WP:Automated taxobox system/all parameters

Documentation for the automated taxobox system

Typical setup

For a full list of available parameters, see below. Often, an automated taxobox can be set up virtually no parameters at all. Even the target taxon can be omitted, since the system will attempt to obtain the name of the taxon from the title of the article. Even when it works, however, this is not regarded as best practice; for one reason, the taxon parameter makes the page "move-proof" – if the page is moved, the taxobox won't get confused as long as the taxon parameter is filled in. This eliminates catastrophic display issues.

You can see what happens by simply placing {{Speciesbox}} or {{Automatic taxobox}} on the page where you would normally place an entire taxobox. Most likely, at least a few parameters will need to be added, though.

The standard parameters recommended for use in an automated taxobox are:

{{Speciesbox |name= title for the taxobox; the page title is used by default |taxon= e.g. Felis catus; no italics |authority= authority for the species |image= |image_caption= }}

{{Automatic taxobox |name= |taxon= e.g. Felidae, Felis; no italics |authority= authority for the taxon |image= |image_caption= }}

Available parameters and how to use them

Available parameters for automated taxoboxes are as follows. Note that all parameters are optional, although to produce the desired results, many may be required.

{{Automatic taxobox, {{Speciesbox or other automated taxobox template
|taxon=
|name=
|authority=
|display_parents=
|edit_link=
|fossil_range=
|oldest_fossil=
|youngest_fossil=
|display_parents=
|parent_authority=
|grandparent_authority=
|greatgrandparent_authority=
|color_as=
|status=
|status_system=
|status_ref=
|image=
|image_upright=
|image_alt=
|image_caption=
|image2=
|image2_upright=
|image2_alt=
|image2_caption=
|classification_status=
|diversity=
|diversity_link=
|binomial=
|binomial_authority=
|trinomial=
|trinomial_authority=
|type_genus=
|type_genus_authority=
|type_species=
|type_species_authority=
|subdivision=
|subdivision_ranks=
|type_strain=
|range_map=
|range_map_upright=
|range_map_alt=
|range_map_caption=
|binomial2=
|binomial2_authority=
|range_map2=
|range_map2_upright=
|range_map2_alt=
|range_map2_caption=
|binomial3=
|binomial3_authority=
|range_map3=
|range_map3_upright=
|range_map3_alt=
|range_map3_caption=
|binomial4=
|binomial4_authority=
|range_map4=
|range_map4_upright=
|range_map4_alt=
|range_map4_caption=
|synonyms=
|synonyms_ref=
}}

In the following sections, parameters used by manual taxoboxes created with {{Taxobox}} will not be covered. Usage for those parameters is the same.

Parameter |taxon=

The name of the taxon the article is about. In the displayed taxobox, this parameter is the one that is bolded.

When moving an article to another title, always check to see that the taxon parameter is present, to ensure the taxonomy continues to display properly. Additionally, you will need to update the display link on the taxonomy template. See #Taxonomy templates for instructions on how to do this.

Parameter |name=

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

Parameter |authority=

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

A reference to support the authority should be placed immediately after the authority.

Parameter |fossil_range=

The automatic taxobox has a couple of enhancements over the conventional taxobox; if you specify a geological period in |fossil range=, then Template:Geological range will automatically display that period in the geological timescale. Unsupported periods can be added at Template:Geological range. As before, more complex cases can still be handled by specifying |fossil range={{geological range}} .

Parameter |edit_link=

In most cases, there is no reason to use this parameter. If used, whatever is entered here will display in single brackets in place of the letter "e". This is the "edit taxonomy" link which allows readers to easily access the taxonomy for quick, universal edits.

Parameter |oldest_fossil=

Deprecated.

Parameter |youngest_fossil=

Deprecated. Replace with |fossil range=.

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. This should generally be used only when a taxon has only one child taxon, in which case the article would need to display the parent of that taxon.

Parameter |parent_authority=

This functions just like |authority=, except it matches up with the parent taxon, i.e. the taxon specified by |parent= in the taxonomy template at "Template:Taxonomy/taxon".

Parameter |grandparent_authority=

This functions just like |authority=, except it matches up with the grandparent taxon.

Parameter |greatgrandparent_authority=

This functions just like |authority=, except it matches up with the great-grandparent taxon.

Parameter |color_as=

In the great majority of cases, the template will automatically assign a color to the taxobox based on one of the higher taxa to which it belongs (e.g. Animalia, Fungi, Plantae, Bacteria). If this fails for some reason, use |color_as= to force the taxobox to have the same color as another taxon. Thus:

• |color_as=Animalia causes the taxobox to have the same color as the Animalia taxobox
• |color_as=Archaea ditto as the Archaea taxobox