User:Annavc3/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Photophore

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose to evaluate the Photophore article because I will be researching the bioluminescent capabilities and behaviors of viperfish, which use photophores for bioluminescence. I will therefore need to understand what photophores are and how they work. I initially observed that this article was short, but contains several images and many links to other Wikipedia articles, which could be helpful for further understanding.

Evaluate the article
The lead of the Photophore article gives a brief definition of what a Photophore is and where they can be found. The article only consists of one section, so it does not have any other major sections to describe.

The article's content appears to be relevant up to date; there may be additional research on the mechanisms by which photophores work that authors have not updated. For example, the articles addresses that photophores can be used either to attract prey or as camouflage; it may be useful to differentiate between when these two different behaviors are observed in the deep sea.

The article is neutral, and does not include any information intended to persuade the reader in any direction.

The sources of this article do not appear to to thorough or reputable; one of the two fails to link to another site or source, and the other source is an online news article about a one-time observation. When looking at the available resources through the BC library, there appear to be a large number of sources on photophore development and mechanism in a variety of deep-sea species that could be used to update this page.

The article is written clearly and concisely, with common vocabulary and grammar.

The images contribute to the understanding by including different species which use photophores and linking the reader to the pages of those species.

No conversations have been started in the talk page of this article; Wikipedia relates it to several WikiProjects about animal anatomy, cephalopods, and fishes. While we have not directly discussed photophores, we have discussed how organisms use bioluminescence to attract prey and as counter-illumination; this article provides a more detailed anatomical explanation for how animals actually do this.

The article can definitely be improved with newer, relevant research on photophore mechanisms in different species. It is very short and lacking in sources.