{ "model": { "rank": 3312, "code": "thing-q530397", "model_id": "vr.tr.alligator", "name": "Alligator", "purpose": "Enable an agent to recognise an alligator, distinguish taxon-level knowledge from the state of a population or individual, and judge appropriate observation, care or conservation 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/q530397/", "tier": 2, "score": 87, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [ "alligator leather" ], "aliasCount": 1, "merged": 1, "knownIn": 87, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": "vr.tr.alligator", "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q530397", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q530397", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-07T14:26:13Z", "providers": [ "Codex" ], "breadth": "recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read", "missingProviders": [], "pass": 2, "cost": { "grok": { "seconds": 31.2, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.3\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: 01a07c41-ee5c-70a2-99ee-e1030c346204\n--------\nuser\nDescribe what is already known about one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: Alligator\nSense to describe: (none recorded)\nDomain code: PHY.LIV\nAlso known as: (none)\n\n\nContext for this batch of 546 things:\n# Batch 003: 1001 regist", "usd": 0, "recall": true }, "codex": { "seconds": 83.4, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.3\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: 01a07c41-ee66-7441-8b26-12b6af42846c\n--------\nuser\nYou are drafting a Vercy meta-model for one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: Alligator\nRegistry id: vr.tr.alligator\nPlane / domain: PHY / PHY.LIV\nRegistry definition: (none recorded)\nNames folded into this entry: (none)\n\n\nCont" } } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q530397", "registryId": "vr.tr.alligator", "name": "Alligator", "version": "0.1.0-research.1", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "PHY.LIV" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q530397/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.alligator", "name": "Alligator", "purpose": "Enable an agent to recognise an alligator, distinguish taxon-level knowledge from the state of a population or individual, and judge appropriate observation, care or conservation actions.", "definition": "An alligator is a semiaquatic crocodilian of the genus Alligator in the family Alligatoridae, here understood as a taxonomic group comprising the living American and Chinese alligators rather than an individual animal or an animal product.", "scope_statement": "This model owns alligators understood provisionally as members of the genus Alligator, including species identification, individual condition, life history and population context; the registry's intended taxonomic boundary remains to be confirmed.", "in_scope": [ "Genus and species identity, identification evidence and taxonomic uncertainty", "Individual anatomy, size, life stage, sex and observable condition", "Aquatic habitat, terrestrial access, geographic occurrence and seasonal activity", "Reproduction, nesting, recruitment and population structure", "Wild or captive context, conservation assessments and constraints on intervention" ], "out_of_scope": [ "Caimans, crocodiles and other crocodilians except as identification comparators", "Alligator meat, leather and other processed products", "Wetlands as complete ecosystems or managed water infrastructure", "Alligator farms, zoos and wildlife agencies as organisations", "Human injuries and their clinical treatment" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Require evidence supporting the genus Alligator; the broader family label Alligatoridae does not by itself distinguish an alligator from a caiman.", "Assess snout proportions and the closed-mouth tooth arrangement together when comparing an alligator with a crocodile; record viewing angle and avoid treating either feature alone as conclusive.", "Use a species-appropriate anatomical identification key to distinguish alligators from similar caimans, with photographs showing the characters actually used.", "Use locality and wild or captive provenance to support identification, while allowing for introduced, escaped or transported individuals.", "Separate a living animal or taxon record from a detached hide, skull or commercial product; fragmentary evidence may support only a qualified identification." ], "characteristics": [ { "name": "Taxonomic identification", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Alligator; verified species name where supported; unresolved identification", "why_it_matters": "Species identity determines which biological references and conservation assessments apply." }, { "name": "Taxonomic reference", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Accepted name, authority and date linked to a consulted taxonomy source; verified GBIF and NCBI identifiers where available", "why_it_matters": "Makes identification traceable without inventing identifiers or confusing genus and species records." }, { "name": "Record subject", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Taxon | geographically defined population | identified individual | unidentified observation", "why_it_matters": "Prevents a species assessment from being mistaken for an individual's condition." }, { "name": "Body length", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "cm or m; specify total length or snout-vent length, method and uncertainty", "why_it_matters": "Supports growth and condition assessment when measurements are comparable." }, { "name": "Body mass", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "kg; measured or estimated, with date and method", "why_it_matters": "Helps assess growth and physical condition alongside length and life stage." }, { "name": "Life stage", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Egg | hatchling | juvenile | subadult | adult | unknown; classification basis recorded", "why_it_matters": "Changes vulnerability, habitat use and the interpretation of behaviour." }, { "name": "Sex determination", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Female | male | undetermined; method and confidence required", "why_it_matters": "Supports reproductive interpretation without inferring sex from size alone." }, { "name": "Physical and behavioural condition", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Observed injuries, locomotion, responsiveness, feeding and body condition, each timestamped", "why_it_matters": "Separates direct observations from diagnoses and identifies reasons for specialist assessment." }, { "name": "Habitat conditions", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "Water temperature in °C, salinity in PSU