User talk:Sainsf

• WikiProject Birds gained a new task force. A discussion determined that WikiProject Poultry might be more successful as a task force, with the move completed 15 April.
• Round 2 of the WikiCup wrapped up this month. Several editors moved on to Round 3 by scoring points in biodiversity-related areas, including Sainsf, Casliber, Dunkleosteus77, CaptainEek, Guettarda, and Enwebb. Dunkleosteus77 finished at the top of the Tree of Life pack with 608 points, finishing 9th overall in the round.
• After a relatively quiet February and March, with only 11 total articles nominated for GA and none for FAC, April brought a shower of nominations. In total, 5 articles were nominated for FAC, 1 for FLC, and 11 for GA.

Inspired by a March 2020 post at WikiProject Medicine detailing the growth of Featured Articles over time, we decided to reproduce that table here, adding a second table showing the growth of Good Articles. Tree of Life articles are placed in the "Biology" category for FAs, which has seen a growth of 381% since 2008. Only two other subjects had a greater growth than Biology: Business, economics, and finance; and Warfare.

• Note A: Total is off by one; not worth looking for the error.
• Note B Three food biographies moved [1] per discussion at WT:FAC
• Note: The very odd dates used in earlier years result from pulling old data from the talk page at WP:FAS.

*subset of natural sciences

Unsurprisingly, the number of GAs has increased more rapidly than the number of FAs. Organisms, which is a subcategory of Natural sciences, has seen a GA growth of 755% since 2008, besting the Natural sciences overall growth of 530%. While Warfare had far and away the most significant growth of GAs, it's a clear outlier relative to other categories.

Jenny

White-throated round-eared bat

Formica fusca ants tending mealybugs

• ... that the human-like behaviour of Jenny (depicted), a resident of London Zoo, reinforced Charles Darwin's view that humans were "created from animals"? (3 April)
• ... that white-throated round-eared bats (example pictured) roost in cavities in active termite mounds excavated by the males? (4 April)
• ... that flatter mires in montane regions of Europe are often dominated by deergrass and cottongrass? (5 April)
• ... that the white-browed tit-warbler has been found to practice cooperative breeding? (6 April)
• ... that most species in the palm genus Desmoncus climb using grappling hook–like structures called acanthopylls? (7 April)
• ... that some ants herd scale insects (example pictured)? (10 April)
• ... that birds, bats and humans are the main hosts of members of the bed bug family? (12 April)
• ... that the sponge Aplysina cavernicola (pictured) has been used as a model organism to monitor the presence of isotopes such as americium-241 in seawater? (16 April)
• ... that although the alpine bartsia has a wide range in Europe and North America, it is known in the British Isles only from a few locations in northern England and the central Scottish Highlands? (19 April)
• ... that the orange-band surgeonfish (pictured) can change colour from dark to light almost instantaneously? (21 April)
• ... that the parasitic greater broomrape usually grows on the roots of the common broom or the European gorse? (24 April)
• ... that the tree Macaranga triloba encourages the ants that defend it by providing them with food bodies? (25 April)
• ... that amateur entomologist James John Joicey had a collection of 1.5 million butterflies? (28 April)
• ... that the globe chamomile (pictured), a member of the daisy family native to South Africa, infests parts of Arizona and California? (28 April)
• ... that the bicoloured sedge (pictured) was part of an attempted botanical fraud? (30 April)

• This month saw two Tree of Life editors gain the mop: CaptainEek (WikiProjects Birds and Plants) and Cwmhiraeth (familiar name at DYK, WikiProjects Plants, Animals, and Insects)
• The April – May GAN backlog drive finished up, clearing the queue from nearly 700 outstanding nominations to about 350.

This month we're joined by Jts1882, who is active in depicting evolutionary relationship of taxa via cladograms. Part of this includes responding to cladogram requests, where interested editors can have cladograms made without using the templates themselves.

How did you come to be interested in systematics? Are you interested in systematics broadly, or is there a particular group you're most fond of?

