Template talk:Cite WoRMS

2011

Thank you for creating this template! I will start using it beginning today. bondolo (talk) 17:29, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

AlgaeBase

The template did say ask. :P So I'm requesting AlgaeBase to be included. Thanks!-- OBSIDIAN†SOUL 14:34, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

CS1-style parameters

If the authors are to be included (and looking at some current entries on WoRMS I'm not actually sure they ought to be—most seem to just cite "WoRMS" as the "author") should we not be using {{{firstn}}} and {{{lastn}}} properly, so as to generate proper COinS data? —Phil | Talk 10:58, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Usage

What does this statement mean?

To use as an external link, omit the accessdate= field.

KaiKemmann (talk) 01:57, 29 March 2018 (UTC)

@KaiKemmann: leaving out |accessdate= makes the template generate an acceptable #External links entry. The only difference is that it doesn't display the access date, which isn't necessary for an external link as no information is being cited.

Bailly, Nicolas (2017). Bailly N (ed.). "Teleostei". FishBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 31 March 2018.

And without:

Bailly, Nicolas (2017). Bailly N (ed.). "Teleostei". FishBase. World Register of Marine Species.

I'm not really sure the authors/editors are necessary though for an external link… I prefer to write it as "Teleostei at the World Register of Marine Species" or something similar. Rhinopias (talk) 21:07, 31 March 2018 (UTC)

Thank you for your examples, Rhinopias.

Although now I have to ask what you mean by "generate an acceptable #External links entry".

In your examples "Teleostei" is obviously displayed as an external link by the template. But to me this links appears exactly the same way in all three of your examples.

Also the "accessdate=" seems to make sense mostly only when used together with an external link.

Since printed sources do not change over time as references on the web often do, they should not really need to be accompanied by the accessdate statement.

best regards, KaiKemmann (talk) 00:38, 1 April 2018 (UTC)

My use and the template doc's use of "external link" is referring to the section for external links in articles—WP:ELCITE—and not saying that the link to the WoRMS page being cited is an external link. (It is, of course, but this: Fish#External links.) Rhinopias (talk) 22:09, 1 April 2018 (UTC)

Ah, thanks for clarifying.

I changed the description of the template in order to help others understand the context.

best regards, KaiKemmann (talk) 23:57, 15 April 2018 (UTC)

sandbox

Because someone wrote this template:

{{cite WoRMS |author=R.W.M. van Soest et al. |year=2018 |title=Amphilectus Vosmaer, 1880|id=131933|accessdate=2018-10-17|db=}}

which improperly includes an explicit 'et al.' in |author=, I removed the explicit 'et al.' and added |display-authors=etal. That did not work. I came to this template to see how that should be fixed. The simple solution would have been to just add:

|display-authors={{{display-authors|}}}

Instead, in the sandbox I rewrote the template to use Module:template wrapper so that any and all {{cite web}} parameters may be used with {{cite WoRMS}}. As part of that, I removed the case-sensitive switch test-values from the |work= and |veditors= parameters by forcing the switches to use lowercase versions of the value assigned to |db=.

Compare these live and sandbox versions of the rewritten example template above to which I have added |display-authors=etal, |display-editors=0, and |db=Porifera:

{{cite WoRMS |author=R.W.M. van Soest |display-authors=etal |year=2018 |title=Amphilectus Vosmaer, 1880|id=131933|accessdate=2018-10-17|db=Porifera |display-editors=0}}

R.W.M. van Soest, et al. (2018). "Amphilectus Vosmaer, 1880". World Porifera Database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2018-10-17.

{{cite WoRMS/sandbox |author=R.W.M. van Soest |display-authors=etal |year=2018 |title=Amphilectus Vosmaer, 1880|id=131933|accessdate=2018-10-17|db=Porifera |display-editors=0}}

R.W.M. van Soest, et al. (2018). "Amphilectus Vosmaer, 1880". World Porifera Database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2018-10-17.

If there are no objections, I shall update the live template to use the code in the sandbox.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 12:03, 10 February 2019 (UTC)

There having been no objection, the live template is updated.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 11:39, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

I played around with the sandbox a bit, but I don't know of an elegant way to fix the 100 or so templates that are using |author1=. The brute force method would be to edit all of those templates to change author1= to author=, and that is probably the best thing to do, but if Trappist the monk has a cleverer way, I'm open to it. – Jonesey95 (talk) 10:58, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

Does this do what you want?

  |{{#if:{{{author|}}}{{{author1|}}}|author={{{author|{{{author1|}}}}}}|author=WoRMS}}

