A few Wikipedians have come together to make some suggestions about how we might organize data in these articles. These are only suggestions, things to give you focus and to get you going, and you shouldn't feel obligated in the least to follow them. But if you don't know what to write or where to begin, following the below guidelines may be helpful. Mainly, we just want you to write articles! For updates on Tree of Life and its subprojects, there is a monthly newletter published here to which you can subscribe.

This WikiProject is both a daughter project of WikiProject Biology and a meta-project in its own right. WikiProject Tree of Life aims primarily to represent the taxonomy and relationships of living organisms, as well as their extinct relatives, in a tree structure. Since there are millions of species, not all will be included, but we aim to handle as many as information, time, and interest permit. However, as a meta-project, Tree of Life directly includes only articles which have meaning across taxa or which pertain to taxonomy and systematics in general, or which do not fall under one of our daughter WikiProjects. A full directory of daughter WikiProjects has been listed below in the form of a cladogram. To see a directory of our sister WikiProjects under WikiProject Biology, see this link.

To see activity levels and active editors for these projects, use the Wikiproject Directory tool and find the project in question for further information. Some projects may not be listed. Current labels are based solely on template tags at the top of WikiProject pages and do not represent an in-depth assessment of the activity level of any project by WikiProject Tree of Life.

• WikiProject Agriculture
  • Livestock task force
• WikiProject Animal anatomy
• WikiProject Animals in media
• WikiProject Animal rights
• WikiProject Evolutionary biology
• WikiProject Ecoregions
• WikiProject Forestry
• WikiProject Wiki Makes Video
  • Parks
  • Wildlife
• WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles
  • Global Names Index
• WikiProject Veterinary medicine

To browse Tree of Life subjects that require articles, see the Tree of Life list of requested articles. If adding to the list of requests, make sure to include scientific names, as it will make it easier for others to track down information. One-sentence stubs are discouraged: try to create a worthwhile start class article, with a taxobox, and sources properly cited. When adding weblinks, look for standard references first, such as the IUCN and its sub-commissions.

Specific request lists also include:

• Missing encyclopedic articles about animals.
• Missing encyclopedic articles about plants
• Requested articles about plants (botany)
• Fact-check new biology articles nominated for "Did you know ...?" here. The link is to all nominated articles, but binomial species names are easy to pick out. Successful candidates will be linked to from our Main Page, so let's make them look good!

Please add {{missing-taxobox}} to the talk page of articles that need taxonomic information.

Articles needing taxoboxes

• Missing taxobox

Articles needing short descriptions

• there are approximately 4000 species articles without short descriptions. Run a PetScan query to get an (imperfect) list.

• Biology pages needing attention (cleanup, expansion, wikification, expert needed, etc.)

Articles needing attention

• Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Articles without images
• Category:Taxonomic articles needing attention
• Plant articles needing attention
• Plant articles needing expert attention
• Wikipedia requested images of plants
• Unidentified plant images - Unidentified plants on Commons

Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Assessment

If you have significantly improved an article recently, consider participating in the Tree of Life Contest, a monthly rolling contest to motivate editors to improve articles related to any aspect of the Tree of Life.

Popular pages, a bot-generated list of pageviews, useful for focused cleanup of frequently viewed articles.

Quality operations, a bot-generated detail activity log.

Today's featured articles

• 30 Dec 2024 – Mountain pigeon (talk · edit · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
• 23 Dec 2024 – Bonn–Oberkassel dog (talk · edit · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb

Did you know

• 17 Dec 2024 – Limia (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Surtsicna (t · c); see discussion
• 17 Dec 2024 – Lilium lophophorum (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Ornithoptera (t · c); see discussion
• 16 Dec 2024 – Madagascar banana (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Chidgk1 (t · c); see discussion
• 16 Dec 2024 – Argos (dog) (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by ThaesOfereode (t · c); see discussion
• 16 Dec 2024 – Aquilegia daingolica (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Pbritti (t · c); see discussion
• 14 Dec 2024 – Castilleja chromosa (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Cremastra (t · c); see discussion
• 14 Dec 2024 – Happy Feet (penguin) (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Panamitsu (t · c); see discussion
• 09 Dec 2024 – Aquilegia gegica (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Pbritti (t · c); see discussion
• 09 Dec 2024 – Aquilegia moorcroftiana (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Pbritti (t · c); see discussion
• 07 Dec 2024 – Aquilegia parviflora (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Pbritti (t · c); see discussion

(12 more...)