As long as I can remember I’ve been interested in nature, starting with the animals and plants in the garden, school grounds, and local wood, and then more general wildlife worldwide. An interest in how things are classified grew from this. I like things to be organised and understanding the relationships between things and systems (not just living things) is a big part of that. Biology was always my favourite subject in school and took up a disproportionate part of my time. My interest in systematics is broad as I’d like to comprehend the whole tree of life, but the cat family is my favourite group.

What's the background behind cladogram requests? I see that it isn't a very old part of the Tree of Life

Well I can’t take any credit for the cladogram requests page, although I help out there sometimes. It was created by IJReid and there are several people who have helped there more than me. I think the motivation is that creating cladograms requires a knowledge of the templates that is daunting for many editors. It was one way of helping people who want to focus on content creation.

My main contribution to the cladograms is converting the {{clade}} template to use a Lua module. The template code was extremely difficult to follow and had to be repetitive (I can only admire the efforts of those who got the thing to work in the first place). The conversion to Lua made it more efficient, allowed larger and deeper cladograms, plus facilitating the introduction of new features. The cladogram request page was recently the venue for discussion on making time calibrated cladograms, which is now possible, if not particularly user friendly.

What advice do you have for an editor who wants to learn how to make cladograms?

The same advice I would give to someone facing any computer problem, just try it out. Start by taking existing code for a cladogram and make changes yourself. The main advice would be to format it properly so indents match the brackets vertically. Of course, not everyone wants to learn and if someone prefers to focus on article content there is the cladogram request page.

Do you have any personal projects or goals you're working towards on Wikipedia?

As I said I like organisation and systems. So I find efforts like the automated taxobox system and {{taxonbar}} appealing. I would like to see more reuse of the major phylogenetic trees on Wikipedia with more use of consensus trees on the higher taxa. Too often they get edited based on one recent report and/or without proper citation. Animals and bilateria are examples where this is a problem.

Towards this I have been working on a system of phylogeny templates that can be reused flexibly. The {{Clade transclude}} template allows selective transclusion, so the phylogenetic trees on one page can be reused with modifications, i.e. can be pruned and grafted, used with or without images, with or without collapsible elements, etc. I have an example for the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification (see {{Phylogeny/APG IV}}) and one for squamates that also includes collapsible elements (see {{Phylogeny/Squamata}}).

A second project is to have a modular reference system for taxonomic resources. I have made some progress along this lines with the {{BioRef}} template. This started off simply as a way of hardlinking to Catalog of Fishes pages and I’ve gradually expanded it to cover other groups (e..g. FishBase, AmphibiaWeb and Amphibian Species of the World, Reptile Database, the Mammalian Diversity Database). The modular nature is still rudimentary and needs a rewrite before it is ready for wider use.

What would surprise your fellow editors to learn about your life off-Wikipedia?

I don’t think there is anything particularly surprising or interesting about my life. I’ve had an academic career as a research scientist but I don't think anyone could guess the area from my Wikipedia edits. I prefer to work on areas where I am learning at the same time. This why I spend more time with neglected topics (e.g. mosses at the moment). I start reading and then find that I’m not getting the information I want.

Anything else you'd like us to know?

My interest in the classification of things goes beyond biology. I am fascinated by mediaeval attempts to classify knowledge, such as Bacon in his The Advancement of Learning and Diderot and d’Alembert in their Encyclopédie. They were trying to come up with a universal scheme of knowledge just as the printing press was allowing greater dissemination of knowledge.

With the internet we are seeing a new revolution in knowledge dissemination. Just look at how we could read research papers on the COVID virus within weeks of its discovery. With an open internet, everyone has access, not just those with the luxury of books at home or good libraries. Sites like the Biodiversity Heritage Library allow you to read old scientific works without having to visit dusty university library stack rooms, while the taxonomic and checklist databases provide instant information on millions of living species. In principle, the whole world can now find out about anything, even if Douglas Adams warned we might be disinclined to do so.

This is why I like Wikipedia, with all its warts, it’s a means of organising the knowledge on the internet. In just two decades it’s become a first stop for knowledge and hopefully a gateway to more specialised sources. Perhaps developing this latter aspect, beyond providing good sources for what we say, is the next challenge for Wikipedia.

