Wikispecies is a wiki-based online project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aim is to create a comprehensive open content catalog of all species; the project is directed at scientists, rather than at the general public. Jimmy Wales stated that editors are not required to fax in their degrees, but that submissions will have to pass muster with a technical audience. Wikispecies is available under the GNU Free Documentation License and CC BY-SA 4.0.
Started in September 2004, with biologists around the world invited to contribute, the project had grown to a framework encompassing the Linnaean taxonomy with links to Wikipedia articles on individual species by April 2005.
As a database for taxonomy and nomenclature, Wikispecies comprises taxon pages, and additionally pages about synonyms, taxon authorities, taxonomical publications, type material, and institutions or repositories holding type specimen.
Policies
Wikispecies has disabled local upload and asks users to use images from Wikimedia Commons. Wikispecies does not allow the use of content that does not conform to a free license.
See also
- All Species Foundation
- Catalogue of Life
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Tree of Life Web Project
- List of online encyclopedias
- The Plant List