Articles for deletion

• 19 Dec 2024 – Brünnhilde (cat) (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Ermenrich (t · c); see discussion (8 participants)
• 13 Dec 2024 – Kamala (elephant) (talk · edit · hist) AfDed by Fountains of Bryn Mawr (t · c) was closed as keep by Mojo Hand (t · c) on 20 Dec 2024; see discussion (12 participants)
• 10 Dec 2024 – Hypoxida (talk · edit · hist) AfDed by Chaotic Enby (t · c) was closed as delete by Liz (t · c) on 17 Dec 2024; see discussion (5 participants)

Categories for discussion

• 08 Dec 2024 – Category:Viruses described in 2001 (talk · edit · hist) CfDed by Tom.Reding (t · c) was closed; see discussion
• 08 Dec 2024 – Category:Viruses described in 1892 (talk · edit · hist) CfDed by Tom.Reding (t · c) was closed; see discussion

Templates for discussion

• 12 Dec 2024 – Template:Taxobox norank entry (talk · edit · hist) TfDed by Gonnym (t · c) was closed; see discussion
• 12 Dec 2024 – Template:Taxobox/palette (talk · edit · hist) TfDed by Gonnym (t · c) was closed; see discussion
• 12 Dec 2024 – Template:Taxobox/Example (talk · edit · hist) TfDed by Gonnym (t · c) was closed; see discussion

Redirects for discussion

• 17 Dec 2024 – Bryna (talk · edit · hist) →Polyommatus was RfDed by 65.92.246.77 (t · c); see discussion
• 03 Dec 2024 – Poypifer (talk · edit · hist) →Coral was RfDed by Cogsan (t · c); see discussion
• 03 Dec 2024 – Polypifer (talk · edit · hist) →Coral was RfDed by Cogsan (t · c); see discussion
• 28 Nov 2024 – Specialization in bees (talk · edit · hist) →Bee was RfDed by Cogsan (t · c); see discussion
• 13 Dec 2024 – Castilleja chromosa (talk · edit · hist) →Castilleja angustifolia RfDed by MtBotany (t · c) was closed; see discussion

Featured article candidates

• 15 Dec 2024 – Ovalipes catharus (talk · edit · hist) was FA nominated by TheTechnician27 (t · c); see discussion

Good article nominees

• 20 Dec 2024 – Prokaryote (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Chiswick Chap (t · c); start discussion
• 20 Dec 2024 – Du Toit's torrent frog (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Olmagon (t · c); start discussion
• 19 Dec 2024 – Fennec fox (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Wolverine X-eye (t · c); see discussion
• 17 Dec 2024 – Metrosideros bartlettii (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Alexeyevitch (t · c); start discussion
• 16 Dec 2024 – Tardigrade (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Chiswick Chap (t · c); see discussion
• 16 Dec 2024 – Bilateria (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Chiswick Chap (t · c); start discussion
• 14 Dec 2024 – Happy Feet (penguin) (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Panamitsu (t · c); start discussion
• 06 Dec 2024 – African bush elephant (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Wolverine X-eye (t · c); start discussion
• 04 Dec 2024 – Porinaceae (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Esculenta (t · c); start discussion
• 04 Dec 2024 – Nephroma arcticum (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Esculenta (t · c); start discussion

(15 more...)

