Talk:Dichotomous Key

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This is a cool book. You might want to consider inserting __NOTOC__ to suppress of the automatic table of contents on pages like Dichotomous Key:Hexapoda (just place __NOTOC__ as the very last line of the page, as I've done it on that page). --Andreas 10:15, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Contents 1 Beginner's question 2 Transwiki:Dichotomous Key:Pachypodium 3 Unused Templates 4 images 5 Templates

[edit] Beginner's question

Hi, I like this book, but I am no expert on this field. I just tried to see, if I can use the book nevertheless. As a test, I wanted to go from "Start" to "dog", but I already failed at Animalia #5: Which part is developing first? Or is it a Bilaterium at all? What is the correct path to "dog"? (I would be nice, to have links from certain keywords to Wikipedia where those technical terms are explained). --Andreas 09:11, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

If you go down to the bottom of Dichotomous Key:Animalia, there's a glossary box. It isn't filled in or easy to find at the moment, but I'm getting there. That wouldn't really help you identify a dog either, since you'd need to inspect fetal dogs to see whether the mouth or anus develops first in order to answer that question.

Regarding the difficulty in going from start to dog, little can be done about it, really. The higher taxa like Chordata, for example, are distinguished by technical characteristics that may be difficult or impossible for most people to describe. I've been kicking around in my head some ideas about having alternate keys. For example, next to Animalia#5, there could be a separate key leading either to a new section or new page that would use more easily identifiable characteristics. The problem is that, especially in the higher taxa, the only really good characteristics are difficult for laymen to identify -- if there was an alternate key of some sort, it would be much more complicated to make because there would be numerous exceptions and caveats.

FTR, dogs are deuterostomes. Also, they have a notochord. Once you get that far (this would take you to Dichotomous Key:Chordata), the rest of the keys you should be able to follow without too much difficulty. (nobody's done the Dichotomous Key:Canidae yet, so you won't actually be able to get all the way down to the dog -- unfortunately, I don't think there are any very familiar animals done all the way to species yet) TUF-KAT 15:12, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

There is now a familiar species that can be traced all the way from start to finish -- humans. Like dogs, they (we) are deuterostomes and they have a notochord. You also have to be able to count molar cusps to get all the way to the end, but the rest of it should be easy to follow. TUF-KAT 17:55, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

BTW, I should probably mention here that I have proposed moving the Dichotomous Key (and Field Guide) to Wikispecies, because it seems likely to get more attention from knowledgeable people there, and it fits in well with that project's scope. Nobody at the Wikispecies Village Pump has replied, so I'm not going to do it in the immediate future, but I think it will happen sooner or later. TUF-KAT 18:00, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Thank you very much for the answer. I think the way you implemented the glossary on Dichotomous Key:Mammalia is the most useful and intuitive way. It would be sad to loose a good book from Wikibooks, but it definitely looks like there is more connection with Wikispecies. Anyhow, this book will profit from tight linking to both Wikipedia and Wikispecies. What you should demand as soon as possible (even if you decide to move your book later), is to have a prominent link to your book, possibly even on the main page of Wikispecies. This might also draw experts' attention to this wikibook.

Another suggestion (from the naive novice?): I don't know if it is a good idea, but it might be helpful for some questions (like the one which opening develops first) to have a few well-known examples that would follow later down the road (e.g. "Deuterostomes (containing e.g. dogs)"). That could help sometimes in pointing to the right direction at least... --Andreas 04:29, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice. I've been considering ways to incorporate something along the lines of your suggestion. I'll see what I can come up with. TUF-KAT

[edit] Transwiki:Dichotomous Key:Pachypodium

Would this book be interested in this page? Please move it into this book or mark it for deletion if it is not needed. Thanks, hagindaz 00:41, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unused Templates

I have found a number of unused templates that seem to deal with this wikibook. Let me know if any of these are still useful:

• Template:Animalia
• Template:Arthropoda
• Template:Aves
• Template:Carnivora
• Template:Hexapoda
• Template:Mammalia glossary
• Template:Mollusca
• Template:Reptilia
• Template:Ursidae

There may be more, but I can't find any others. --Whiteknight(talk) (projects) 19:07, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Each of these seems to have been older versions of the currently used ones. Since these were deprecated and unused, adding in no meaningful way to any module, this book or the wikibooks project as a whole, I've speedy deleted them on grounds of no meaningful content. --Swift (talk) 16:13, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] images

I Think that illustrations could be a big improvement. If any question will be followed with image of the choice it could be much simplier to the novice user. 192.115.235.2 12:32, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Templates

There seems to be a large number of templates used in this book. Special:AllPages/K gives:

• Template:K
• Template:KD
• Template:KDC
• Template:KDCO
• Template:KDCOF
• Template:KP
• Template:KPC
• Template:KPCO
• Template:KPCOF
• Template:KPCsubcO
• Template:KPCsubcsuperoO
• Template:KPCsubcsuperoOsuboF
• Template:KPsp
• Template:KPspC
• Template:KPspCO
• Template:KPspCOso
• Template:KPsubp
• Template:KPsubpC
• Template:KPsubpCO
• Template:KPsubpCOsubo
• Template:KPsubpCsubc
• Template:KPsubpCsubcO
• Template:KPsubpCsubcOsubo
• Template:KPsubpCsubcOsuboF
• Template:KPsubpCsubcOsuboinfraounrankedsuperf
• Template:KPsubpCsubcOsuboinfraounrankedsuperfF
• Template:KPsubpCsubcOsuboinfraounrankedsuperfFsubf
• Template:KPsubpCsubcsupero
• Template:KPsubpCsubcsuperoO

These should at the very least be categorised and even consolidated. Anyone up for writing a little description of what each of these does? --Swift (talk) 15:49, 11 June 2008 (UTC)