There is also an issue with {{Taxonomy/Rhombosoleinae}} (there may be others) where that template uses |editor= but {{cite WoRMS}} sets |veditors= according to |db=. This can be 'fixed' by adding 'editor' to |_exclude= though perhaps the better fix is to fix {{Taxonomy/Rhombosoleinae}} so that it doesn't use |editor=.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 11:48, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

Thanks, that new code appears to work fine. As for the editors, the template sets the editor based on |db=, so I removed the redundant editor parameter from a few dozen Taxonomy template. All cleaned up now, as far as I can tell. – Jonesey95 (talk) 20:54, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

did not updated correctly for multiple authors on Iais pubescens

see reference 1 on Iais pubescens, it contains more than one author. instead of creating multiple authors, it created single entry, resulting in cs1 error. ideally i would prefer seperate entry for authors, editors, contributors, etc.. Leela52452 (talk) 03:39, 10 February 2020 (UTC)

For more than one author, use |author2=, |author3=, etc. – Jonesey95 (talk) 05:01, 10 February 2020 (UTC)

Template-protected edit request on 15 May 2022

Please use SSL (i.e. change http:// to https://). Using HTTP automatically redirects to HTTPS, so we should bypass the redirect and keep the outbound traffic secure. Logan _Talk ^{Contributions} 21:56, 15 May 2022 (UTC)

 Done – Jonesey95 (talk) 03:04, 16 May 2022 (UTC)

Add DecaNet to the list of databases

Per the title, can DecaNet: World List of Decapoda be added to the database list? Thank you, —Carter (Tcr25) (talk) 12:49, 21 June 2023 (UTC)

@ Editor Chaotic Enby, one of your recent edits to this template produces broken renderings:

{{Cite WoRMS|last=Davie|first=P.|year=2015|title=''Johngarthia planata'' (Stimpson, 1860)|id=444454|access-date=22 February 2017|db=DecaNet}}

Davie, P. (2015). "Johngarthia planata (Stimpson, 1860)". DecaNet. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 22 February 2017.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 22:22, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Thanks, I didn't realize that Vancouver style was actively enforced in the template. DecaNet asks us for the editor citation to be "DecaNet eds". Am I guessing right that they should be listed as ((DecaNet eds)) instead? Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 22:36, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Not sure. The example above (found at Clipperton Island) doesn't link to DecaNet but rather links to WoRMS. The source linked by this particular example is a deadlink for some reason. Looking back through archive.org snapshots, in 2011, 2016, and 2017, the recommended citation doesn't include any editors. This snapshot from 2017 has this:

Citation: Davie, P. (2009). Johngarthia planata (Stimpson, 1860). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id;=444454 on 2017-10-05

After 2017, the snapshots don't include recommended citations. I didn't find any archive snapshots that mention DecaNet.

I guess I now wonder if this template is properly structured. Since the template doesn't link to DecaNet, should this citation (and perhaps other DecaNet WoRMS cites) even use {{cite WoRMS}}? Instead of shoehorning DecaNet into {{cite WoRMS}}, perhaps DecaNet should have its own template?

And one last thing: en.wiki is not obliged to follow any source's preferred citation format so, for me, the simple, quick and dirty fix is to drop the editors parameter entirely since DecaNet is already named as the source. I guess at the same time I would change |publisher= to |via= because WoRMS isn't the publisher but rather is a third party that delivers the DecaNet content. Ok, that was two last things.

—Trappist the monk (talk) 23:30, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

I've dropped the editors parameter for DecaNet. Also agree with changing |publisher= to |via=, although that is a change that will affect all uses of the template so I might wait a few days in case any editors have objections. Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 01:19, 1 November 2025 (UTC)

db add request

@Jonesey95: Please add Ascothoracida as a db value for World Ascothoracida database. Thanks! - UtherSRG (talk) 18:19, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

The template also provides editor information automatically. Can you please link to a sample page so that I can add editor information? – Jonesey95 (talk) 18:29, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

Dendrogaster antarctica is the article where I wrapped a ref in {{cite WoRMS}}. Good enough? - UtherSRG (talk) 18:32, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

@Jonesey95: Sorry, I should have pinged you when I replied. - UtherSRG (talk) 21:02, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

I think I've got it set up. Does it look right to you in that article? – Jonesey95 (talk) 21:35, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

Perfect! Thanks! - UtherSRG (talk) 00:47, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

Add World list of Scleractinia?

