Usage edit

  • Normally used for wiki linked authority names in references. It will change the font type to small caps format, and will automatically link the author name, unless told not to.
  • Please note that no brackets are needed in order to create the wiki link. Example: {{a|Carolus Linnaeus}} will produce Carolus Linnaeus (i.e. with a wiki link).
  • You can also use piped links, and this is in fact the preferred method (see note below). They work in the same way as ordinary wiki links. Example: {{a|Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus}} will produce Linnaeus but links to Carolus Linnaeus.
  • Adding |nolink= (with any non-empty value; y is preferred) will suppress the link; e.g {{a|Linnaeus|nolink=y}} will produce Linnaeus
  • Adding the |cat= parameter (with any non-empty value) will automatically add the page to the referred author's Taxa by author category. Only use this parameter on a taxon page and when the author referred to in the template is the actual author of that particular taxon name.
  • Also note that this template should only be used for author name links. It should not be used for linking taxon names, links to scientific journals or repositories, and such; for these purposes, please use the {{smallcaps}} template instead.

Notes edit

If possible, always try to use the full name of author pages together with piped links. The reason is that while author abbreviations are standardized and every abbreviation is unique to a specific author within the field of botany, in zoology this is not the case. Therefore there may be many, many authors sharing the same author abbreviation. As a result an author template like for example {{a|Baker}} will not lead to the page about the English botanist John Gilbert Baker (even though his author abbreviation is indeed "Baker"). Instead it will link to a disambiguation page listing all authors named "Baker". Hence, the correct way to point to the page about John Gilbert Baker using an author template is like this: {{a|John Gilbert Baker|Baker}} which will link to the specific John Gilbert Baker page but be rendered onscreen as Baker.

Also, since Wikispecies' primary scope of interest is biological nomenclature and taxonomy, taxon names always takes precedence over author names. As a result an author template like for example {{a|Bos}} will not link to the page about the Dutch botanist Jan Just Bos (even though his author abbreviation is "Bos"). Instead it will link to a page about the Bos
genus (i.e. bovine mammals, including domestic cattle). As with the Baker case, the correct way of linking to the author is {{a|Jan Just Bos|Bos}}

Examples edit

{{a|Carolus Linnaeus}}
Carolus Linnaeus
{{a|Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus}}
Linnaeus
{{a|Linnaeus|nolink=y}}
Linnaeus
{{a|Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus|nolink=y}}
Linnaeus
{{a|Linnaeus|nolink=}}
Linnaeus
{{a|Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus|nolink=}}
Linnaeus
{{a|Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus|cat=t}}
Carolus Linnaeus (with the page being added to Category:Carolus Linnaeus taxa)

See also edit

  • Template:Aut – for author names without wiki links, e.g. {{aut|Carolus Linnaeus}} which will produce Carolus Linnaeus (i.e. without a wiki link).