and water depth in m, with location and date", "why_it_matters": "Allows habitat suitability to be evaluated against species- and stage-specific evidence." }, { "name": "Occurrence and provenance", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Location linked to native, introduced, captive, escaped or unresolved occurrence status", "why_it_matters": "Distinguishes natural distribution from the circumstances of a particular observation." }, { "name": "Reproductive state", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Unknown | courtship observed | nesting observed | nest attendance observed | young attendance observed", "why_it_matters": "Informs disturbance sensitivity and interpretation of local activity." }, { "name": "Conservation and legal context", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Species or population linked to dated assessments and jurisdiction-specific legal sources", "why_it_matters": "Keeps conservation status, legal protection and individual condition distinct." } ], "affordances": [ "Identify an observed alligator to the narrowest supported taxon and retain evidence for review.", "Monitor an individual or population through repeat observations with explicit detection uncertainty.", "Evaluate habitat and seasonal activity using species- and life-stage-specific references.", "Recognise observations that warrant assessment by a qualified wildlife or veterinary professional.", "Assess whether a proposed approach, capture, relocation or care action has the necessary expertise and legal authority.", "Track nests and recruitment through observation methods appropriate to disturbance sensitivity." ] }, "sources": [], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-taxonomic-boundary", "name": "Identity and taxonomic boundary", "description": "Establish what the name alligator denotes and which biological entity a record concerns.", "rationale": "A common name can obscure distinctions between genus, species and similar crocodilians.", "layers": [ { "id": "taxon-resolution", "name": "Taxon resolution", "description": "Connect the registry term to an explicitly supported taxonomic concept.", "findings": [ { "id": "accepted-alligator-concept", "name": "Accepted Alligator concept", "description": "Record the accepted genus and any supported species identification, with authority, date and source-specific identifiers.", "questions": [ { "text": "Does this registry entry denote the genus Alligator, a particular species or a broader common-name grouping?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "accepted-alligator-concept-q01" }, { "text": "Which consulted taxonomic source supports the accepted name, authority and GBIF or NCBI identifier at the recorded rank?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "accepted-alligator-concept-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "identification-evidence", "name": "Identification evidence", "description": "Make identification reproducible and keep it separate from the identity of the observed subject.", "findings": [ { "id": "diagnostic-observation", "name": "Diagnostic observation", "description": "Retain the anatomical characters, locality and observation quality used to distinguish an alligator from a caiman or crocodile.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which visible characters support Alligator, and which plausible caiman or crocodile identification remains unresolved?", "kind": "definition", "id": "diagnostic-observation-q01" }, { "text": "Does the evidence concern one recognisable animal, an unidentified sighting, a population or the taxon as a whole?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "diagnostic-observation-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "body-growth-and-condition", "name": "Body, growth and condition", "description": "Describe the animal's measurable body state without treating size as a complete account of age, sex or health.", "rationale": "Alligator observations frequently depend on estimated size and partial views, which require explicit uncertainty.", "layers": [ { "id": "size-stage-and-sex", "name": "Size, stage and sex", "description": "Record comparable measurements and evidence for biological classifications.", "findings": [ { "id": "supported-growth-profile", "name": "Supported growth profile", "description": "Associate length and mass with measurement methods, life-stage criteria and independently supported sex information.", "questions": [ { "text": "What length or mass was measured or estimated, by which method and with what uncertainty?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "supported-growth-profile-q01" }, { "text": "What species-specific evidence supports the assigned life stage and sex, including any use of sexual dimorphism?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "supported-growth-profile-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "condition-and-function", "name": "Condition and function", "description": "Assess observable function in the context of temperature, activity and observation conditions.", "findings": [ { "id": "interpretable-condition-signs", "name": "Interpretable condition signs", "description": "Record injuries, movement and responsiveness while distinguishing observed signs from inferred illness.", "questions": [ { "text": "What injuries, abnormal movements or changes in responsiveness were directly observed, and under what thermal conditions?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "interpretable-condition-signs-q01" }, { "text": "Which observations justify specialist assessment, and what additional evidence is needed before an intervention is chosen?", "kind": "action", "id": "interpretable-condition-signs-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "habitat-range-and-activity", "name": "Habitat, range and activity", "description": "Connect occurrence and behaviour to local aquatic and terrestrial conditions.", "rationale": "An alligator's presence alone does not establish native range, suitable habitat or normal seasonal activity.", "layers": [ { "id": "occurrence-and-habitat", "name": "Occurrence and habitat", "description": "Locate the observation and describe the habitat available to the relevant species and life stage.", "findings": [ { "id": "range-and-site-fit", "name": "Range and site fit", "description": "Separate verified native distribution from individual occurrence and assess water conditions and access to land.", "questions": [ { "text": "Is this occurrence native, introduced, captive or unresolved according to a dated distribution source and local evidence?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "range-and-site-fit-q01" }, { "text": "What water conditions, refuges and terrestrial access are available, and how do these compare with supported requirements for this species and stage?