{ "model": { "rank": 4548, "code": "thing-q201235", "model_id": "vr.tr.electric-eel", "name": "electric eel", "purpose": "Enable an agent to recognise an electric eel, distinguish taxonomic claims from observations of individuals and populations, assess its biological and electrical state, and choose justified observation or care actions.", "family": "Thing Registry", "category": "Physical world and living systems", "status": "research-draft", "kind": "thing", "plane": "PHY", "domain": "PHY.LIV", "industry": "", "version": "", "url": "/models/thing/q201235/", "tier": 2, "score": 74, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [], "aliasCount": 0, "merged": 0, "knownIn": 74, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": "vr.tr.electric-eel", "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q201235", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q201235", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-09T20:29:02Z", "providers": [ "Codex" ], "breadth": "recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read", "missingProviders": [], "pass": 2, "cost": { "grok": { "seconds": 24.4, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.4\n--------\nworkdir: R:\\02_PROJECTS\\02_Meta_Models_Platforms\\Ver.cy\\current\\thing-registry-backlog\nmodel: gpt-6-astra\nprovider: openai\napproval: never\nsandbox: read-only\nreasoning effort: none\nreasoning summaries: none\nsession id: 01a087da-fdc9-70e3-9fde-e9caf17ce766\n--------\nuser\nDescribe what is already known about one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: electric eel\nSense to describe: (none recorded)\nDomain code: PHY.LIV\nAlso known as: (none)\n\n\nContext for this batch of 1001 things:\n# Batch 005: 1001 re", "usd": 0, "recall": true }, "codex": { "seconds": 71.3, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.4\n--------\nworkdir: R:\\02_PROJECTS\\02_Meta_Models_Platforms\\Ver.cy\\current\\thing-registry-backlog\nmodel: gpt-6-astra\nprovider: openai\napproval: never\nsandbox: read-only\nreasoning effort: none\nreasoning summaries: none\nsession id: 01a087da-fdd5-7530-b5d0-f0ee66fd7129\n--------\nuser\nYou are drafting a Vercy meta-model for one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: electric eel\nRegistry id: vr.tr.electric-eel\nPlane / domain: PHY / PHY.LIV\nRegistry definition: (none recorded)\nNames folded into this entry: (none)\n" } } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q201235", "registryId": "vr.tr.electric-eel", "name": "electric eel", "version": "0.1.0-research.1", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "PHY.LIV" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q201235/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.electric-eel", "name": "electric eel", "purpose": "Enable an agent to recognise an electric eel, distinguish taxonomic claims from observations of individuals and populations, assess its biological and electrical state, and choose justified observation or care actions.", "definition": "An electric eel is a South American freshwater knifefish of the genus Electrophorus, family Gymnotidae, with specialized electric organs used for sensing, communication and powerful discharges during prey capture and defence.", "scope_statement": "This draft provisionally treats vr.tr.electric-eel as the common-name grouping Electrophorus, retaining species-level identification within one registry model until the registry's intended taxonomic scope is verified.", "in_scope": [ "Taxonomic identification, name provenance and uncertainty within Electrophorus", "Individual anatomy, life stage, reproductive condition and health", "Electric-organ discharge measurements and their behavioural context", "Freshwater habitat, surface access, locality and population membership", "Species-specific conservation evidence and conditions governing observation, care or movement" ], "out_of_scope": [ "True eels and other electric fishes except as identification comparisons", "General freshwater ecosystem modelling beyond conditions affecting electric eels", "Electrical equipment and biomimetic power sources inspired by electric organs", "Electric eel meat, commercial products and trade transactions", "Human injury diagnosis and treatment following electrical exposure" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Require taxonomic evidence for Electrophorus; an elongated body or the common name 'eel' alone does not establish identity.", "Assess electric-organ anatomy alongside discharge evidence; electricity production alone does not distinguish electric eels from other electric fishes.", "Use diagnostic morphology, locality and, where available, genetic evidence to distinguish species; the 2019 revision recognised E. electricus, E. voltai and E. varii. [Taxonomic revision](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11690-z)", "Separate measured low- and high-voltage discharge characteristics from species identification; an isolated voltage reading is not a sufficient identification test.", "Record whether the subject is a taxon, a local population or an individual before applying range, conservation or physiological claims." ], "characteristics": [ { "name": "Taxonomic assignment", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Accepted scientific name, rank, authority and year; identification confidence; unresolved where necessary", "why_it_matters": "Prevents the common name from silently becoming a claim about one species." }, { "name": "Taxonomic reference mapping", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Verified GBIF and NCBI Taxonomy identifiers with matched rank, source and retrieval date", "why_it_matters": "Allows records to be reconciled without merging different taxonomic concepts." }, { "name": "Biological subject level", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Taxon | population | individual", "why_it_matters": "Keeps conservation assessments distinct from individual health and behaviour." }, { "name": "Body size", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "Total length in cm; mass in kg; measurement date and method", "why_it_matters": "Supports growth assessment and interpretation of discharge observations." }, { "name": "Life