Slender Scotch burnet moth on a flower

Northern plains gray langur

Male vermilion flycatcher

Canada lynx

Meerkats

Hilarimorphites burmanica

Sun bear

• ... that coconut mites can be dispersed by wind, or perhaps by hitching a lift? (1 May)
• ... that Neanderthals went fishing? (1 May)
• ... that the Rowridge Valley in the Isle of Wight is the only known location for the wood calamint in Britain? (1 May)
• ... that Tetraponera penzigi is one of several species of ant that protect whistling thorn trees in East Africa from grazing giraffes and rhinoceroses? (3 May)
• ... that the Vietnam mouse-deer, which had been feared to have gone extinct nearly 30 years ago, was sighted again in 2019? (4 May)
• ... that most branchiobdellids use crayfish as hosts, living on their heads, carapaces, or claws, but in some instances inside their gill cavities? (5 May)
• ... that the song of the Madagascan hoopoe differs markedly from that of the African hoopoe? (5 May)
• ... that populations of the slender Scotch burnet (pictured), a European moth that lives in dry, lime-rich areas, have been declining? (6 May)
• ... that the spinosaurid dinosaur Ichthyovenator had two sails on its back? (9 May)
• ... that the scale insect Saissetia coffeae attacks many other plants besides coffee? (9 May)
• ... that entomologist Frederick Vincent Theobald wrote a five-volume monograph and sixty scientific papers on mosquitoes? (12 May)
• ... that the northern plains gray langur monkey (example pictured) is killed in India for food and to prevent crop raiding, despite being considered sacred by Hindus? (12 May)
• ... that the leech Limnatis nilotica can affect humans and livestock, entering hosts through the mouth, nose, or other orifices? (12 May)
• ... that while the termite Pterotermes occidentis inhabits dead blue palo verde in the Sonoran Desert, Marginitermes hubbardi prefers dead saguaro? (14 May)
• ... that the tree Barteria fistulosa is associated with Tetraponera aethiops, an aggressive species of ant that lives in its hollow branches and twigs? (15 May)
• ... that Miller's langur, one of the rarest primates in Borneo, was feared to be extinct until a 2012 study rediscovered it in an area where it was previously unknown? (16 May)
• ... that most of the known Gigantopithecus fossils are of teeth because the other bones are likely to have been eaten by porcupines? (17 May)
• ... that Tetraponera tessmanni, a very aggressive ant, is able to establish dominance over the whole of the liana in which it lives, which may be 50 m (164 ft) long? (17 May)
• ... that mesophyletid weevils have only been found in Burmese amber? (18 May)
• ... that Pyrocephalus, the genus name of the vermilion flycatcher (example pictured), literally means 'fire head'? (19 May)
• ... that the male bigtooth cardinalfish broods a ball of eggs in his mouth? (20 May)
• ... that in the Australian Journal of Herpetology, a first-year student and a high school teacher reassessed the taxonomy of Australia's entire reptile class, naming 33 novel genera and 214 new species? (20 May)
• ... that the Arizona dampwood termite exclusively colonizes dead parts of standing trees? (22 May)
• ... that Megaceroides algericus is one of only two deer species known to have been native to Africa, alongside the Barbary stag? (23 May)
• ... that besides eating ants and termites, the waved woodpecker feeds on fruits, berries, and seeds? (24 May)
• ... that populations of the Canada lynx (pictured) undergo cyclic rises and falls in line with those of the snowshoe hare? (25 May)
• ... that despite being known as the Mexican hydrangea, Clerodendrum bungei is neither from Mexico nor a species of hydrangea? (25 May)
• ... that meerkats (examples pictured) use alarm calls that can identify the type of predator posing the risk, the level of danger, and the caller itself? (27 May)
• ... that the frog Boophis fayi can be identified by its unusual green-and-turquoise eyes? (30 May)
• ... that members of the fly family Apystomyiidae (example depicted) have been found in Late Jurassic sediments in Kazakhstan? (30 May)
• ... that the sun bear (pictured) is the smallest of all bear species? (31 May)