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "range-and-site-fit-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "seasonal-and-feeding-behaviour", "name": "Seasonal and feeding behaviour", "description": "Interpret activity, refuge use and feeding through repeated contextual observations.", "findings": [ { "id": "contextual-activity-pattern", "name": "Contextual activity pattern", "description": "Distinguish observed basking, swimming, feeding and refuge use from assumptions based on a single encounter.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do observed activity and refuge use vary with temperature, water level, season and time of day?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "contextual-activity-pattern-q01" }, { "text": "What evidence distinguishes natural foraging from intentional feeding by people or attraction to human food sources?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "contextual-activity-pattern-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "reproduction-and-population-continuity", "name": "Reproduction and population continuity", "description": "Represent nesting and the passage from eggs to recruited animals at an explicitly defined population scale.", "rationale": "Nest presence, hatching and population persistence are different outcomes and require different evidence.", "layers": [ { "id": "nesting-and-incubation", "name": "Nesting and incubation", "description": "Track nest evidence, incubation conditions and reproductive outcomes.", "findings": [ { "id": "documented-nest-outcome", "name": "Documented nest outcome", "description": "Record nest identity, observation dates, attendance and egg or hatchling outcomes without assuming an occupied nest is successful.", "questions": [ { "text": "What evidence establishes nest occupancy, attendance and hatching outcome, and how was disturbance limited?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "documented-nest-outcome-q01" }, { "text": "Which species-specific evidence is needed to interpret incubation temperature in relation to development and sex determination?", "kind": "definition", "id": "documented-nest-outcome-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "recruitment-and-connectivity", "name": "Recruitment and connectivity", "description": "Relate reproductive observations to survival, movement and population structure.", "findings": [ { "id": "bounded-population-evidence", "name": "Bounded population evidence", "description": "Define the monitored population and distinguish observed counts from estimates of abundance or recruitment.", "questions": [ { "text": "What geographic and temporal boundaries define this population, and what evidence describes movement into or out of it?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "bounded-population-evidence-q01" }, { "text": "How were abundance, stage composition or recruitment estimated, and how were missed detections and repeated sightings handled?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "bounded-population-evidence-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "conservation-and-human-interaction", "name": "Conservation and human interaction", "description": "Connect biological evidence to conservation priorities and justified decisions around people.", "rationale": "Species status, local abundance, an individual encounter and permission to intervene must be evaluated separately.", "layers": [ { "id": "assessment-and-threats", "name": "Assessment and threats", "description": "Attach current, geographically appropriate assessments and documented pressures.", "findings": [ { "id": "dated-conservation-context", "name": "Dated conservation context", "description": "Record assessment scope and year alongside evidence of local threats, avoiding genus-wide assignment of a species category.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which IUCN assessment category and assessment year apply to the identified species, and are there separate local population assessments?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "dated-conservation-context-q01" }, { "text": "Which pressures are documented for this population, and what evidence supports their effect on survival or reproduction?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "dated-conservation-context-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "encounter-and-intervention", "name": "Encounter and intervention", "description": "Assess encounters and proposed actions using observed behaviour, custody and jurisdiction.", "findings": [ { "id": "justified-response", "name": "Justified response", "description": "Record the circumstances of human proximity and the evidence, authority and expertise supporting any handling, relocation or care decision.", "questions": [ { "text": "What observed behaviour, proximity to people, nesting context or feeding history defines this encounter?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "justified-response-q01" }, { "text": "What response is supported by the evidence, and which current local rules, permissions and qualified personnel govern its execution?", "kind": "action", "id": "justified-response-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": [ "The name is interpreted as the genus-level living-animal group; extinct species are outside this description.", "Current IUCN categories and assessment years, trade controls and jurisdiction-specific protection require verification and are omitted.", "Length ranges are approximate adult descriptions, not maturity thresholds or maximum records; exact database identifiers should be checked." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-confidence-notes-q01", "text": "Which of these check these first hold for the sense of Alligator 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": [ "American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)", "Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis)" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds-q01", "text": "Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of Alligator 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": "Zoological nomenclature under the ICZN", "value_or_pattern": "Alligator mississippiensis (Daudin, 1802)", "note": "Scientific name and authorship of the American alligator." }, { "scheme": "Zoological nomenclature under the ICZN", "value_or_pattern": "Alligator sinensis Fauvel, 1879", "note": "Scientific name and authorship of the Chinese alligator." }, { "scheme": "GBIF taxon key", "value_or_pattern": "Numeric taxon identifier", "note": "Genus and species have separate taxon records; exact identifiers are not recalled." }, { "scheme": "NCBI Taxonomy", "value_or_pattern": "Numeric TaxID", "note": "Identifiers distinguish taxonomic records, not individual animals or populations." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-identifiers-q01", "text": "Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of Alligator 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 Code of Zoological Nomenclature, issued by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, governs scientific naming." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01", "text": "Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of Alligator 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": [ "Ecological research on wetland predators, food webs and habitat modification.", "Comparative research on crocodilian development, physiology and temperature-dependent sex determination.", "Managed production of American alligator hides and meat.", "Conservation breeding and population restoration, particularly for Chinese alligators.", "Wildlife viewing and environmental education." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-real-world-use-q01", "text": "Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of Alligator 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": "American alligator adult total length", "typical_range": "Approximately 2.5-4.5; males generally grow larger than females", "unit": "m" }, { "quantity": "Chinese alligator adult total length", "typical_range": "Approximately 1.5-2", "unit": "m" } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-measurements-q01", "text": "Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of Alligator 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": [ "Large individuals can inflict severe bites and cause drowning.", "Feeding wild alligators can encourage approaches to people and increase conflict.", "Habitat loss and fragmentation can reduce nesting habitat and isolate populations.", "Eggs and hatchlings are vulnerable to predation, flooding and unsuitable incubation conditions.", "Incubation temperature influences offspring sex, making nest conditions relevant to population recruitment." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01", "text": "Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of Alligator 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": [ "American alligators are native to the southeastern United States and occupy freshwater wetlands, with some use of brackish habitats.", "Chinese alligators are native to the lower Yangtze region of China and have a much more restricted surviving wild distribution.", "Seasonal inactivity and use of burrows or other refuges vary with climate and habitat." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-regional-variation-q01", "text": "Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of Alligator 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": "Caiman", "difference": "Caimans also belong to Alligatoridae but are outside the genus Alligator." }, { "name": "Crocodile", "difference": "True crocodiles belong to Crocodylidae; alligators belong to Alligatoridae." }, { "name": "American alligator", "difference": "A single species within Alligator, rather than the genus-level grouping." }, { "name": "Alligator population", "difference": "A geographically and reproductively situated group of animals, rather than the taxon as a whole." }, { "name": "Individual alligator", "difference": "One animal with its own age, sex and condition; it passes through egg, hatchling, juvenile and adult stages." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-neighbours-q01", "text": "Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of Alligator this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Does vr.tr.alligator intentionally cover the genus Alligator, and does an existing Vercy world model already own this concept?", "Which accepted species names, taxonomic authorities and dates, and GBIF and NCBI identifiers should be attached after authoritative sources are consulted?", "Which diagnostic characters reliably separate the included species from locally plausible caimans and crocodiles across life stages?", "What verified native ranges and dated IUCN assessments apply to each included species, and where do local population assessments differ?", "Which species- and stage-specific references establish habitat requirements, growth interpretation, incubation responses and appropriate intervention criteria?" ], "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 Alligator, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Enable an agent to recognise an alligator, distinguish taxon-level knowledge from the state of a population or individual, and judge appropriate observation, care or conservation actions.", "characteristics": { "substance": "living", "origin": "natural", "agency": "autonomous", "mobility": "self-moving" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Names folded into this entry, which a task may need to split apart again: alligator leather.", "1 finer distinctions are held as aliases rather than separate entries, because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it.", "Described in 87 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 Alligator, 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": [ { "relation": "covers", "note": "Finer kinds folded into this entry because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it. Each is a model waiting to be split out when one does.", "targets": [ "alligator leather" ] } ], "standing": "Described in 87 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is. 1 finer distinctions are held inside this entry as names rather than as separate models.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one Alligator from another, and a Alligator 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator and the stages it passes through.", "questions": [ { "id": "parts-and-materials-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the composition of a Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator is judged and by whom.", "questions": [ { "id": "condition-assessment-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the condition of a Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator is, and what that position is measured against.", "questions": [ { "id": "position-and-frame-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the location of a Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a Alligator 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator 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 Alligator and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 Alligator is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a Alligator, 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 Alligator, 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 Alligator 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 } } } }