stage and reproductive condition", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Egg | larva | juvenile | adult | unknown; sex, maturity and reproductive evidence recorded separately", "why_it_matters": "Guides interpretation of feeding, growth and reproductive behaviour without inferring sex from size alone." }, { "name": "Discharge profile", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "Voltage in V, current in A where measured, pulse duration in ms and repetition rate in Hz; electrode geometry, load and conductivity", "why_it_matters": "Makes electrical measurements comparable and prevents peak voltage from being treated as a complete exposure measure." }, { "name": "Behaviour during discharge", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Exploration | prey interaction | defensive interaction | social interaction | uncertain; observational evidence", "why_it_matters": "Separates measured electrical activity from an inferred behavioural function." }, { "name": "Water and surface conditions", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "Temperature in °C, dissolved oxygen in mg/L, conductivity in µS/cm, pH, depth in m; surface accessibility recorded separately", "why_it_matters": "Connects environmental conditions with respiration, behaviour and discharge measurement." }, { "name": "Locality and population membership", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Georeferenced locality, river basin, observation date, population reference and wild or captive provenance", "why_it_matters": "Supports range interpretation and avoids using captive locations as native occurrence records." }, { "name": "Conservation assessment", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Assessed taxon, IUCN category, assessment year, geographic scope and source; unresolved if unverified", "why_it_matters": "Prevents an assessment for one species or region from being applied to all electric eels." } ], "affordances": [ "Identify an observation to the best supported taxonomic level and retain unresolved alternatives.", "Compare discharge recordings only after checking measurement conditions and behavioural context.", "Assess an individual's feeding, respiration, growth and observable welfare over time.", "Relate a wild observation to a drainage basin and a supported species distribution.", "Determine whether observation, specialist care, sampling or movement has sufficient biological evidence and applicable authorisation.", "Flag taxonomic, conservation or husbandry claims that require further research." ] }, "sources": [], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-taxonomic-boundary", "name": "Identity and taxonomic boundary", "description": "Resolve what the registry name denotes and how particular records are assigned to it.", "rationale": "Electric eel records can span different species concepts and cannot safely inherit one undifferentiated species identity.", "layers": [ { "id": "name-and-reference-concept", "name": "Name and reference concept", "description": "Connect the registry entry to an explicit taxonomic interpretation.", "findings": [ { "id": "common-name-scope", "name": "Common-name scope", "description": "Keep the provisional Electrophorus interpretation explicit and distinguish it from a verified species assignment.", "questions": [ { "text": "Does the registry's originating record denote Electrophorus generally or E. electricus specifically?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "common-name-scope-q01" }, { "text": "Which taxonomic authority supports the accepted name, authority date, GBIF identifier and NCBI Taxonomy identifier?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "common-name-scope-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "identification-and-record-level", "name": "Identification and record level", "description": "Evaluate identification evidence while preserving the distinction between taxa, populations and individuals.", "findings": [ { "id": "supported-species-assignment", "name": "Supported species assignment", "description": "Attach identification confidence to diagnostic evidence and preserve uncertainty in historical records.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which diagnostic morphology, locality evidence or genetic result supports this individual's species assignment?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "supported-species-assignment-q01" }, { "text": "Does this claim concern an individual, a population or a taxon, and was its identification made under an older species concept?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "supported-species-assignment-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "electric-organs-and-discharge", "name": "Electric organs and discharge", "description": "Represent electrical capability through anatomy, measured signals and observed use.", "rationale": "Electrical behaviour is central to recognising electric eels and assessing interactions, but measurements depend on recording conditions.", "layers": [ { "id": "organ-system-and-signal", "name": "Organ system and signal", "description": "Connect electric-organ evidence to reproducible discharge observations.", "findings": [ { "id": "anatomy-linked-discharge", "name": "Anatomy-linked discharge", "description": "Distinguish the main, Hunter's and Sachs' organs without assigning a recorded signal to an organ solely by assumption. [Electric-organ study](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-85715-3)", "questions": [ { "text": "What anatomical or experimental evidence supports attributing this discharge to a particular electric organ?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "anatomy-linked-discharge-q01" }, { "text": "What waveform, voltage, current and pulse timing were measured, with what electrode placement, load and water conductivity?