Featured article reviews

• 16 Nov 2024 – Ocean sunfish (talk · edit · hist) was put up for FA review by Z1720 (t · c); see discussion

Requests for comments

• 13 Dec 2024 – Catnip (talk · edit · hist) has an RfC by Escape Orbit (t · c); see discussion

Peer reviews

• 01 Dec 2024 – Macrobdella decora (talk · edit · hist) has been put up for PR by Cremastra (t · c); see discussion
• 22 Oct 2024 – Stingless bee (talk · edit · hist) has been put up for PR by Sintropepe (t · c); see discussion
• 22 Jun 2024 – Brown bear (talk · edit · hist) has been put up for PR by Wolverine XI (t · c); see discussion

Requested moves

• 07 Dec 2024 – An An (giant panda) (talk · edit · hist) move request to An An (giant panda, born 1986) by Mahogany115 (t · c) was not moved; see discussion

Articles to be merged

• 13 Dec 2024 – Planctomicrobium piriforme (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Planctomicrobium by Big Blue Cray(fish) Twins (t · c); see discussion
• 07 Dec 2024 – Erlanger's gazelle (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Arabian gazelle by 78.35.63.163 (t · c); see discussion
• 06 Dec 2024 – Verstraetearchaeota (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Thermoproteota by UtherSRG (t · c); see discussion
• 29 Nov 2024 – Pseudoalcippe (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Sylvia by UtherSRG (t · c); see discussion
• 25 Nov 2024 – Dark-bordered fritillary (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Small pearl-bordered fritillary by UtherSRG (t · c); see discussion
• 14 Nov 2024 – Hydatellaceae (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Trithuria by Conan Wolff (t · c); see discussion
• 01 Nov 2024 – Jeholosauridae (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Thescelosauridae by TheLibyanGuy (t · c); see discussion
• 20 Aug 2024 – Hydnocarpus pentandrus (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Hydnocarpus wightianus by Canyq (t · c); see discussion
• 20 Aug 2024 – Hydnocarpus wightianus (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Hydnocarpus pentandrus by Canyq (t · c); see discussion
• 14 Aug 2024 – Pennisetum (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Cenchrus by Awkwafaba (t · c); see discussion

(1 more...)

Articles to be split

• 01 Apr 2024 – Mole salamander (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by TypistMonkey (t · c); see discussion
• 18 Mar 2024 – Gazelle (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Maykii (t · c); see discussion
• 14 Feb 2024 – Albidella (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Plantdrew (t · c); see discussion
• 03 Jan 2024 – Anisakis (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Artoria2e5 (t · c); see discussion
• 01 Dec 2023 – Marthasterias (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Plantdrew (t · c); see discussion
• 17 Nov 2023 – Mycoplasma (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Artoria2e5 (t · c); see discussion
• 04 Jul 2023 – Corvidae (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Super Dromaeosaurus (t · c); see discussion
• 16 Mar 2023 – Acephala group (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Artoria2e5 (t · c); see discussion
• 16 Nov 2022 – Melanthera (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Mat Kiyan (t · c); see discussion
• 26 Mar 2022 – List of organisms named after famous people (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Mrbeastmodeallday (t · c); see discussion

(3 more...)

Articles for creation

• 18 Dec 2024 – Draft:Neoplecostomus sapucai (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Qwerfjkl (bot) (t · c)
• 06 Dec 2024 – Draft:Thecamoeba vicaria (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Brenda11885 (t · c)
• 19 Dec 2024 – Draft:Agave abisaii (talk · edit · hist) submitted for AfC by Baresbran (t · c) was moved to Agave abisaii (talk · edit · hist) by Ampil (t · c) on 20 Dec 2024
• 18 Dec 2024 – Draft:Peronospora violacea (talk · edit · hist) submitted for AfC by Iacobndg (t · c) was moved to Peronospora violacea (talk · edit · hist) by Iacobndg (t · c) (author) on 19 Dec 2024
• 31 Oct 2024 – Draft:Sarcophaga argyrostoma (talk · edit · hist) submitted for AfC by Myohmai (t · c) was declined by Cremastra (t · c) on 20 Dec 2024

• Alpha taxonomy (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Apoikozoa (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Biological nomenclature (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Dinosaur books (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Genus disambiguation pages (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Heterokont (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Latin name disambiguation pages (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Paleo-stub (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Template-Class. (rev · t)
• Prokaryote (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from C-Class to B-Class. (rev · t)
• Species concept (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Species described in the 20th century (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Water moulds (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/taxobox usage (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)

• Paleobiota of the Green River Formation (talk) assessed. Quality assessed as List-Class. (rev · t) Importance assessed as Low-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Taxa named by Ian D. Cowie (talk) assessed. Quality assessed as Category-Class. (rev · t) Importance assessed as NA-Class. (rev · t)

• Category:Taxa named by Friedrich Ludwig Diels (talk) removed.

