EvoWiki/Taxonomy

{{reference material|
Article originally [http://evolutionwiki.org/wiki/EvoWiki:Taxonomy here].}}

This page is a guide to writing pages about [[taxonomy|taxonomic]] groups.

== "Taxobox" ==
<div style="float:right;">
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2">
<tr><th bgcolor="#CCCCCC">'''Human'''</th></tr>
<tr><td>
*[[Domain]]: [[Eukarya]]
*[[Kingdom]]: [[Animalia]]
*[[Phylum]]: [[Chordata]]
*Subphylum: [[Vertebrata]]
*[[Class]]: [[Mammalia]]
*[[Order]]: [[Primates]]
*[[Family]]: [[Hominidae]]
*[[Genus]]: '''''[[Homo]]'''''
*[[Species]]: '''''sapiens'''''
</td></tr></table>

<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2">
<tr><th bgcolor="#CCCCCC">'''Dromaeosauridae'''</th></tr>
<tr><td>
*[[Domain]]: [[Eukarya]]
*[[Kingdom]]: [[Animalia]]
*[[Phylum]]: [[Chordata]]
*Subphylum: [[Vertebrata]]
*[[Class]]: [[Archosauria]]
*[[Order]]: [[Saurischia]]
*Infraorder: [[Coelurosauria]]
*Superfamily: [[Maniraptoriformes]]
*[[Family]]: '''Dromaeosauridae'''
</td></tr>
<tr><td>
[[Genus|Genera]]:
*[[Achillobator]]
*{{wpl|Utahraptor}}
*[[Sinornithosaurus]]
*''{{wpl|Deinonychus}}''
*''{{wpl|Velociraptor}}''
*[[Adasaurus]]
*[[Dromaeosaurus]]
*[[Saurornitholestes]]
*[[Elopteryx]]
</td></tr></table>
</div>

We have found that a useful way to present the taxonomy of groups is with a small table (e.g. the ones right for ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' and [[Dromaeosauridae]]).

A "taxobox" can be added to pages to for any level of taxonomic group, following the styles shown in the examples.

This is the code you need to modify for a taxobox:

<div style="background: #EEEEEE; padding: 5px; width: 60%;">
<nowiki>
<div style="float:right;"></nowiki><br><nowiki>
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"></nowiki><br><nowiki>
<tr><th bgcolor="#CCCCCC">'''</nowiki>'''Group Name'''<nowiki>'''</th></tr></nowiki><br><nowiki>
<tr><td></nowiki><br><nowiki>
*[[Domain]]: [[</nowiki>'''Edit this'''<nowiki>]]</nowiki><br><nowiki>
*[[Kingdom]]: [[</nowiki>'''Edit this'''<nowiki>]]</nowiki><br><nowiki>
*</nowiki>'''etc, down to the group name'''<nowiki></nowiki><br><nowiki>
</td></tr></nowiki><br><nowiki>
<tr><td></nowiki><br><nowiki>
</nowiki>'''Subgroups (to one taxon level below the taxon being described)'''<nowiki></nowiki><br><nowiki>
* [[</nowiki>'''Edit this'''<nowiki>]]</nowiki><br><nowiki>
* </nowiki>'''etc'''<nowiki></nowiki><br><nowiki>
</td></tr></nowiki><br><nowiki>
</table></nowiki><br><nowiki>
</div></nowiki>
</div>

Minimally a Taxobox should contain the [[Linnaean nomenclature|Linnaean]] ranks to which a [[species]] or [[clade]] belongs, each one nested inside the other. Where applicable, it may also contain [[phylogenetic nomenclature|phylogenetically]] defined groups.

Some notes:
* The group name should be the ''common name'' where there is one, as the latin name will be included elsewhere in the box

==Phylogenetic Shorthand==

The abbreviations for phylogenetically defined clades should follow the recommendations of the 2003 draft of the [[PhyloCode]].

Node-based names are represented as [A: X and Y], or, the most recent common ancestor of X and Y and all its descendants. For example:

Aves: ''Archaeopteryx'' and [[Neornithes]]

Thus Aves refers to the most inclusive clade containing ''Archaeopteryx'' and [[Neornithes]] and all of its descendants. Stem-based names should be represented as [A: X not Y], or, all forms sharing more recent common ancestry with X than with Y. For example:

Maniraptora: [[Neornithes]] not ''Ornithomimus''

Thus Maniraptora refers to the most inclusive clade containing all forms sharing more recent common ancestry with Neornithes than with Ornithomimus. Apomorphy-based names should take the form [A: X in Y], or, the clade stemming from the first form with character X homologous (synapomorphic) with the same character in Y. For example:

Avifilopluma: Feathers in [[Neornithes]]

Avifilopluma consequently refers to the clade stemming from the first form with feathers homologous with feathers in Neornithes. Stem-modified node-based definitions should take the form {A: crown clade [X and (X not Y)]}, or the common ancestor of X and all extant forms sharing more recent common ancestry with it than with Y. For example:

Neognathae: crown clade [''Charadrius'' and (''Charadrius'' not ''Struthio'', ''Tetrao'')]

So defined, Neognathae refers to the most inclusive clade stemming from the most recent common ancestor of Charadrius and all extant birds that share a more recent common ancestor with ''Charadrius'' than with ''Struthio'' or ''Tetrao''.