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "anatomy-linked-discharge-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "discharge-function-and-context", "name": "Discharge function and context", "description": "Relate discharge sequences to observed behaviour without equating signal strength with intent.", "findings": [ { "id": "contextual-electrical-behaviour", "name": "Contextual electrical behaviour", "description": "Record body posture, nearby animals and preceding events alongside each discharge sequence.", "questions": [ { "text": "What observations distinguish exploration, prey interaction, defence or social interaction during this discharge sequence?", "kind": "definition", "id": "contextual-electrical-behaviour-q01" }, { "text": "How do pulse patterns change with body position, target distance and the individual's activity?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "contextual-electrical-behaviour-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "life-history-and-individual-condition", "name": "Life history and individual condition", "description": "Track development, reproduction, feeding and respiration in identified individuals.", "rationale": "Age, condition and behaviour affect the interpretation of electrical activity and the suitability of care actions.", "layers": [ { "id": "development-and-reproduction", "name": "Development and reproduction", "description": "Represent life stage and reproductive observations with species-specific evidence.", "findings": [ { "id": "stage-sex-and-maturity", "name": "Stage, sex and maturity", "description": "Keep measured size separate from inferred age, sex and maturity, and investigate proposed sexual dimorphism.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which observations establish this individual's life stage, sex and reproductive maturity?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "stage-sex-and-maturity-q01" }, { "text": "Are proposed differences in size, shape or behaviour between sexes supported for the identified species and life stage?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "stage-sex-and-maturity-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "feeding-respiration-and-health", "name": "Feeding, respiration and health", "description": "Follow prey intake, surfacing and observable condition as a time series.", "findings": [ { "id": "individual-condition-trend", "name": "Individual condition trend", "description": "Assess changes from the individual's established behaviour rather than treating a single missed feeding or quiet electrical period as a diagnosis.", "questions": [ { "text": "How have feeding success, body mass, surfacing intervals, swimming and visible injuries changed over time?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "individual-condition-trend-q01" }, { "text": "Which observed changes warrant environmental correction or assessment by a qualified aquatic-animal specialist?", "kind": "action", "id": "individual-condition-trend-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "habitat-range-and-populations", "name": "Habitat, range and populations", "description": "Locate electric eels in drainage systems and assess the conditions experienced by particular populations.", "rationale": "Species identification, habitat interpretation and conservation judgments require locality-specific evidence.", "layers": [ { "id": "drainage-and-occurrence", "name": "Drainage and occurrence", "description": "Distinguish verified wild occurrences from captive records and uncertain historical identifications.", "findings": [ { "id": "native-occurrence-evidence", "name": "Native occurrence evidence", "description": "Tie range statements to identified records, basin geography and taxonomic interpretation.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which verified species records support native occurrence in this river basin?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "native-occurrence-evidence-q01" }, { "text": "Is this locality a wild occurrence, captive holding, translocation or an unresolved record?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "native-occurrence-evidence-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "aquatic-conditions-and-access", "name": "Aquatic conditions and access", "description": "Assess water conditions, seasonal change and access to the surface.", "findings": [ { "id": "habitat-condition-evidence", "name": "Habitat condition evidence", "description": "Record actual conditions separately from researched tolerance limits or husbandry targets.", "questions": [ { "text": "What are the temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, depth and surface-access conditions at the observation time?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "habitat-condition-evidence-q01" }, { "text": "Which species- and life-stage-specific evidence supports interpreting those conditions as suitable or problematic?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "habitat-condition-evidence-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "conservation-and-permitted-interaction", "name": "Conservation and permitted interaction", "description": "Connect population evidence and individual condition to justified human actions.", "rationale": "Conservation labels, electrical exposure and welfare constraints apply at different levels and must inform actions separately.", "layers": [ { "id": "assessment-and-local-pressure", "name": "Assessment and local pressure", "description": "Associate conservation assessments with their exact taxonomic and geographic scope.", "findings": [ { "id": "scoped-conservation-evidence", "name": "Scoped conservation evidence", "description": "Preserve assessment dates and distinguish local pressures from evidence of population decline.", "questions": [ { "text": "What is the verified IUCN category and assessment year for the identified taxon, and does the assessment use the relevant species concept?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "scoped-conservation-evidence-q01" }, { "text": "What local evidence links habitat alteration, capture or other pressures to changes in this population?