• Animalia (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Arthropods (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Austrian taxonomists (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Bacteria (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Biota of Switzerland (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Biota of Ukraine (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Editnotices/Group/Template:Taxonomy (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Paleontology (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Phylogenetics (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Template-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Prehistoric deuterostome classes (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Protista (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:South African taxonomists (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Taxonomy/preload (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Trinomen (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Taxonomic articles by quality log (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Extinction (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/Article alerts (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/Hot articles (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Wildlife templates (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)

• Template:Taxobox/Example (talk) removed.
• Template:Taxobox/palette (talk) removed.
• Template:Taxobox norank entry (talk) removed.

• Apoikozoa (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Archaea classification (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Automatic taxobox (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Template-Class. (rev · t)
• Aves (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Biological classification (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Biota (taxonomy) (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:Conservation status (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Dinosaurs (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Eukaryotes (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Evolutionary tree (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Heterokont (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:How to read a taxobox (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Humans (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Lectotype (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Life (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Phylogeny (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Prokaryotes (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:R from scientific name (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Template-Class. (rev · t)
• Species concept (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Species described in the 20th century (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Species described in the 21st century (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Taxobox (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Template-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Taxobox authority (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:Taxobox usage (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Tree of life (biology) (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Category-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Organisms (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/Articles without images (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/Taxobox Usage (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/taxobox usage (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:Wikispecies (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Project-Class. (rev · t)
• Xenophyophore (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from NA-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)

• Neoplecostomus altimontanus (talk) removed.

• Alpha taxonomy (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Animalia (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Arthropods (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Automatic taxobox (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Bacteria (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Biota of Syria (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Eukaryotes (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Five kingdom system (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Hacrobia (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:How to read a taxobox (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Humans (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Kerria (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Disambig-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Lists of biota of Syria (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Paleo-stub (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Paleontology (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Phylogenetics (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Poems about birds (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Poems about nightingales (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Protista (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:R from scientific name (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Stanleya (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Disambig-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Superspecies (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Swedish taxonomists (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Taxa named by Jean-Henri Huber (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Taxobox (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Trinomen (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Taxonomic articles by quality log (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Vertebrates (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Organisms (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Extinction (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/Article alerts (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/Articles without images (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/Hot articles (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)

• Neoplecostomus altimontanus (talk) assessed. Quality assessed as Start-Class. (rev · t) Importance assessed as Unknown-Class. (rev · t)

• Category:Viruses described in 1892 (talk) removed.
• Category:Viruses described in 2001 (talk) removed.

• Quasibodo laughtonii renamed to Quasibodo.

• Biological classification (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Biota (taxonomy) (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:Conservation status (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Dinosaurs (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Evolutionary tree (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Life (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Phylogeny (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Prokaryotes (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:Taxobox usage (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Template:Taxonomy of ... (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Template-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Tree of life (biology) (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:WikiProject Tree of Life/Taxobox Usage (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• WP:Wikispecies (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Project-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)
• Xenophyophore (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Redirect-Class to NA-Class. (rev · t)

• Quasibodo (talk) assessed. Quality assessed as NA-Class. (rev · t) Importance assessed as NA-Class. (rev · t)

• Category:Prehistoric deuterostome taxa (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Prehistoric deuterostomes (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Taxa named by Charles Gardner (botanist) (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Taxa named by Henry Charles Andrews (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)
• Category:Taxa named by Konrad H. Christ (talk) reassessed. Quality rating changed from Category-Class to Redirect-Class. (rev · t)

