User:Lilybean896/sandbox

Article Evaluation: Siamese Cat

Q:Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?

A: Everything seems relevant to the topic. The only thing that distracted me was a long list of "Breeds Derived from the Siamese". It was a little lengthy and didn't offer much description.

Q: Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?

A: Nothing appears to be out of date, as all of the sources are fairly recent (in the last 12ish) years. Sources could be updated, and mentions of other colorpoint siamese cats could be added. The page does provide a link to a page called "Cat coat genetics" which is actually a very robust article, but only goes a bit of detail about colorpoint albinism.

Q: What else could be improved?

A: As I mentioned above, they could definitely put a list of color point variations in the article. The article itself isn't that large and more material can be written about it.

Q: Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?

A: Article is definitely neutral and not at all biased. It is all purely facts.

Q: Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?

A: Well, there aren't really any viewpoints on Siamese cats worth mentioning. If there were conflicting views on them, this wouldn't be a good page for that.

Q: Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?

A: The links that I did click on worked, and they seem to be reliable (The International Cats Association).

Q: Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?

A: For the few facts that I checked, the links brought me to reliable sources credible what was said. These are also neutral sources, providing only facts.

Q: What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?

A: There are mostly conversations about grammatical errors, removing external links, and some about the certain origins/meanings of names. I couldn't find any hostility or biased writing.

Q: How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?

A: The article is part of the WikiProject Cats and WikiProject Thailand. In WikiProject Cats, it is rated as C-Class Quality and High Importance. For WikiProject Thailand, it is rated as C-Class Quality and Low Importance.

--Article Selection--

Black Snub-Nosed Monkey:

The article contains three informational sections besides sources/external links. Everything is relevant and nothing seems out of place. It is written in a completely neutral tone without bias. There are a total of eight sources listed, a most of the facts listed on the page have citations. There is only one fact that I don't see sourced. The sources listed appear to be reliable, and only two of them were actual websites. One post has been made in the talk page (in 2013) regarding inaccurate "Group Sizes".

Source(s) I can use:

Via CCC library search- Cyril C. Grueter, Dayong Li, Baoping Ren, Zuofu Xiang, & Ming Li. (2012). Food Abundance Is the Main Determinant of High-Altitude Range Use in Snub-Nosed Monkeys. International Journal of Zoology, 2012(2012), 1-4 . ENDANGERED BLACK SNUB-NOSED MONKEY POPULATION INCREASES TO 3,000. (2013). States News Service, p. States News Service, August 12, 2013 . Both of these sources offer new and credible information through peer-reviewed journals. These sources specifically go into detail about how exactly the primate's body can survive at such high altitudes, food consumption, an increase in population, and possible changes in endangerment status.

Via Google search- http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/featured-creature-black-snub-nosed-monkey/.https://www.arkive.org/yunnan-snub-nosed-monkey/rhinopithecus-bieti/ . These two potential sources also offer information that could be incorporated into the article. Although these aren't peer-reviewed journals, they all have credible sources listed in their references section that could also be valuable. Together, these references provide information on location, appearance, diet, and behaviors.https://phys.org/news/2016-08-reveals-snub-nosed-monkeys.html https://www.neprimateconservancy.org/yunnan-snub-nosed-monkey.html

Improvements I would make: The total length of the article, its overall lack of description, and the variety of sources listed. The article needs to be updated with the more current research available, and I believe that would be absolutely possible with the new information available to the public. This article is my number one pick out of the four.

Question(s): How are they different from the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey? Is there a hierarchical system within groups of these primates? Are there any conservation efforts going on? What do they eat? How old do they live to be? How do they manage to live and thrive at such high altitudes?

Sokoke Pipit:

This article is very small and only contains five short sentences of description, but all are relevant. There is no bias and it is purely factual. Only one of the facts has a citation, and there are a total of two sources. Only one of the sources is reliable, while the other is a ".com". There is no activity in the article's talk page, and it appears to be abandoned.

Source(s) I can use:

Via CCC library search- Modest, R., & Hassan, S. (2016). Species composition of tropical understory birds in threatened East African coastal forests based on capture data. International Journal of Zoology, 2016(2016), 1-9. Simon Barnes. (1993). A ball in the hand...; Kenya.(Features). The Times (London, England), p. 27. These articles state the location and endangerment status of the bird. Peer-reviewed.

Via Google search- https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Anthus-sokokensis . http://www.conservationleadershipprogramme.org/media/2014/12/0105610_FINAL-REPORT_SOKOKE-PIPIT_TANZANIA.pdf . These resources offer important information on the bird, including calls and distribution. Overall there is hardly any information available on the Sokoke Pipit.

Improvements I would make: I would alter the article's length, all of the descriptions, and of course add to the total amount of sources. This article needs to be updated with new information. I would completely alter the whole article itself, to be honest. A lot of work needs to be done.

Question(s): Does this bird migrate? What are its breeding habits? How does it build a nest, and does it have one? How many are left in the wild? Are they kept as pets? What do they eat? Are they social birds?

Large-Spotted Civet:

Due to the sheer lack of information on this article, it is very easy to evaluate. Everything posted is credible and about the article. It is definitely written in a neutral tone. Everything appears to have a citation attached, and only five sources are listed. Three are actual websites and look credible. There is no activity in the talk page.

Source(s) I can use:

Via CCC library search- 2 globally endangered civet species found in Vietnam. (2016). Xinhua News Agency, p. Xinhua News Agency, Sept 19, 2016. RARE ANIMALS CAUGHT ON CAMERA IN CAMBODIA. (2010). States News Service, p. States News Service, Oct 30, 2010. Neither of these offer a lot of information, but the animal is mentioned.

Via Google search- https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41616-Viverra-megaspila . https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?sId=5727 . Offers information on the range/location as well as endangerment status.

Improvements I would make: The total length of the article, all descriptions (especially ecology and behavior), and the sources. The sources need to be updated and added to, but that would be very difficult to do due to to the sheer lack of resources available. This article would be one of my last picks.

Question(s): Does this animal have frequent/any human interactions? Is anything being done to conserve this species? How do they behave? Are they related to felines?

South American Cougar:

The article contains a minimal amount of information. It appears to be credible and unbiased. The facts that are listed do have citations attached. There are no posts the talk page, but the last update made to this article was edited September 17th, 2018. It is definitely not abandoned and work is still being added to it. A decent amount of sources are listed.

Source(s) I can use:

Via CCC library search- Bruno H. Saranholi, Karla Chávez-Congrains, & Pedro M. Galetti. (2017). Evidence of Recent Fine-Scale Population Structuring in South American Puma concolor. Diversity, 9(4), . Offers information on habitat and genetic testing (?). Peer-reviewed.

Via Google search- nothing could be found. There is no information available.

Improvements I would make: The article's total length, the description provided, and sources. It appears that this animal doesn't have too much research done on it. This article would be one of my last picks, probably tied with the Large-Spotted Civet.

Question(s): How does it differ from the North American Cougar? How does it behave? How large is it? Is it a threatened species? How many live in the wild? Does it live strictly in South America?

--THE PITCH--

I have decided that working on the Black Snub-Nosed Monkey would be the best choice. It has the most information available, and new research is being published everyday. There are lots of sources and the Wiki page would benefit greatly from updates. I also find this creature to be the most interesting out of the four. The article has only one or two people actually working on it, with minimal updates (last updated September 1st, 2018), so I think it will be a nice place to edit.

My first three steps of improvement:

• Add information regarding it being the primate to live at the highest altitude/how it manages to live at that altitude without suffering from hypoxia.
• Add information on its diet.
• Add information on its appearance.

Layout/Content Additions- ROUGH DRAFT

EDIT OF BLACK SNUB-NOSED MONKEY ARTICLE

Introduction

The Black snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti), also known as the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, is a large black and white primate that lives only in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, where it is known to the locals as the Yunnan golden hair monkey (滇金丝猴) and the black golden hair monkey (黑金丝猴).. Coniferous and deciduous forests in the mountainous regions of Yunnan are the ideal terrain for these primates. It is threatened by habitat loss, and is considered an endangered species. With their unique adaptations to their environment, these monkeys thrive at extreme altitudes albeit the below freezing temperatures and thin air. This primate's diet is mainly made up of the large amounts of lichens available in their region. Recent studies have provided more information on the Black snub-nosed monkey, but there is still much to learn about them.

Anatomy and physiology

Male and female Black snub-nosed monkeys have no colorization differences, but do differ in sizes. Females weigh 20lbs, while males are around 30lbs. Adult Black snub-nosed monkeys are identifiable by their gray/black and white fur. The underbelly and central facial zone are all white, while the rest of the body is a grayish black color. Their fur is extremely thick to protect them against below freezing temperatures. The monkeys are born with white fur that darkens with age. Another distinctive feature shared by both adults and babies, is their hairless and vibrant pink lips. These primates get the "snub-nosed" part of their name from the absence of nasal bones.This is considered their most distinctive feature.

Behavior

Diet

Unlike many primates, the Black snub-nosed monkey's diet consists mainly of lichen found on trees. Lichen grows in abundance in mountainous regions, and makes for a reliable, year-round food supply. These primates will also eat bamboo leaves and other more seasonal plants if the opportunity presents itself. Many food items vary depending on the geographical location of each troop. Lichens are toxic to most animals, but the Black snub-nosed monkey has specialized digestive enzymes that remove the harmful bacteria, similar to that of a cow.

Reproduction

The reproduction cycles of black snub-nosed monkey is generally similar to that of golden snub-nosed monkeys, except the time of birth is often two to three months later due to colder climate. Like most primates, the snub-nosed monkey gives birth at night, making it difficult for researchers to observe. A rare observation of a daytime birth found a multiparous female assisting another female in the birthing process, similar to human midwifery practice.

Photo of a Black snub-nosed monkey taken by Rod Waddington

Evolution

The Black snub-nosed monkey lives at the highest altitude of any known non-human primate. The highest recorded altitude of a group of this species is 4700 m.Surviving in such extreme conditions is only made possible by a mutation in the primate's genomic DNA sequence that allows increased resistance to oxygen deprivation (hypoxia). Other mutations in the DNA sequence have been found to be harmful to the monkeys, as there is evidence of inbreeding and low genetic diversity among populations.

Geographical range and habitat

This species has a highly restricted distribution in the bio-diverse Nujiang Langcang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests of the Yun Range, which is part of the greater Hengduan Mountains. Only 17 groups with a total population of less than 1,700 animals survive in northwest Yunnan and neighboring regions in the Autonomous Prefecture of Tibet. The territory of each group varies from 20 to 135 square km. Deciduous and coniferous forests are their preferred habitat, where lichen grows in abundance year-round.

History

The black snub-nosed monkey was almost completely unknown until the 1990's. The fact that no single zoo outside China has ever kept the black snub-nosed monkey in captivity has contributed to the enigmatic status of this species.