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "scoped-conservation-evidence-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "observation-care-and-movement", "name": "Observation, care and movement", "description": "Determine whether proposed interactions are supported by appropriate expertise, conditions and permissions.", "findings": [ { "id": "interaction-decision", "name": "Interaction decision", "description": "Evaluate a proposed action using electrical exposure pathways, animal condition, surface access and destination suitability.", "questions": [ { "text": "Can the objective be achieved through remote observation, and what specialist provisions are needed if direct interaction is necessary?", "kind": "action", "id": "interaction-decision-q01" }, { "text": "Before capture, sampling or movement, what current permissions, welfare provisions and destination conditions must be verified?", "kind": "action", "id": "interaction-decision-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "evidence-and-external-alignment", "name": "Evidence and external alignment", "description": "What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.", "rationale": "A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.", "layers": [ { "id": "reported-evidence", "name": "Reported evidence", "description": "Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.", "findings": [ { "id": "evidence-confidence-notes", "name": "Check these first", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "This description covers the common-name group Electrophorus; the registry should confirm whether it instead intends Electrophorus electricus specifically.", "Verify current species acceptance, precise distributions, database identifiers and species-specific IUCN categories with assessment years; no conservation status is asserted here.", "Size and discharge values are approximate recall, not universal characteristics; life-stage differences and sexual dimorphism need species-specific checking." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-confidence-notes-q01", "text": "Which of these check these first hold for the sense of electric eel this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-kinds", "name": "Kinds and varieties", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "Electrophorus electricus", "Electrophorus voltai", "Electrophorus varii" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds-q01", "text": "Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of electric eel this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-identifiers", "name": "Identifiers and schemes", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ { "scheme": "International Code of Zoological Nomenclature", "value_or_pattern": "Electrophorus electricus (Linnaeus, 1766)", "note": "A species name historically applied more broadly to electric eels; the common name also covers other Electrophorus species." }, { "scheme": "GBIF taxon key", "value_or_pattern": "Numeric taxon identifier", "note": "Genus and species records have separate identifiers; exact values are not supplied from recall." }, { "scheme": "NCBI Taxonomy", "value_or_pattern": "Numeric TaxID", "note": "Identifies a taxonomic record, not an individual fish or a population." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-identifiers-q01", "text": "Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of electric eel this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation", "name": "Standards and regulation", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature issues the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature governing zoological names." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01", "text": "Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of electric eel this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-real-world-use", "name": "Real-world use", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "Research on bioelectricity, electrocytes and the evolution of electric organs.", "Research on electrolocation and electrically mediated prey capture.", "Public aquarium education and display under specialized husbandry." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-real-world-use-q01", "text": "Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of electric eel this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-measurements", "name": "Typical measurements", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ { "quantity": "Adult total length", "typical_range": "Approximately 1-2, depending on species and maturity; large individuals can exceed 2", "unit": "m" }, { "quantity": "Strong electric discharge potential", "typical_range": "Several hundred volts; an approximately 860 V maximum has been reported for Electrophorus voltai", "unit": "V" } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-measurements-q01", "text": "Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of electric eel this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards", "name": "Failure modes and hazards", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "Strong discharges can cause pain and involuntary muscle contraction; incapacitation in water creates a drowning hazard.", "Discharge voltage alone does not establish injury severity: current, contact geometry, water conductivity and exposure duration matter.", "Electric eels breathe atmospheric air and can suffocate if prevented from reaching the surface.", "Older records identified as Electrophorus electricus may combine species now distinguished within the genus." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01", "text": "Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of electric eel this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-regional-variation", "name": "Regional variation", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "The genus is native to tropical South American fresh waters.", "Species distributions differ across the Amazon region and adjacent drainage systems; locality matters when interpreting older records." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-regional-variation-q01", "text": "Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of electric eel this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-neighbours", "name": "Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ { "name": "True eels", "difference": "True eels belong to Anguilliformes; electric eels belong to Gymnotiformes despite their elongated appearance." }, { "name": "Other electric knifefishes", "difference": "Many other gymnotiform fishes produce weak sensing and communication signals; Electrophorus also produces powerful discharges for prey capture and defence." }, { "name": "Electric catfishes", "difference": "Electric catfishes belong to Siluriformes and evolved their electric organs independently." }, { "name": "An individual electric eel", "difference": "An individual is one organism with its own age, size and health; a species is a taxon, and a population is a geographically and reproductively connected group." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-neighbours-q01", "text": "Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of electric eel this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Does vr.tr.electric-eel originate from a genus-level common-name concept or a species-specific E. electricus record?", "What are the currently accepted species names, complete nomenclatural authorities and dates, and verified GBIF and NCBI Taxonomy mappings for the intended scope?", "Which IUCN assessments, assessment years and native-range records remain applicable after accounting for species revisions?", "Which species-specific evidence establishes sexual dimorphism, life-stage transitions, reproductive behaviour and environmental requirements?", "How comparable are published discharge measurements across species, body sizes, electrode configurations and water conditions, and which conclusions remain unsupported?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 6, "layers": 11, "findings": 19, "questions": 29 } }, "draft": { "generator": "vr.draft.v3", "status": "draft-generated", "researched": false, "archetype": "organism", "method": "Written from the archetype playbook - what this kind of thing needs beyond identity and provenance - and from the structure that recurred across 6,333 models already researched by two engines. Applied to this entry by rule. No source was read for this thing and no claim here is researched. This entry carries no facets of its own, so they were inferred from its domain - a guess about a whole domain applied to one thing.", "facetsInferred": true, "nextPass": "A researcher replaces this draft with a sourced specification. Treat every sentence below as a proposal to argue with.", "purpose": "Give an agent a durable, checkable way to recognise a electric eel, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Enable an agent to recognise an electric eel, distinguish taxonomic claims from observations of individuals and populations, assess its biological and electrical state, and choose justified observation or care actions.", "characteristics": { "substance": "living", "origin": "natural", "agency": "autonomous", "mobility": "self-moving" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Described in 74 Wikipedia languages, which is a measure of how widely the thing is known, not of how important it is." ], "openQuestionsForResearch": [ "Which of the bundles below does a real task actually need, and which are ceremony?", "What does this thing have that the facets do not capture at all?", "Which neighbouring kind is most often confused with a electric eel, and on what evidence are they told apart?" ], "whatItIsMadeOf": "a living thing", "physicalCharacter": [ "Moves under its own power or of its own accord.", "Acts on its own behalf.", "These come from the domain this entry sits in rather than from the entry itself, so treat them as a first guess about the whole domain applied to one thing." ], "whatCanBeDoneWithIt": [ "observe it, measure it, record its state" ], "howItIsRecognised": [ "Recognised by diagnostic characters, and those differ by life stage - the young of many kinds are mistaken for other kinds entirely. A sighting is settled by characters, a photograph and a place, not by a name alone." ], "relatedModels": [], "standing": "Described in 74 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one electric eel from another, and a electric eel from things that resemble it.", "rationale": "Recognition comes before every other claim. Without stable identity nothing else in the model can be trusted to be about the same thing twice.", "layers": [ { "id": "naming-and-identifiers", "name": "Names and identifiers", "description": "The names this thing goes by and the identifiers that survive translation and time.", "findings": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases", "name": "Preferred name, aliases and local names", "description": "Which name to use, which names mean the same thing, and which merely sound similar.", "questions": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the name of a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the name of a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the name of a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers", "name": "Stable identifiers and external keys", "description": "Identifiers that keep pointing at this kind of thing across systems and languages.", "questions": [ { "id": "stable-identifiers-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an identifier for a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an identifier for a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an identifier for a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "classification-and-granularity", "name": "Classification and granularity", "description": "Where a electric eel sits among kinds, and how finely a task needs to cut it.", "findings": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents", "name": "Kind, parents and neighbouring kinds", "description": "The classes this thing belongs to and the ones it is next to.", "questions": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the kind of a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the kind of a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the kind of a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features", "name": "Distinguishing features", "description": "What separates a electric eel from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about what distinguishes a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once what distinguishes