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Welcome to Wikispecies The free species directory that anyone can edit. It covers Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Bacteria, Archaea, Protista and all other forms of life. So far we have 547,333 articles Wikispecies is free, because life is in the public domain! You can also check us out on Twitter: @Wikispecies or use the Android app sponsored by Wikimedia. WE also have an IRC Channel #wikispeciesconnect

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Haloquadratum walsbyi	Sitta europaea caesia	Boletus calopus	♂Aphyocharax anisitsi
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♀Brachypelma smithi	Hippopotamus amphibius	Euphorbia leuconeura	Sarcophaga sp. with Tipulidae

Explore Wikispecies HELP Section – Detailed information on creating pages. Taxonomy – Information on the Linnaean classification of species. Village Pump – Discuss the project. Done and To Do – See references to very detailed areas and defined future targets Wikispecies FAQ – Check replies to common concerns. Image Guidelines – Our recommendation on where to upload illustrations Wikispecies PR – Help us by spreading the word of Wikispecies Collaboration with ZooKeys A collaboration between Wikispecies and ZooKeys has been announced. PhytoKeys also joined the collaboration in November 2010. Images of species from ZooKeys and PhytoKeys will be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons and used in Wikispecies. Distinguished author Francesco Redi 1626–1697. Standard IPNI form: Redi Francesco Redi was an Italian entomologist, parasitologist and toxicologist, sometimes referred to as the "founder of experimental biology" and the "father of modern parasitology". Having a doctoral degree in both medicine and philosophy from the University of Pisa at the age of 21, he worked in various cities of Italy. Redi is best known for his series of experiments, published in 1668 as Esperienze Intorno alla Generazione degli Insetti ("Experiments on the Generation of Insects"), which is regarded as his masterpiece and a milestone in the history of modern science. The book is one of the first steps in refuting "spontaneous generation", a theory also known as "Aristotelian abiogenesis". At the time, prevailing theory was that maggots arose spontaneously from rotting meat, which Redi was able to disprove. In an experiment, He used samples of rotting meat that were either fully exposed to the air, partially exposed to the air, or not exposed to air at all. Redi showed that both fully and partially exposed rotting meat developed fly maggots, whereas rotting meat that was not exposed to air did not develop maggots. This discovery completely changed the way people viewed the decomposition of organisms and prompted further investigations into insect life cycles and into entomology in general. It is also an early example of forensic entomology. In Esperienze Intorno alla Generazione degli Insetti Redi was the first to describe ectoparasites, such as lice (Phthiraptera), fleas (Siphonaptera), and some mites (Acari). His next treatise in 1684, titled Osservazioni intorno agli animali viventi che si trovano negli animali viventi ("Observations on Living Animals, that are in Living Animals") recorded the descriptions and the illustrations of more than 100 parasites. In it he also differentiates the earthworm (generally regarded as a helminth) and Ascaris lumbricoides, the human roundworm. An important innovation from the book is his experiments in chemotherapy in which he employed what is now called "scientific control", the basis of experimental design in modern biological research. Perhaps, his most significant observation was that parasites produce eggs and develop from them, which contradicted the prevailing opinion that they are produced spontaneously. Altogether he is known to have described some 180 species of parasites. See also: Distinguished authors of previous months.

Species of the month Walking Palm Socratea exorrhiza Some facts on this palm: Height: Up to 25 meters. Stem diameter: Up to 16 cm. Leaves: Greenish blue up to 1 meter long. Fruit: Yellow, round to oval in shape; about 3 cm. in diameter. Habitat: Rain forests in tropical Central and South America. Requires warm, sheltered climates that are very humid as well as moist soils. Range: Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua and Hawaii. First described: By the German botanist and explorer Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, who originally named it Iriartea exorrhiza. A walking tree? I agree: it isn't a common sight, yet Socratea exorrhiza can walk. Well, sort of. This tree's roots grow from the base of the trunk high above ground, making it appear as though it is standing on stilts. New roots constantly emerge from a higher point than older ones below. Over time the tree levitates itself off the ground, while the lower, older roots rot and fall away. The new roots grow towards better light and consequently the tree's position changes horizontally as well. The process is very slow and the palm does not seem to visibly walk, but over a period of a year, it can actually move up to 1 meter from its original position. The genus Socratea contains five species of walking palms found in tropical America. It belongs to the Arecaceae or "palm trees" family which has around 2600 species. See also: Species of previous months

Endangered species of the month Lord Howe Island stick insect Dryococelus australis Some facts about this species: Total length: 130–140 mm Weight: 25 grams Distribution: It was thought to be extinct by 1920, only to be rediscovered in 2001. It is extinct in its largest habitat, Lord Howe Island (Tasman Sea, Pacific Ocean). It has been called "the rarest insect in the world", as the rediscovered population consisted of a mere 24 individuals living on the small islet of Ball's Pyramid (20 km southeast of Lord Howe Island, measuring 1,100 metres in length and 300 metres across). Diet: Herbivore. Surviving number: Less than 15,000 specimens, mainly in captivity. Conservation status: Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1). First described: As Karabidion australe by the French botanist, zoologist and entomologist Xavier Montrouzier in "Essai sur la faune del'ile de Woodlark ou Moiou", Annales De La Societé D'Agriculture De Lyon, 1885.

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