• This issue is a double issue, but the plan is to return to monthly henceforth.
• A discussion at WikiProject Palaeontology about internal peer review processes led to the creation of a peer review space. In contrast to the more formal Peer Review, PalaeoPR focuses on short "fact checks", emphasizing content over style. Reviews are meant to be low commitment, with "drive-by reviews" encouraged. Since its inception on 8 July, seven articles have been submitted to PalaeoPR.
• After a highly competitive third round, two Tree of Life editors advanced to the fourth round of the WikiCup: Dunkleosteus77 and Sainsf
• A February 2020 paper published in PLOS noted that Mammalian Species is one of the most over-cited journals on Wikipedia relative to how frequently it is cited in other academic works.

DexDor is a WikiGnome with a particular interest in article categorization, including how organisms are categorized.

How did you become interested in editing biodiversity topics on Wikipedia?

I'm a wikignome who tries to remove unnecessary complexity and confusion in Wikipedia.  I specialise in categorization. I've worked on categorization of several topic areas (e.g. military equipment) - anywhere where I see things like category tags on articles that the category text doesn't support.  Categorization of organisms is one area I'm currently looking at (my essay on this).

You seem to be particularly interested in geographic categorization of organisms. What are some issues in this area?

One issue is that there are several possible relationships between an organism and a region (i.e. what the "of" in a "Xs of Y" means) - the organism may be found throughout the region, somewhere in the region, only in the region (i.e. endemic to that region) - there are categories for each of these (and others) and some categories have been unclear about their exact meaning. Then there's introductions by man, locally extinct species, occasional visitors...

Another issue is that some editors have thought it's appropriate to create categories for very small areas ("Spiders of Vatican City" is only a slight exaggeration) and put a few articles in them, thus creating a category that is both massively incomplete and non-defining for the articles in it.

There have been several (now blocked) editors who have been disruptive in this area, but a confusing and sprawling categorization scheme is also partly due to editors from a particular background categorizing a particular article in a way that appears to make sense, but doesn't really make sense in the wider categorization scheme - for example, if an article mentions the countries at the extremes of an animal's distribution, the animal is categorized just for those countries.

What potential solutions do you see for categorizing organisms by geography? How can other editors help address this issue, or at least, not make it worse?

We should have some guidelines that tell editors how to categorize any article about an organism (including any geographical categorization). I've started drafting guidelines at User:DexDor/BioCat. The guidelines are also a good way to ensure that the categorization of articles about organisms is aligned with categorization of other articles and may help us to identify where there are problems, inconsistencies etc in the categorization. I welcome suggestions for improvement of the guidelines (which should at some point be moved into WP:TOL).

Regarding geographical categorization of animals the main advice for editors would be to not create categories for any new areas and to only create a new category if you intend to populate it.

What have you learned from being a Wikipedia editor?

That lots of people (from varied backgrounds) each making (mostly) small improvements (like ants in an ants nest?) and only understanding some parts of Wikipedia can produce such a wonderful resource. But also, how that tends to result in ever-increasing complexity which negatively affects editors and readers.

Is there anything about your life outside Wikipedia that would surprise us?

Not sure - I'm a member of a band.