a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "form-and-composition", "name": "Form, composition and condition", "description": "What a electric eel is made of, what shape and size it takes, and what state it is in.", "rationale": "A physical thing can be measured, and a model that cannot record its measurements cannot support any decision that depends on them.", "layers": [ { "id": "form-and-dimensions", "name": "Form and dimensions", "description": "Shape, size, mass and the ranges these take across examples.", "findings": [ { "id": "measurable-dimensions", "name": "Measurable dimensions and their units", "description": "The quantities worth recording and the units they are recorded in.", "questions": [ { "id": "measurable-dimensions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the dimensions of a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "measurable-dimensions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the dimensions of a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "measurable-dimensions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the dimensions of a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "material-and-composition", "name": "Material and composition", "description": "Anatomy, parts and life stage.", "findings": [ { "id": "parts-and-materials", "name": "Parts and life stages", "description": "The parts of a electric eel and the stages it passes through.", "questions": [ { "id": "parts-and-materials-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the composition of a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "parts-and-materials-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the composition of a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "parts-and-materials-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the composition of a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "condition-and-integrity", "name": "Condition and integrity", "description": "Wear, damage, health and the difference between working and broken.", "findings": [ { "id": "condition-assessment", "name": "Condition, damage and health", "description": "How the condition of a electric eel is judged and by whom.", "questions": [ { "id": "condition-assessment-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the condition of a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "condition-assessment-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the condition of a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "condition-assessment-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the condition of a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "place-and-movement", "name": "Place and movement", "description": "Where a electric eel is, how it got there and where it may go (self-moving).", "rationale": "A thing that can move needs its position recorded with a time, or every later claim about it is about a place it has left.", "layers": [ { "id": "location-and-placement", "name": "Location and placement", "description": "Position, containment and the reference frame the position is given in.", "findings": [ { "id": "position-and-frame", "name": "Position, container and reference frame", "description": "Where a electric eel is, and what that position is measured against.", "questions": [ { "id": "position-and-frame-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the location of a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "position-and-frame-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the location of a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "position-and-frame-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the location of a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "movement-and-transfer", "name": "Movement and transfer", "description": "How a electric eel moves on its own.", "findings": [ { "id": "movement-events", "name": "Movement events and constraints", "description": "What counts as a movement, what records it and what limits it.", "questions": [ { "id": "movement-events-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the movement of a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "movement-events-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the movement of a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "movement-events-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the movement of a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "state-and-lifecycle", "name": "State and lifecycle", "description": "The states a electric eel passes through and the events that move it between them.", "rationale": "Most decisions about a thing depend on what state it is in now, which is a claim with a time on it, not a property.", "layers": [ { "id": "lifecycle-stages", "name": "Lifecycle stages", "description": "From coming into existence to ceasing to be one of these.", "findings": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions", "name": "Stages and transitions", "description": "The stages worth naming and what moves a electric eel between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the lifecycle of a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the lifecycle of a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observations-and-status", "name": "Observations and current status", "description": "What is observed about a electric eel, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a electric eel is recorded so that it can be superseded rather than overwritten.", "questions": [ { "id": "observation-record-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an observation of a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an observation of a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an observation of a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "taxonomic-placement", "name": "Taxonomic placement and identification", "description": "What electric eel is called scientifically, by whose authority, and how a specimen is recognised.", "rationale": "Names change with revisions while the organism does not, so a name without its authority and date cannot be reconciled later.", "layers": [ { "id": "accepted-name", "name": "Accepted name and synonymy", "description": "The current binomial, its author and date, and the names it replaced.", "findings": [ { "id": "name-and-authority", "name": "Accepted name, authority and synonyms", "description": "What to record so a later revision can be applied without losing the old data.", "questions": [ { "id": "name-and-authority-q01", "text": "What is the accepted scientific name of electric eel, with its author and year, and which synonyms does it absorb?