Hi there, I was just wanting to suggest that the World list of Scleractinia be added as a database option. Cheers, Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 06:40, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

Just following up on this so it doesn't get archived - I've become a bit interested in working on stony coral articles so including this database in the template would be very helpful for me. I've also noticed that the template doesn't appear to recognise DecaNet for decapod crustaceans, which would be another valuable addition. Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 03:41, 16 December 2024 (UTC)

 Done both! Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 15:46, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Automatic Modernised References

Hello, I have been working with WoRMS a lot recently and I noticed that the automatic citation tool (built into the visual editor) does not automatically insert the modernised reference. Is there a way to automatically insert modernised citations? (See an example for a 'non-modernised' reference here and a modernised example here)

Regards, SirBrahms (talk) 18:14, 25 September 2024 (UTC)

Nobody has added a TemplateData section to the documentation, so this template is unlikely to work well with the Visual Editor. You could ask for assistance at Wikipedia talk:TemplateData. – Jonesey95 (talk) 19:03, 25 September 2024 (UTC)

Thanks! I will go ask there. - SirBrahms (talk) 06:23, 26 September 2024 (UTC)

Database capitalisation inconsistency

The various compatible databases output with inconsistent capitalisation for the D in the word "database" - for example, Ascidiacea World Database is capitalised on output, while World Euphausiacea Database is not. All of the databases listed on the WoRMS subregisters page capitalise the D in database. Could this be fixed? Cheers, Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 08:16, 14 January 2025 (UTC)

Done. Let me know if I missed any. The easiest way to demonstrate a problem is to link to a page where the template is not rendering correctly. Note that the template documentation is edited manually, so it still needs to be cleaned up for consistency; it is not protected, so anyone can edit it. – Jonesey95 (talk) 01:58, 16 January 2025 (UTC)

Fantastic, thank you so much! I'll update the documentation. Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 02:27, 16 January 2025 (UTC)

Ciliophora

World Ciliophora Database should be added, e.g. "Brooklynella sinensis". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. jlwoodwa (talk) 18:06, 4 February 2025 (UTC)

 Done Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 15:46, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Mollusca

Request to add a synonym so that the Marine Mollusca database can be located if "Mollusc" is typed in first; currently it couldn't be located using that query. Suggested synonym: "Mollusca Marine" Anthropophoca (talk) 03:23, 24 July 2025 (UTC)

 Not done "Mollusca" by itself already seems to point to the same place as "Marine Mollusca" in the template code. If there's a problem with the documentation, you can edit that yourself. * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 04:35, 2 August 2025 (UTC)

Add World List of Octocorallia?

Just wanted to request that the World List of Octocorallia be added as a database option. Cheers, Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 01:44, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

I second this. I just updated Ctenocella pectinata and it has a ref to Octocorallia via WoRMS. - UtherSRG (talk) 03:18, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

@Ethmostigmus and UtherSRG above have requested the World List of Octocorallia to be added as a database option, and I think making this edit I made to the sandbox will grant that request. Chess enjoyer (talk) 01:53, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

 Done * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 01:22, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

Bring database editor outputs in line with MOS:INITIALS

I've noticed that many of editor names this template outputs based on |db= are out of sync with MOS in how their initials are handled. For example, |db=mollusc outputs the editor names as follows:

Bieler R, Bouchet P, Gofas S, Marshall B, Rosenberg G, La Perna R, Neubauer TA, Sartori AF, Schneider S, Vos C, ter Poorten JJ, Taylor J, Dijkstra H, Finn J, Bank R, Neubert E, Moretzsohn F, Faber M, Houart R, Picton B, Garcia-Alvarez O (eds.)

When according to MOS:INITIALS I believe it should look more like:

Bieler, R.; Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Marshall, B.; Rosenberg, G.; La Perna, R.; Neubauer, T. A.; Sartori, A. F.; Schneider, S.; Vos, C.; ter Poorten, J. J.; Taylor, J.; Dijkstra, H.; Finn, J.; Bank, R.; Neubert, E.; Moretzsohn, F.; Faber, M.; Houart, R.; Picton, B.; Garcia-Alvarez, O. (eds.)

Any chance this could be fixed? Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 08:08, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

This is called Vancouver style, and it is a WP:CITEVAR format as valid as long as it it used consistently throughout the article. Problems arise when this template is used in an article that predominantly uses the more common "Neubauer, T. A.; Sartori, A. F.; Schneider, S.;" style, because the citations are not formatted consistently. I suggest a random sample of 10 or 20 articles to determine if this inconsistency is widespread. If it is, we may want to change this template to conform to the more common style. We could add |name-list-style= to the template so that editors could still output the Vancouver style, but it would not be the default. – Jonesey95 (talk) 13:30, 4 April 2026 (UTC)