In cases where there is a formal common name (e.g. for birds), or when common names are well known and reasonably unique (e.g. "Cuvier's dwarf caiman"), they should be used for article titles. In all other cases, scientific names should be used. See Wikipedia:Naming conventions (flora) for article titles for plants and Wikipedia:Naming conventions (fauna) for article titles for animals. Note the following guidelines in using scientific names:

• Names of genera are always italicized and capitalized, e.g. Homo, Rosa, Saccharomyces.
• Species epithets are always italicized and preceded by the name of the genus, either in full or abbreviated (e.g. Homo sapiens or H. sapiens; never just sapiens), as an epithet may also be used for a different species in another genus. They are never capitalized.
• Names of higher taxa are capitalized but not italicized, e.g. Hominidae, Mammalia, Animalia.
• Common (vernacular) names are not capitalised (except for proper names that are part of them). See Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Animals, plants, and other organisms.

For a monotypic taxon (one that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon), a single article should cover both taxa (unless the higher-ranked one has had multiple circumscriptions, and an article is written to cover them all). If there is no common name, the article should generally go under the scientific name that is most often used when discussing the two taxa, or under the scientific name of lowest rank if there is no clear preference. However, for a monotypic genus (one that contains a single species), the genus name should be used, as it is included in the binomial nomenclature, and the genus title is more concise than the binomial. For instance, the order Amphionidacea, which has the single species Amphionides reynaudii, is discussed at Amphionides. If the name of a monotypic genus is shared with another topic, it is usually more appropriate to use a binomial as a natural disambiguation, rather than using a parenthetical disambiguating term for the genus. E.g., Alberta magna is a more natural search term than Alberta (plant). Not all species need have separate articles. The simplest (and probably best) rule is to have no rule: if you have the time and energy to write up some particularly obscure subspecies that most people have never even heard of, go for it! As a general guideline, though, it's best to combine separate species into a single entry whenever it seems likely that there won't be enough text to make more than a short, unsatisfying stub otherwise. If the entry grows large enough to deserve splitting, that can always be done later. A useful heuristic is to create articles in a "downwards" order, that is, family articles first, then genus, then species. If you find that information is getting thin, or the family/genus is small, leave the species information in the family or genus article. Don't try to force it down any further.

Example taxobox Cetaceans Temporal range: 53.5–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Early Eocene – Present
Clockwise from top: sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), narwhal (Monodon monoceros), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), killer whale (Orcinus orca), gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena).
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Clade:	Cetaceamorpha
Infraorder:	Cetacea Brisson, 1762
Parvorders
Mysticeti Odontoceti †Archaeoceti (see text for families)
Diversity
Around 88 species

Articles about taxa, such as families, genera, or species, typically contain some or all of these sections:

• (Physical) Description
• Taxonomy
• Distribution and habitat
• Ecology and behavior
• Conservation
• Uses
• Culture

See the general taxon template and descendant project pages, such as the WikiProject Plants taxon template, for more detail specific to different groups.

Detailed taxonomic information, including notes on how taxa are defined and how they vary between different systems, belongs in the article proper. Where possible, however, a standard table will be provided to allow easier navigation between related groups and quick identification of what sort of organisms are being discussed. These are called taxoboxes. A typical taxobox is shown at right (it belongs on the top right of the page Cetacea). There are three main sections to the taxobox:

• A header showing the name of the group, sometimes followed by a representative image.
• A table showing the placement of the group in a typical classification system.
• A footer, whose content varies, showing the binomial name or a species, or a list of subgroups for higher taxa.

Some items that are often included, but are not (necessarily) standardized, include:

• Breeding organizations' classifications (Dingo)
• Range map (see, for example, Orca)
• Synonyms (European lobster)

Position: The taxobox generally belongs at the top right corner of the article, unless it has been decided otherwise on the relevant talk page - for instance, if the article is not primarily about the biological group. For cultivars — cultivated varieties of plants — don't use a taxobox; instead use a cultivar infobox ({{Infobox cultivar}}) as described at Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Cultivar infobox. For breeds of animals, don't use a taxobox; instead use the appropriate breed template; see for example Wikipedia:WikiProject Dogs/Dog breeds task force and Wikipedia:WikiProject Equine/Horse breeds.

