation status (0)

Parameter |display_parents=

If you need to display a certain number of parent taxa, adding a number here will force that many parent taxa to appear.

Parameter |parent_authority=, etc.

Parameter |parent_authority=

Parameter |grandparent_authority=

Parameter |greatgrandparent_authority=

Parameter |greatgreatgrandparent_authority=

These function just like |authority=, except they match up with the parent taxon, grandparent taxon, etc.

Warning The "ancestor" taxon is the one defined by the taxonomy templates (i.e. the various "Template:Taxonomy/<taxon>" pages, where <taxon> is the name of a taxon). This "ancestor" taxon may not be the taxon you expect! Further, if someone later changes the taxonomic hierarchy defined in the taxonomy templates by adding or removing a taxon, the authority can become incorrect. For example, if you are setting up a taxobox for a genus and the parent taxon is currently the family, |parent_authority= shows the authority for the family in the taxobox. If someone later adds a subfamily between the genus and the family, |parent_authority= will now refer to the subfamily, and the authority will be displayed incorrectly. These parameters should only be used if really necessary.

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. Click here to see a monthly parameter usage report for this template based on this TemplateData.

TemplateData for Automatic taxobox

An infobox for plants, animals and other biological taxa, normally at the rank of genus and above

Template parameters

This template prefers block formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
italic_title	italic_title	Specifying "no" suppresses the automatic italicization of the page title; needed whenever the page title's italicization has to be handled manually. Specifying "taxon" forces the page title to be treated as a taxon name when italicizing; needed for titles like "Camponotus (Dendromyrmex)". Example no	String	optional
color_as	color_as	Taxon defining the taxobox color if needed (normally not) Example Animalia	String	optional
name	name	Title of the taxobox; may be the English name of the group; will be set from the page title if omitted Example Scallop	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
oldest_fossil	oldest_fossil	The geological era of the oldest known fossil; paired with youngest_fossil, an alternative to fossil_range Example Devonian	String	optional
youngest_fossil	youngest_fossil	The geological era of the youngest known fossil; paired with oldest_fossil, an alternative to fossil_range; defaults to 'Recent' Example Jurassic	String	optional
image	image	An image of member of the group, 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)	Number	optional
image_alt	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 Example The Atlantic bay scallop in a feeding pose	String	optional
image2	image2	A second image of member of the group, given without the File: or Image: prefix and without double brackets.	File	optional
image2_upright	image2_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)	Number	optional
image2_alt	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
status	status	The conservation status of the taxon Example CITES_A1	String	deprecated
status_system	status_system	The authority assigning a conservation status Example IUCN3.1	String	deprecated
status_ref	status_ref	A citation that supports the displayed status and status_system parameters	String	deprecated
extinct	extinct	The date a taxon was declared extinct (specifying |status=EX is required in order for the date to display). The parameter |fossil_range should be used for taxa known only from fossils..	Unknown	optional
classification_status	classification_status	The status of the scientific group, usually presented as either Disputed or Accepted Example Disputed	String	optional
greatgreatgrandparent_authority	greatgreatgrandparent_authority	The describing authority for the greatgreatgrandparent taxon of a group. Should only be specified when the greatgreatgrandparent, greatgrandparent, grandparent and parent taxa are monotypic	String	optional
greatgrandparent_authority	greatgrandparent_authority	The describing authority for the greatgrandparent taxon of a group. Should only be specified when the greatgrandparent, grandparent and parent taxa are monotypic	Unknown	optional
grandparent_authority	grandparent_authority	The describing authority for the grandparent taxon of a group. Should only be specified when the grandparent and parent taxa are monotypic	String	optional
parent_authority	parent_authority	The describing authority for the parent taxon of a group. Should only be specified when the parent taxon is monotypic	String	optional
display_parents	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 of group with no formatting; the entry point into the taxonomic hierarchy generated automatically from taxonomy templates Example Pectinidae	String	required
genus_text	genus_text	In exceptional cases only, the full wikitext of the genus name to be displayed in the taxobox	String	optional
species_text	species_text	In exceptional cases only, the full wikitext of the abbreviated species name to be displayed in the taxobox; binomial_text is required if this parameter is present	String	optional
binomial_text	binomial_text	In exceptional cases only, the full wikitext (without bold markup) of the binomial name to be displayed in the taxobox; required if species_text is present	String	optional
authority	authority	The describing authority for the group 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
type_species	type_species	The original name of the species that was initially used to describe a genus, without regard to its present-day nomenclature	String	optional
type_species_authority	type_species_authority	The describer of the original name of the species, so without parentheses	String	optional
type_genus	type_genus	The original name of the genus that was initially used to define a taxon at a rank above genus, without regard to its present-day nomenclature	String	optional
type_genus_authority	type_genus_authority	The describer of the original name of the genus	String	optional
subdivision_ranks	subdivision_ranks	The name of the next lowest rank(s) in the taxonomic hierarchy Example Species	String	suggested
subdivision_ref	subdivision_ref	A reference supporting the subdivisions shown in the list	String	optional
subdivision	subdivision	A list of taxa at the next lowest rank(s) in the taxonomic hierarchy. When there are many (10+) taxa at the lower rank, they should be displayed in the body of the article, not the taxobox	String	suggested
diversity	diversity	An estimate of the number of child taxa (e.g. species in a genus) Example 170–180 species	String	optional
diversity_link	diversity_link	The title of a separate page with a list of child taxa, or a section of the current page with a list of children. Does not require link mark-up for a separate page; use # to make a link to a section of the current page Example #Species	String	optional
diversity_ref	diversity_ref	A reference supporting the estimated number of child taxa	String	optional
range_map	range_map	The name of the image file, if any, showing the group's geographic habitat range, without the File: or Image: prefix and without double brackets Example Aplodontia rufa distribution map.png	File	optional
range_map_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	Number	optional
range_map_alt	range_map_alt	Text describing the range depicted in the map Example Map of Africa, with shading indicating the genus occurs in the eastern part of the island of Madagascar	String	optional
range_map_caption	range_map_caption	A caption for the range map, if any is necessary	String	optional
range_map2	range_map2	The name of the image file, if any, showing the group's 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 scales	File	optional
range_map2_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	Number	optional
range_map2_alt	range_map2_alt	Text describing the range depicted in the second map Example Map of Madagascar, with shading indicating the genus occurs in the eastern part of the island	String	optional
range_map2_caption	range_map2_caption	A caption for the second range map, if any is necessary.	Unknown	optional
synonyms	synonyms	Taxonomic synonyms. These should be displayed in a collapsed list format if there are many of them.	Unknown	optional
synonyms_ref	synonyms_ref	A reference supporting the synonymy shown in the list	String	optional

Tracking/maintenance categories

• Category:Automatic taxobox cleanup (0)
• Category:Automatic taxoboxes using manual parameters (0)
• Category:Pages using automatic taxobox with unknown parameters (0)

Footnotes

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Automatic taxobox/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (create | mirror) and testcases (create) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.