Blue calamintha bee

Culture of S. aureus

Ambay pumpwood

Heuglin's gazelle

Gold-striped frog

• ... that despite being a member of the cat family, the jaguarundi has several features in common with mustelids such as otters and weasels? (2 June)
• ... that scientists were unsure whether the blue calamintha bee (pictured) still existed until it was observed again in March 2020? (2 June)
• ... that many of the animals regarded as pests have co-evolved with humans, adapting to the warm, sheltered conditions that a building provides? (3 June)
• ... that the banteng is the second endangered species to be successfully cloned, and the first clone to survive beyond infancy? (5 June)
• ... that the colonial morphology of Staphylococcus species (culture pictured) is described as "creamy"? (5 June)
• ... that ant gardens are cultivated by several species of ant, including Crematogaster carinata? (6 June)
• ... that the presence of the beetle Coelomera ruficornis on its host tree (pictured) is tolerated by the ant Azteca alfari, but not by the ant Azteca muelleri? (8 June)
• ... that cattle and deer sometimes stand under trees where southern plains gray langurs are feeding in order to consume the edible pieces that the monkeys drop? (10 June)
• ... that Singaporean authorities hope that the Mandai Wildlife Bridge will reduce the risk of animals such as Sunda pangolins and leopard cats becoming roadkill? (13 June)
• ... that the gold-striped frog (pictured) sometimes breeds inside an active nest of leafcutter ants? (13 June)
• ... that Heuglin's gazelle (illustrated), reportedly last seen in Eritrea over a century earlier during Italian colonial rule, was sighted again in the country last year? (12 June)
• ... that Siamosaurus, a large bipedal carnivore from the Early Cretaceous of Thailand, is the first crocodilian-like dinosaur named from Asia? (14 June)
• ... that Homo ergaster may have been the first species of archaic humans to control fire? (14 June)
• ... that the small frog Cochranella nola has yellow intestines, a green tongue, and dark green bones? (16 June)
• ... that Nigel, nicknamed "the world's loneliest gannet" (species pictured), attempted to mate with a concrete decoy bird on Mana Island, New Zealand? (17 June)
• ... that the male giant glass frog has a hooked spur on his upper arm which is used when fighting rivals? (19 June)
• ... that vestigial organs in the Brazilian Callichirus major population (example species pictured) suggest Callichirus may be the only crustacean genus with basal, yet not universal, hermaphroditism? (20 June)
• ... that Megacephalosaurus was one of the last known pliosaurs and coexisted with some of the earliest mosasaurs? (21 June)
• ... that when boiled in milk, black coral (example pictured) emits a faint scent of myrrh? (21 June)
• ... that one of the factors affecting the future of the Huanchaca mouse is the increased cultivation of biofuels? (22 June)
• ... that the Strawberries and Cream Tree (pictured) is noted for producing pink blossoms on one side of the tree and white on the other, when it blooms every spring? (23 June)
• ... that the Chilean seaside cinclodes bobs its tail while it walks and flares its wings while it sings? (24 June)
• ... that Boie's frog (pictured) and the Banhado frog both resemble dead leaves on the floor of the forest? (25 June)
• ... that the extinct sumac species Rhus republicensis is named for Republic, Washington? (30 June)

Amazon parrot

Life reconstruction of Pterodactylus antiquus

• ... that the Newland Oak in Gloucestershire took "200 years to grow, 200 years to exist, and 200 to die"? (2 July)
• ... that the hollow trunk of Queen Elizabeth's Oak was used as a prison? (4 July)
• ... that Markham's storm petrel, which nests in Peru and northern Chile, has been described as "one of the least known seabirds in the world"? (7 July)
• ... that the Asian freshwater leech Barbronia weberi has invaded North Carolina? (11 July)
• ... that a large, elderly, "decently behaved" Russian brown bear once lived in the Leeds suburb of Headingley? (12 July)
• ... that the female Andes marsupial frog carries her developing young in a pouch on her back? (14 July)
• ... that the Amazon parrot (depicted) was implicated as a source of the great parrot fever pandemic of 1929–30, in which more than 100 people died? (17 July)
• ... that the frog Corythomantis greeningi retreats into a hole, blocks the entrance with its spiny head, and injects venom into anything that tries to dislodge it? (18 July)
• ... that the reef box crab uses its powerful pincers to break open the shells of snails? (21 July)
• ... that carnivorous wildlife of North Macedonia as small as the Balkan lynx have been reported to attack not just livestock, but humans too? (22 July)
• ... that the sea slug Discodoris boholiensis exhibits photokinesis? (22 July)
• ... that the genus Pterodactylus (species depicted), the scientific name for a pterodactyl, had been considered a "wastebasket taxon" as many species were assigned to it and later reassigned? (23 July)
• ... that the sea urchin Abatus cordatus broods its young for nine months in pockets on its upper surface? (24 July)
• ... that Harold Clyde Bingham trailed a troop of gorillas for 100 hours in 1929? (25 July)
• ... that the sea urchin Goniocidaris umbraculum moves its eggs with its tube feet, assisted by cilia, to an area near its mouth where they can be brooded? (27 July)