Wikipedia:WikiProject Mammals

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This page is not so much a project policy page as a means of getting a handle on how much of the mammals Wikipedia covers. Right now policy is covered by Grandmother project Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life, sister project Wikipedia:WikiProject Birds, and children projects Wikipedia:WikiProject Primates, Wikipedia:WikiProject Cetaceans,Wikipedia:WikiProject Dog breeds and Wikipedia:WikiProject Cats.

Classification taken from the Mammal article which in turn was taken from the classic classification by Simpson (no end of controversy possible here).

Order, Size, Depth of coverage, Appropiateness of coverage (requires an expert in the field to judge, I guess)

Contents

[edit] Work groups

[edit] Departments

[edit] Recognized content

[edit] Featured articles (26)

  1. Blue Whale - also under WP Cetaceans
  2. Bobcat- also under WP Cats
  3. Cougar- also under WP Cats
  4. Elk
  5. Fin Whale - also under WP Cetaceans
  6. Giant Otter
  7. Guinea pig
  8. Hippopotamus
  9. Homo floresiensis
  10. Humpback Whale - also under WP Cetaceans
  11. Island Fox
  12. Jaguar - also under WP Cats
  13. Javan Rhinoceros
  14. Lion- also under WP Cats
  15. Orca - also under WP Cetaceans
  16. Platypus
  17. Pygmy Hippopotamus
  18. Right whale - may need a bit of sprucing; also under WP Cetaceans
  19. Sea otter
  20. Sei Whale - also under WP Cetaceans
  21. Short-beaked Echidna
  22. Sperm Whale - also under WP Cetaceans
  23. Sumatran Rhinoceros
  24. Tasmanian Devil
  25. Thylacine
  26. Whale song - also under WP Cetaceans

[edit] Good articles (11 articles)

[edit] DYKs (Did You Know)s

[edit] Formerly recognized content

[edit] Former featured articles

[edit] Former good articles

[edit] Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team release version selections

[edit] Monotremes

[edit] Marsupials

[edit] Placentals

[edit] Participants

All users should feel free to add {{User WikiProject Mammals}} to their userpages.

[edit] Use a taxobox

Elephant
African Bush (Savannah) Elephant in Kenya.
African Bush (Savannah) Elephant in Kenya.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Gray, 1821
Genera and Species

In general, mammal entries should have taxoboxes. This is something we have inherited from the Tree of Life WikiProject, and is standard. If you don't know how to use a taxobox then leave a message on this talk page or the article's talk page.

[edit] Capitalization

The issue of the capitalization of the common names of mammal species is unresolved on Wikipedia and our pages are inconsistent. A large majority of reliable sources do not capitalize and thus there is a strong descriptive argument against doing so. Capitalization will often not "feel" right for editors for this reason. Conversely, because species names are proper nouns there is also a strong argument in favour of capitalization. Upper case usage is well-established with Aves species, for example. There are actually three possibilities in capitalizing:

  1. Never capitalize.
  2. Always capitalize.
  3. Capitalize when the species itself is referred to, as this is proper noun usage, but not where the phraseology indicates a common noun. Thus: "The Tiger is a carnivore" but "three tigers were observed in the conservation area."

The third is most correct orthographically, but it is also the most difficult to maintain. In the absence of consensus:

  • Respect the original or primary authors; do not up and change something without notification, as you may be reverted.
  • The form chosen should be used consistently across an article.

[edit] Taxonomy

Because mammal taxonomy is constantly being revised and debated, there is no single "correct" taxonomy. In order to minimize inconsistencies and conflicts, this project generally defers to Mammal Species of the World: Third Edition (MSW3) as a taxonomic reference. Exceptions may be made, however, for newly discovered species or taxonomic revisions with significant scientific consensus. For any exceptions to MSW3, please discuss on the relevant talk pages before making changes.

[edit] Talk pages

Place {{MaTalk}} at the top of an article's talk page. This will help direct editors to this page for guidance. As monotremes and marsupials already have their own template, this can be placed alongside the other or not at all.

[edit] Articles needing attention