ThePaleobiology Database

[Sanguine]

This is an amazing resource:

https://paleobiodb.org/#/

Adapted (by Mark D. Uhen) on 10 September 2013 from the PaleoBioDB FAQs by John Alroy, after the original PMPD FAQ by John Alroy on 22 August 2000. Revised on an ongoing basis.

What is the Paleobiology Database?
    The Paleobiology Database (PaleoBioDB) is a non-governmental, non-profit public resource for paleontological data. It has been organized and operated by a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, international group of paleobiological researchers. Its purpose is to provide global, collection-based occurrence and taxonomic data for organisms of all geological ages, as well data services to allow easy access to data for independent development of analytical tools, visualization software, and applications of all types. The Database’s broader goal is to encourage and enable data-driven collaborative efforts that address large-scale paleobiological questions.

How did the Database come into existence and how is it funded?
    The Paleobiology Database originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Paleofaunal Database initiative, which operated from August 1998 through August 2000. It was supported from 2000 to 2008 and from 2010 to 2013 by the US National Science Foundation has also received funding from the Australian Research Council. Many science-driven data entry projects have been funded by grants to individuals around the world.

    John Alroy (Macquarie University) was one of the original founders of the PaleoBioDB (along with Charles Marshal). John was instrumental in the development of the PaleoBioDB in several different capacity. John served as the Database Administrator from 2000 to January of 2013, when the new role of Database Director was created, and John held that role until September of 2013.

    Primary IT development is currently being carried out at UW-Madison under the direction of Shanan Peters and Michael McClennen, with support from NSF EAR Geoinformatics grant 0949416.