To link every extant mammal species via a template, and each species can be reached by starting at the top template{{Mammals}}.
Usage
Content: The templates in this series contain onlyextant species;subspecies andextinct species are not included.
Subspecies: Subspecies are not included on these templates due to space restraints -- there just is not enough room to list all subspecies. For consistency, therefore, no subspecies are included. In instances where subspecies are just as well known as the regular species (i.e., thebrown bear subspecies), instead it may be appropriate to create a separate template for that species; seeTemplate:Arctos.
Format: This template is used in conjunction with the other mammal species templates listed below. Please do not change the basicformat of an individual template without discussion atWikipedia Talk:WikiProject Mammals so a consensus can be reached to update the formating of all of the templates in the series. Formatting should remain consistent across all of the mammal templates.
Edits: A correction, addition and/or removal of a species is welcome. Please remember to update all of the corresponding articles accordingly. UseMSW3 as a general guideline. If the edit is contradictory to MSW3, please be sure to provide areliable source or the edit may be reverted.
Renaming: If an article is moved to a different name (preferably its common name perMSW3), the redirect should be fixed on the accompanying template (see "Best practices" for formatting a template link).
Best practices
The visible name (name appearing after the pipe) should be the same as the exact title of the article (name appearing before the pipe) followed by the scientific name: [[Groundhog|Groundhog (''M. monax'')]] not [[Groundhog|Woodchuck (''M. monax'')]]
Lower case common names: Per theWikipedia Manual of Style, do not capitalize the common names of animal species (other than capitalizing the first letter of the entry, because it begins a list item).
Format
Most templates utilize{{Navbox with collapsible groups}} while some of the smaller Orders utilize{{Navbox}}. Many incorporate {{Navbox|subgroup}} into the template.
The main title bar represents the name of theorder.
The secondary title bar (on most templates) usually represents asuborder orfamily, and is labeled as such.
The vertical groupings are usually afamily orsubfamily, but are not labeled.
Thegenus is easily recognized as it is always initalics.
Tribes are generally not included in the template due to space constraints, unless it is significant to the classification.
Thesubgenus orsubgroup is included in the list of species (not in its own group parameter) underlined and with the name part italicized, ex.:SubgenusDolichohippus: (<u>Subgenus ''Dolichohippus''</u>:).
Mammal species template series
Each template attempts to represent all known extant species in that particular Order (perMSW3), as grouped below by infraclass.
