Encyclopedia of Prehistory:Manual of Style

If you are confused about how to contribute to the wiki, you can read our editing guidelines below. These are not official rules and will not be formally enforced, but you should abide by them in any case.

Editing Fundamentals
Once you click the Edit button, you should have access to the Wiki standard toolbar above the editing window, as well as the media uploader, located to the right of the editing window. This is fairly straightforward and I will assume that you already know how to use these tools (if you need help with the tools, contact another contributor, or, if they cannot help, Wiki support).

The page name will be in bold the first time it is used in the main text. After that it will be written in regular text format. Genus and species names are italicized, while family, order, class, and other clade names are not. Links can be provided by placing  around the name of the page that you are linking to. Feel free to use links in your text, but don't overuse them - it can be overwhelming to have the page written in a mixture of black, blue, and the occasional bit of red text.

Writing a Page
Begin a page with a summary of the topic in a paragraph or two. For instance, on an article about an extinct animal species, you could talk about its basic statistics, where and when it lived, how complete its remains are, and how well-known it is to the public. Most pages should also have an infobox (more information on infoboxes will be provided below).

Discovery
Discuss the date and location of the animal's discovery, the discoverer, and, if the information is available, the circumstances of its discovery. For instance, was it discovered on an expedition by professional paleontologists specifically looking for the type of animal that they found, or was it discovered largely by accident? Did the discoverers need to face any hazards before uncovering the animal?

Fossil Record
Discuss known specimens of the animal, their completeness, size estimates, and what they may reveal about the animal.

Classification
Discuss the animal's biological classification within its group and, if available, any alternative classifications that may have been proposed.

Paleobiology
Describe the animal in detail. How big was it? What distinguishing features did it have? How did it move around, gather food, interact with other members of its species, reproduce? If enough information is available, take some time to discuss what is known of its anatomy and physiology as well.

Paleoecology
What role did the animal play in its ecosystem? Was it a grazer, a low browser, or high browser? Was it a small predator, mesopredator, or apex predator? Was it a scavenger, detrivore, or decomposer? What might it have eaten? What might have eaten it? How might it have defended itself? How large a role did it play in its ecosystem? What impact might its extinction have had on its environment?

Extinction
Discuss the animal's extinction. How long was it alive on Earth? What could have caused its extinction? What impact did its extinction have on its environment? What, if anything, evolved to fill its niche?

In popular culture
Discuss what the general public knows the animal. What notable appearences has it made in books or in the media? How accurate is its portrayal? How well-known is it overall?

Infoboxes
Most wiki pages should begin with an infobox, the source code of which is provided below:

Most infoboxes should be filled out like so: