Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Myotis escalerai/archive1

The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by SandyGeorgia 05:03, 27 May 2011 [1].

---

Myotis escalerai

Myotis escalerai (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

• Featured article candidates/Myotis escalerai/archive1

Nominator(s): Ucucha 15:40, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Like Myotis alcathoe, this is a European bat that was only very recently and thanks to DNA data recognized as a separate species. Very few sources have covered this species (the most substantial one is a book in Catalan), but I believe I have covered everything that is known and relevant to an encyclopedia. Ucucha 15:40, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Source review - spotchecks not done

• Ref 6: why et al for just 3 authors?
  • Why not? It's what pretty much every scientific journal in zoology does.
• Is Amengual et al 2007 or 2008?
  • 2007.
• Ref 4: is there a range missing, or should it be "p."?
  • The latter; I've corrected it.
• For Gauthier and Hutson 2010, are those file names, or is that the actual publisher?
  • Those are the document names that EUROBATS apparently uses (there is also a bunch of them in Myotis alcathoe, and two others in this article). They also use those names to refer to these documents (see e.g. the text of Hutson 2010, p. 1).
• Check formatting for Miller 1912
  • Oops.
• Be consistent in whether you provide locations for book publishers. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:59, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
  • Added one. Thanks for the check! Ucucha 16:08, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

• Comment:
  • "Though very similar to Myotis nattereri, it apparently differs from that species in some features of the tail membrane." What you mean by "apparently" in that sentence seems a little vague to me. How about "according to several sources" or somehting like that?
    • Just removed "apparently"; it's not really needed.
  • "type locality" links to a disambiguation page.
    • Fixed.
  • "For example, it occurs widely, though localized, in Aragón, where Myotis sp. A is known from a single locality only." Why is it important to mention Myotis sp. A here? What about all the other species in this complex?--Carabinieri (talk) 12:57, 13 May 2011 (UTC)
    • M. sp. A is the only other one that occurs in Aragón. I've added a clarification. Thanks for your comments! Ucucha 13:05, 13 May 2011 (UTC)
      • Thank you for this article :)--

Carabinieri (talk) 13:35, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Support and comments Fine article, just some minor queries. None are a big deal, just for my enlightenment Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:46, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

• Aggregate — I wonder if "gather" is better when talking about animals?

• "Aggregate" is pretty common for bats; see [2] for a few examples (though many are on other things).

• flexible flyer. — I'm unclear whether this refers to flight style or versatility

• The latter. Switched wording to "agile" in agreement with the body.

• Mr. Martínez de la Escalera — What is "Mr." an abbreviation of, can't be mister?

• Yes, that's what "Mr." means. The source doesn't mention a first name for him, and just saying his last name would sound odd. Ucucha 20:10, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

• Which source specifically gives Ibiza as a location? If it's a Catalan source, would it be better to use Eivissa?

• Why? We're writing in English, not Catalan, and the island is pretty universally called "Ibiza" in English. Thanks for the review! Ucucha 20:10, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

Support with just a couple of quibbles, which don't detract from my support.

• Lead:
  • "...it was included in Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri) until molecular studies..." I'm confused - if the species was first named in 1904, how can it have been part of another named species???
    • Added "from 1912"; Miller made it a synonym of nattereri in 1912. Ucucha 13:31, 19 May 2011 (UTC)
• Taxonomy:
  • quickie definition of "cryptic species" so we don't lose readers to the link?
    • Not quite a definition, but I've added some explanation there.
• Distribution:
  • "The range of Myotis escalerai remains poorly constrained, and it may be found to be more widespread than currently known." the construction "it may be found to be more widespread" is awkward - perhaps "... and further study may find it to be more widespread."?
    • Used a different rewording.

Otherwise, sources look okay, links checked out with the link checker tool. I ran the article through Coren's tool and Earwig's tool and nothing showed up in regards to plagiarism with those tools. Ealdgyth - Talk 13:11, 19 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. I've reverted part of your edits because a sentence had become rather too complex. Ucucha 13:31, 19 May 2011 (UTC)

Image review - Single image is appropriately licensed. Dana boomer (talk) 20:59, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Support -

• Why is the relationship with Myotis schaubi not discussed, although the relationship between M. escalerai and all other species in the relationship table is?
  • The sources don't really discuss it, probably because schaubi has been recognized as separate from nattereri for quite some time. Ucucha 21:06, 26 May 2011 (UTC)
• "The range of Myotis escalerai remains poorly constrained" - "constrained" seems an odd word here; perhaps "defined" would be better?
  • Perhaps "constrained" is not the best word, but I don't like "defined" either. Its range is not something humans define, it's where it actually occurs. But we don't really know quite where it occurs, so its range is not well-constrained. Ucucha 21:06, 26 May 2011 (UTC)
• "and are usually in caves or basements." Perhaps "are usually found in"? It may be grammatical as is; just sounds weird to me...
  • Added "located" instead. Thanks for the review! Ucucha 21:06, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

The above are minor quibbles that do not detract from my support. Nice work! Dana boomer (talk) 20:59, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.