User:Kazvorpal/paleo-template

{{Paleobox
<!-- if taxobox is on the page, color should be the same, so as not to be obtrusive -->
| color = pink
| name = ''Testytherium''
<!-- image should be used mainly for something uniquely useful, like a pic comparing the size of the critter to a human -->
| image = 
| image_width = 200px
| meaning = "Test-looking beast"
<!-- "type" should be in layman's terms, taxobox takes care of tech babble. 
Preferably something broad (amphibian) and then something specific (frog) -->
| type = [[Mammal]], rodent
| length = 21 cm
| height = 6 cm
| weight = 98 g
<!-- mode can be quadruped, biped, "hopping", "climb and glide", whatever best describes its locomotion, separated by commas if necessary -->
| mode = [[quadruped]]
| era = [[Paleozoic]]
| span = 200 to 180 million years ago
| diet = [[Herbivore]]
| specdiet = [[Conifers]] and [[monkeygrass]]
| environment = [[Jungle]]
<!-- distribution can be where the fossils are found (North America), or where they lived (Pangaea) -->
| distribution = [[Gondwanaland]]
<!-- the next three refer to the finding and naming of the critter, only use namer if it's different than finder -->
| finder = [[Kaz]]
| namer = 
| when = 2006
<!-- "comments" should be useful little notes, something which stands out as unique to the critter -->
| comments = 
''First large mammal, probably very smelly''<br />
}}

This is the template project for paleontology...initially, for dinosaurs.

This allows the basic stats of creatures to be put into a format readily recognized and easily parsed by the typical reader, akin to those you see in many casual...and even some academic...paleontology books.

This is akin to the Star Trek Template in gestalt, but this goes in actual Template Space, so it can be changed one time in a central location, whereas the Star Trek Template was intially just some code you copy and paste to a given article.

Stats include:

Length
Height (head)
Height (shoulder or other)
Weight
geological era
when lived (from N years ago to E years ago)
Meaning of funky neoclassical name -- Tyrant Lizard King, that sort of thing
diet type -- Carnivore, omnivore, insectivore, herbivore
diet -- conifers greens, monkeys, whatever
Interesting features, comments, and controverseys
environment -- Desert, aquatic, semi-aquatic, forest, plains, whatever
distribution -- Pangaea, the sea of Tethys, "what would become modern Florida", et cetera

Creatures done

These creatures have the template, so far. Please include on this list any you add it to:

The Actual Template

If you know how to edit templates, or want to see the code, the actual template is here:

Template:Paleobox