Usage
[edit]{{Long fossil range|first appearance (required)|last appearance|text to display|earliest=earliest putative fossil|latest=latest putative fossil|ref=References|prefix=anything to display before the range|PS=anything to display after the range}}
- Note The first parameter (bold above) may not be omitted; in particular it is an error to specify only
|earliest=and/or|latest=. Italic parameters are optional, bold required.
| Example Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | †Petalonamae |
| Clade: | †Rangeomorpha |
| Genus: | †Rangea |
Illustrates the fossil range of a taxon, the geological range of a stratigraphic unit, or other ranges on a geological timescale. Intended for use in {{taxobox}}es, {{Infobox rockunit}}s, and other infoboxes. For Phanerozoic ages, see {{Geological range}}.
You can give a numeric range, or specify the periods involved. The range will be quoted in text before the timeline, unless you specify a third parameter—leaving it blank will result in no text being provided.
To illustrate the range when it spans after the Ediacaran (i.e. after the precambrian), you should use Template:Geological range, which works in exactly the same way as documented here.
You can also specify "earliest" and "latest" to add a "ghost" bar beyond the accepted fossil range. You can use these parameters for whatever you like; they may be useful in the case of 'living fossils' such as the coelacanth, where you may wish to specify latest=0 to make the bar faintly extend to the present; they may also be useful where "earliest" fossils are not universally accepted—for instance, the octocorals only have a good fossil record from the Tertiary, but there are claims of Cambrian representatives. In this case, you may wish to specify earliest=middle Cambrian.
Examples
[edit]{{Long fossil range|Paleoproterozoic}}
{{Long fossil range|Paleoproterozoic|Ectasian}}
{{Long fossil range|Paleoproterozoic|Ectasian|earliest=Eoarchean|latest=Ediacaran}}
{{Long fossil range|700|640|earliest=Paleoproterozoic|latest=600|PS= (see article for discussion)}}
{{Long fossil range|700|640|late Cryogenian}}
{{Long fossil range|700|640|}}
If you receive an error when specifying a period name, check you've spelt it right; if so, it probably isn't yet incorporated into the templates {{next period}} and {{period start}}. This is really easy to do, so feel free to add the period yourself to make future editors' lives easier!
See also
[edit]For organisms whose fossil range extends after the Ediacaran, use Template:Geological range.