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Wikipedia:WikiProject Animals/Draft capitalization guidelines

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Purpose of this draft proposal:

a) help prevent multiple page moves of existing articles;
b) help ensure new articles are properly named when created
  • To possibly agree upon new conventions currently unresolved.

Proposed additions/clarifications to guidelines:
  • Common names of animal species are written either in title case or sentence case depending upon the taxonomic group (shown below).
  • In title case, the first letter of every important word is capitalized (e.g., Grey Currawong, Duke of Burgundy), except for words that follow a hyphen (e.g., Brown-headed Spider Monkey).
  • In sentence case, no capital letters are used (e.g., brown bear, ray-finned shark), except for proper names (e.g., North American beaver, Roosevelt's elk).
  • Names of higher categories of animals are always written in sentence case (e.g., kangaroo rat, river martin).
  • Individual articles should be consistent in using either title or sentence case for common names. If an article on an animal species uses title-case title, all species mentioned in the text should have their name in title case.

WikiProject examples

[edit]
Animal type Case to use Example article title Usage in prose Current status
of non-group
articles
Capitalisation
of groups[1]
Group use in prose Remarks/exceptions
Mammals Sentence Polar bear The polar bear is a bear. Mixed Sentence Per naming conventions as WP Mammals doesn't have project specific guidelines.
Primates Sentence Ring-tailed lemur The ring-tailed lemur is a primate. Mixed – converting to lower Sentence ruffed lemur
Cetaceans Sentence Pygmy blue whale The pygmy blue whale is a whale. Mainly sentence Sentence blue whale
Rodents Sentence Guinea pig The guinea pig is a species of rodent. Mixed Sentence mouse
Birds Upper Bald Eagle A Bald Eagle is a bird. Actively upper Sentence thick-billed parrot
bluebird
Lower case should be used in contexts outside of ornithology
Upper Palawan Peacock-Pheasant A Palawan Peacock-Pheasant is a bird. Sentence see Talk:Palawan Peacock-Pheasant
Insects Sentence Red imported fire ant The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) is one of over 280 species ... 100% sentence Sentence rove beetle Lepidoptera and Odonata species may be capitalised
Butterflies and moths Mixed Gypsy moth The gypsy moth is a moth. More upper Sentence skipper Ditto
Fishes Sentence Ocean sunfish The ocean sunfish is a fish. Mainly sentence Sentence catfish Project guideline
Sharks Sentence Oceanic whitetip shark The oceanic whitetip shark is a shark. 100% sentence Sentence bullhead shark
Amphibians and reptiles Sentence Komodo dragon The Komodo dragon is a reptile. Mixed Sentence poison dart frog
Turtles Sentence Loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle[2] is a turtle. 100% sentence Sentence sea turtle
Arthropods Sentence American lobster American lobsters are usually bluish green to brown. 100% sentence Sentence lobster Few common name articles
Spiders Sentence Katipo A bite from the katipo produces a toxic syndrome. 100% sentence Sentence orb-weaver spider
Cephalopods
Gastropods Sentence Lightning whelk The lightning whelk is a large edible sea snail. Mostly sentence Sentence door snail


Addendum - breeds

[edit]
Animal type Case to use Example article title Usage in prose Current status
of non-group
articles
Capitalisation
of groups
Group use in prose Remarks/exceptions
Dogs Upper Beagle A Beagle is a dog. Actively upper - - Guidelines not followed
Equine Upper American Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse is a breed of horse. Actively upper - - Distinction between breed and type often must be determined on a case-by-case basis

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ * according to WP:Fauna name "The common name of a group of species, or an individual creature of indeterminate species, is not capitalised."
  2. ^ prose use in New York Times