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "name-and-authority-q02", "text": "Which taxonomic authority is being followed, and what would a competing authority say?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] }, { "id": "field-identification", "name": "Field identification", "description": "The characters that separate electric eel from what it is confused with.", "findings": [ { "id": "diagnostic-characters", "name": "Diagnostic characters and confusable kinds", "description": "Features that settle an identification, and those that only suggest it.", "questions": [ { "id": "diagnostic-characters-q01", "text": "Which observable characters distinguish electric eel from its closest look-alikes, and at which life stage are they visible?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "id": "diagnostic-characters-q02", "text": "What evidence is enough to record an identification as confirmed rather than provisional?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "life-cycle-and-condition", "name": "Life stages, condition and behaviour", "description": "What electric eel does over its life and how its state is judged.", "rationale": "Stage and condition change what may be done - handled, treated, harvested, left alone - and both are observations with a time.", "layers": [ { "id": "stages-and-reproduction", "name": "Stages and reproduction", "description": "Development from origin to death, including forms that look like different animals.", "findings": [ { "id": "life-stages", "name": "Life stages and their marks", "description": "The stages worth recording and what tells them apart.", "questions": [ { "id": "life-stages-q01", "text": "What stages does electric eel pass through, and what observable change marks each transition?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "life-stages-q02", "text": "Which stages are so unlike the adult that they are mistaken for another kind?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "health-and-condition", "name": "Health and condition", "description": "How condition is assessed and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "condition-assessment", "name": "Condition assessment", "description": "Signs of health, injury and stress, and who is competent to judge them.", "questions": [ { "id": "condition-assessment-q01", "text": "How is the condition of electric eel judged, on what scale, and by whom?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "id": "condition-assessment-q02", "text": "What condition obliges an agent to act, and what act is permitted to whom?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "range-and-status", "name": "Habitat, range and conservation status", "description": "Where electric eel lives and how threatened it is.", "rationale": "Range and status govern what is lawful, and both are assessments with an assessor and a year rather than facts of nature.", "layers": [ { "id": "habitat-and-range", "name": "Habitat and range", "description": "Native range, introductions and the habitat it needs.", "findings": [ { "id": "range-record", "name": "Range, introductions and habitat", "description": "What to record about where it is found and how it got there.", "questions": [ { "id": "range-record-q01", "text": "What is the native range of electric eel, where has it been introduced, and what habitat does it require?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "range-record-q02", "text": "What distinguishes a native record from an introduced or vagrant one?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "protection-status", "name": "Protection and legal status", "description": "Conservation assessments and the rules that follow from them.", "findings": [ { "id": "status-and-rules", "name": "Conservation status and legal consequence", "description": "The assessment, its date, and what it forbids or requires where.", "questions": [ { "id": "status-and-rules-q01", "text": "What conservation status does electric eel hold, under which assessment and year?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "id": "status-and-rules-q02", "text": "What does that status forbid or require of an agent, and in which jurisdiction?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "provenance-and-evidence", "name": "Provenance, evidence and time", "description": "Where every claim about a electric eel came from and when it held.", "rationale": "A claim without a source and a time cannot be superseded, only overwritten, and an agent that overwrites loses the ability to explain itself.", "layers": [ { "id": "source-and-authority", "name": "Source and authority", "description": "Who said it, on what evidence, and how strongly.", "findings": [ { "id": "claim-provenance", "name": "Claim provenance and confidence", "description": "The authority behind each claim about a electric eel and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a claim about a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a claim about a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "time-and-versions", "name": "Time, versions and supersession", "description": "When a claim was true, when it was learnt, and what replaced it.", "findings": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession", "name": "Validity period and supersession", "description": "How an old claim about a electric eel is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a electric eel, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the validity of a claim about a electric eel, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the validity of a claim about a electric eel is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "statistics": { "bundles": 8, "layers": 17, "findings": 19, "questions": 51 } } } }