Wondering if anyone had attempted a "visual disambiguation" page, for locating plants or animals visually. A few photos could be given for each level of the taxonomy, down to the lowest level. Would such a thing fit within the Wikipedia framework? Would it fit better at Wikispecies?
I have a recurring problem where I take photos of plants that I can't identify, but really have no way to find out what they are, in order to add them to the relevant article. And presumably such a structure would be useful to other people, too.
Thoughts?
Steve
On 23/12/2007, Steve Bennett stevagewp@gmail.com wrote:
Wondering if anyone had attempted a "visual disambiguation" page, for locating plants or animals visually. A few photos could be given for Thoughts?
Sounds like a useful idea. WikiProject Tree of Life would be the first place I'd sound out on it. (Their goal is taxonomy, but I expect the people involved would have useful ideas.)
- d.
Steve Bennett schreef:
Wondering if anyone had attempted a "visual disambiguation" page, for locating plants or animals visually. A few photos could be given for each level of the taxonomy, down to the lowest level. Would such a thing fit within the Wikipedia framework? Would it fit better at Wikispecies?
Like a [[dichotomous key]], you mean? There is one at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Dichotomous_Key, but it's not very useful, because it's based on taxonomy instead of the appearance of the organism.
Wikibooks seems to be the proper place for a systematic implementation, but a gallery at the bottom of the WP article of a taxonomic level that shows the charatceristics of its sublevels would be very welcome, I presume.
Eugene
2007/12/23, Steve Bennett stevagewp@gmail.com:
Wondering if anyone had attempted a "visual disambiguation" page, for locating plants or animals visually. A few photos could be given for each level of the taxonomy, down to the lowest level. Would such a thing fit within the Wikipedia framework? Would it fit better at Wikispecies?
We have so far three "Bildtafeln" in the german wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Obst_und_Gem%C3%BCse http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Katzenrassen http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Hunderassen
After some hard discussions on afd and deletion review the three pages were finally kept. Personally, I find them quite useful, especially the first for identifying unknown fruit sorts in the super market...
greetings, elian
On 24/12/2007, elisabeth bauer eflebeth@googlemail.com wrote:
2007/12/23, Steve Bennett stevagewp@gmail.com:
Wondering if anyone had attempted a "visual disambiguation" page, for locating plants or animals visually. A few photos could be given for each level of the taxonomy, down to the lowest level. Would such a thing fit within the Wikipedia framework? Would it fit better at Wikispecies?
We have so far three "Bildtafeln" in the german wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Obst_und_Gem%C3%BCse http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Katzenrassen http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Hunderassen
These pages are great, thanks for the link! It would be nice to implement something like this at en.wikipedia.
On 12/24/07, elisabeth bauer eflebeth@googlemail.com wrote:
We have so far three "Bildtafeln" in the german wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Obst_und_Gem%C3%BCse http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Katzenrassen http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Hunderassen
After some hard discussions on afd and deletion review the three pages were finally kept. Personally, I find them quite useful, especially the first for identifying unknown fruit sorts in the super market...
Hmm, I now realise it would be a lot of work to set up...and that's not even counting the fighting for it bit. Maybe some day someone will release a set of labelled images that we could use.
Steve
On Dec 24, 2007 11:29 AM, elisabeth bauer eflebeth@googlemail.com wrote:
We have so far three "Bildtafeln" in the german wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Obst_und_Gem%C3%BCse http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Katzenrassen http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bildtafel_Hunderassen
Commons has a number of galleries in this vein already. For example:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fruit http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_dog_breeds
Steve Bennett wrote:
Wondering if anyone had attempted a "visual disambiguation" page, for locating plants or animals visually. A few photos could be given for each level of the taxonomy, down to the lowest level. Would such a thing fit within the Wikipedia framework? Would it fit better at Wikispecies?
I have a recurring problem where I take photos of plants that I can't identify, but really have no way to find out what they are, in order to add them to the relevant article. And presumably such a structure would be useful to other people, too.
Thoughts?
Wikispecies does seem like the proper place for this, but it strikes me as a difficult task It requires a detailed systematic approach, which some on Wikipedia are likely to dismiss as original research. Verbal keys are available and precise, but going through them is tedious. In many cases drawings focus on the distinctions better than photographs, and can even be used in multiple circumstances, e.g. Are the leaves opposite or alternate? Does the leaf have a rounded or pointed end?
It doesn't help when some of the modern approaches to taxonomy depend on DNA analysis unless you have a properly equipped DNA lab in your basement. Also differential keys need not have a one-to-one correspondence with the taxonomy.
I would suggest starting with a not-too-big genus with a published differential key, and organizing differential illustrations for that.
Ec
On 12/23/07, Steve Bennett stevagewp@gmail.com wrote:
Wondering if anyone had attempted a "visual disambiguation" page, for locating plants or animals visually. A few photos could be given for each level of the taxonomy, down to the lowest level.
According to the manual of style for disambiguation pages (a.k.a. "MOSDAB") it would only be appropriate to list species which require "visual disambiguation" because they share EXACTLY THE SAME APPEARANCE.
...
(haha, only serious)
—C.W.