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 HP: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

Cheiroglossa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Ophioglossales
Family:	Ophioglossaceae
Subfamily:	Ophioglossoideae
Genus:	Cheiroglossa C.Presl
Species
Cheiroglossa malgassica (C.Chr.) Pic.Serm. Cheiroglossa palmata (L.) Presl

{{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/>
}}

Panthera Temporal range: Late Miocene – present, 5.95–0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Tigress in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Pantherinae
Genus:	Panthera Oken, 1816
Extant species
Panthera tigris Panthera uncia Panthera onca Panthera leo Panthera pardus

{{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 Hârnica: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 Hârnica 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 yes (or true). 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:

 |synonyms=
 * ''Genius'' {{small|[[Baggins]], 1934}}
 * ''Geniosus'' {{small|[[Harvey]], 1734}}

(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

Quassia sp. 'Mount Nardi'
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Simaroubaceae
Genus:	Quassia
Species:	Q. sp. 'Mount Nardi'
Binomial name
Quassia sp. 'Mount Nardi'

{{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.)

"Colostethus" poecilonotus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Superfamily:	Dendrobatoidea
Family:	Dendrobatidae
Genus:	"Colostethus"
Species:	"C." poecilonotus
Binomial name
"Colostethus" poecilonotus Rivero, 1991

{{DISPLAYTITLE:"''Colostethus''" ''poecilonotus''}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = "''Colostethus''" ''poecilonotus''
| taxon = Dendrobatidae
| genus_text = "''[[Colostethus]]''"
| species_text =  '''"''C.''" ''poecilonotus'''''
| binomial_text =  "''Colostethus''" ''poecilonotus''
| authority = [[Juan A. Rivero|Rivero]], 1991
}}

• 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 add {{Italic title}} to an article that uses the Automatic taxobox template. If the title should be italicized, based on whether the page title matches the name of the taxon and the taxon's rank is genus or below, it will be added automatically.

In a few cases, the italicization produced by {{Italic title}} is incorrect. For example, if the article title is a subgenus formatted like "Mus (Coelomys)", the parenthesized subgenus will be treated as a disambiguation term, so that the title would appear incorrectly as "Mus (Coelomys)". In such cases:

• put |italic_title=no in the taxobox to prevent the automatic addition of {{Italic title}}
• use {{DISPLAYTITLE:...}} to italicize the page title, e.g. {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Mus'' (''Coelomys'')}}

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.

Tracking/maintenance categories

• Category:Automatic taxobox cleanup (17)
• Category:Automatic taxoboxes using manual parameters (0)

Footnotes