Tag talkpages with: {{WikiProject Tree of Life|class=|importance=}}

Major groups should be given their own categories. When possible, these should use the common name in the plural, except for plants, where WikiProject Plants uses scientific names by default (see WP:NCFLORA). In general, only articles about major subgroups should be added, and more specific articles should be included in subcategories. However, when there are only a few articles about members of the group, they can all go directly into the main category. Use your judgement on when to split, aiming for an approximate category size of 10-50 articles. Note that in addition to taxa, categories may also contain informal subgroups. For instance Category:Primates may include an article or subcategory for monkeys, although they are not treated as a formal group. They may also include some other articles that pertain specifically to members of the group, although they are not about them. Categories for articles about the biota of a region should be based on the common grouping of that region used by zoological, botanical, mycological etc. publications. For example, if it is common to separate a region based on political boundaries (as in parts of Europe), categories should be separated by countries. If it is common to separate regions based on geographic features (such as New Guinea), categories should be separated by geographic region.

A number of articles under this WikiProject and its descendants have been recognized for their excellence by the Wikipedia community as featured articles or featured lists, and may serve as good models. The articles are sorted by WikiProject:

• General: Archaea, Bacteria, Ediacaran biota, Helicobacter pylori, Myxobolus cerebralis, Starfish
• Amphibians and Reptiles: Australian green tree frog, Cane toad, Crocodilia, Frog, Green and golden bell frog, Hawksbill sea turtle, List of snakes of Trinidad and Tobago, List of Testudines families
• Arthropods: Isopoda, Jaekelopterus, Megarachne, Millipede, Onychopterella
  • Insects: Aleeta curvicosta, Ant, Horse-fly, List of Odonata species of Great Britain, List of ant subfamilies, Mayfly
  • Spiders: Redback spider
• Birds: Albatross, American goldfinch, Arctic tern, Bald eagle, California condor, Common raven, Elfin woods warbler, Emu, Kakapo, List of birds of Florida, List of birds of Kansas, List of birds of Nicaragua, List of birds of Thailand, Mourning dove, Procellariidae, Red-tailed black cockatoo, Seabird
• Dinosaurs: Albertosaurus, Archaeopteryx, Compsognathus, Diplodocus, Dinosaur, Iguanodon, List of dinosaur genera, Psittacosaurus, Stegosaurus, Styracosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor
• Fungi: Amanita muscaria, Amanita ocreata, Amanita phalloides, Cyathus, Gyromitra esculenta, List of Armillaria species
• Mammals: Elephant, European hare, Giraffe, List of fruit bats, List of mammals of Florida, List of mammals of Korea
  • Cats: Bobcat, Cougar, Jaguar, Lion, List of felids, Smilodon
  • Cetaceans: Baleen whale, Blue whale, Fin whale, Humpback whale, Killer whale, Right whale, Sei whale, List of cetacean species
  • Dogs: Beringian wolf, Dire wolf, Golden jackal, List of canids
  • Monotremes and Marsupials: Platypus, Short-beaked echidna, Tasmanian devil, Thylacine
  • Primates: Lemur, List of lemur species, The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates, Primate, Ring-tailed lemur, Slow loris
• Plants: Cucurbita, Ficus macrophylla, Lambertia formosa, List of basil cultivars, List of the largest genera of flowering plants, Verbascum thapsus
  • Banksia: B. attenuata, B. brownii, B. epica, B. ericifolia, B. integrifolia, B. serrata
  • Carnivorous plants: Drosera regia, Pinguicula moranensis
• Sharks: Cretoxyrhina, Goblin shark, Megalodon, Oceanic whitetip shark, Pigeye shark, Porbeagle, Silky shark

The following userboxes are available to add to your user page:

{{User WP TOL|left}} This user is a participant in WikiProject Tree of Life.

{{User WP TOL|center}} This user is a participant in WikiProject Tree of Life.

{{User WP TOL|left|list}} This user is a participant in WikiProject Tree of Life. talk | articles

{{User WP TOL|center|list}} This user is a participant in WikiProject Tree of Life. talk | articles