In my personal experience as a frequent user of this template, I very rarely find articles using this citation style, and when I do it is usually mixed in with other styles (ie. Chicago and/or APA) rather than being the only/dominant citation format used - but that's just anecdotal evidence, I'm curious to see what the dominant style is across a random selection. I think picking a "default" style based on what appears to be most prevalent in articles using the template and making other styles optional with |name-list-style= is a great solution. Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 04:22, 5 April 2026 (UTC)

World List of Tardigrada

Could the World List of Tardigrada also be added? Implementing this edit I made to the sandbox should cover it. Chess enjoyer (talk) 04:15, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

 Done * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 01:22, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

World List of Tardigrada has a DOI (10.14284/361) - might be useful to include in this template if possible? Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 08:23, 1 July 2026 (UTC)

Decanet and Vancouver style

30-odd articles just showed up in Category:CS1 errors: Vancouver style, and I think it's because |db=DecaNet was changed. Ozius, as one example, doesn't appear to use Vancouver style (or at least not through {{cs1 config}}). Snowman304|talk 02:04, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure this happened because, when @Pppery answered my edit requests with this edit, he copied the sandbox, which wasn't completely synchronized. This is my fault: I should have synchronized the sandbox before I edited it. Pppery, could you change

| decapoda | decanet = World List of Decapoda

back to

| decapoda | decanet = DecaNet

and

| decapoda | decanet = DecaNet eds

back to

| decapoda | decanet =

? Chess enjoyer (talk) 02:22, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

How about you make those changes to the sandbox so we don't have this misunderstanding again? * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 02:23, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

That's more than fair, @Pppery. Done. Chess enjoyer (talk) 02:34, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

And done. * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 02:35, 14 May 2026 (UTC)

Typo in World List of Tardigrada

Please change

tardigrades = Guidetti R, McInnes SJ, Kristensen, RM

to

tardigrades = Guidetti R, McInnes SJ, Kristensen RM

This will fix a typo I made when I first requested the addition of the World List of Tardigrada by removing a comma that shouldn't be there. I've already made this change in the sandbox. Chess enjoyer (talk) 00:39, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

 Done — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 04:52, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

World Gastrotricha Database

Please add the World Gastrotricha Database as a database option. You can do this by implementing these edits I made to the sandbox. Chess enjoyer (talk) 21:17, 15 June 2026 (UTC)

 Completed. P.I. Ellsworth , ed. – welcome! – 09:57, 16 June 2026 (UTC)

Change the rotifer database

Please implement this edit I made to the sandbox, which makes changes to how we cite the Rotifer World Catalogue. The current version doesn't match their preferred citation as seen here (second section from the bottom), and I'm trying to fix that with this request. Chess enjoyer (talk) 09:56, 18 June 2026 (UTC)

I'm admittedly not sure if including the acronym is necessary, so it's fine by me if the editor responding to this request leaves it out. Chess enjoyer (talk) 12:13, 18 June 2026 (UTC)

 Completed. P.I. Ellsworth , ed. – welcome! – 17:26, 18 June 2026 (UTC)

World Collembola Catalog

Please implement this edit I made to the sandbox, which will add the World Collembola Catalog as a database option. Chess enjoyer (talk) 18:16, 21 June 2026 (UTC)

 Completed – please update the documentation as necessary. P.I. Ellsworth , ed. – welcome! – 14:18, 22 June 2026 (UTC)

 Done. Chess enjoyer (talk) 22:54, 22 June 2026 (UTC)

World List of turbellarian worms: Acoelomorpha, Catenulida, Rhabditophora

Just wanting to request the addition of the World List of turbellarian worms: Acoelomorpha, Catenulida, Rhabditophora to this template. Cheers, Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 07:25, 18 July 2026 (UTC)

Please grant Ethmostigmus's above request by implementing this edit I made to the sandbox. Chess enjoyer (talk) 07:52, 18 July 2026 (UTC)

 Completed. P.I. Ellsworth , ed. – welcome! – 08:23, 18 July 2026 (UTC)

Thanks both :) Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 08:28, 18 July 2026 (UTC)

Happy to help! Paine  08:30, 18 July 2026 (UTC)

You're welcome :) Chess enjoyer (talk) 08:46, 18 July 2026 (UTC)

World List of Myxozoa

Back again to request the addition of the World List of Myxozoa to this template. Cheers, Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 09:51, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Please grant Ethmostigmus's request above by implementing this edit I made to the sandbox. Chess enjoyer (talk) 21:06, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

 Completed. P.I. Ellsworth , ed. – welcome! – 01:12, 29 July 2026 (UTC)

Brilliant, thank you both :) Ethmostigmus 🌿 (talk | contribs) 08:49, 31 July 2026 (UTC)