 | This page documents an English Wikipedia notability guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page. |
This guideline reflects consensus about the notability of species. In general, all extant species that are accepted by the relevant international body of taxonomists are presumed notable, and all remaining species (i.e., the vast majority), subspecies, hybrids, cultivars, and morphs are notable only if they meet other applicable guidelines, such as the general notability guideline.
This guideline uses the taxonomic acceptance of the species' name as a simple and practical indicator of the existence of published sources, because achieving a name accepted under the relevant nomenclature code requires, at minimum, a significant description to be published in a reputable academic publication. Therefore, by definition, the article about any accepted species could be sourced to at least one academic publication even if that source is not currently cited in the article. The key publications relied upon for taxonomic acceptance, and often many other sources, can be found in many species databases.
In the case of a monotypic genus, the species and genus are covered in a single article. See WP:MONOTYPICFLORA and WP:MONOTYPICFAUNA for more advice. Consider making appropriate redirects for synonyms and non-notable organisms.