MIOCENE MAMMAL MAPPING PROJECT (MIOMAP): AN ONLINE RELATIONAL AND SPATIAL DATABASE OF MIOCENE AND LATE OLIGOCENE FOSSIL MAMMALS

The Miocene Mammal Mapping Project (MIOMAP) database was created at the University of California at Berkeley and is now online (http://miomap.berkeley.edu) for use by the geosciences community. MIOMAP is a relational database built using Paradox 9.0 and includes all published mammalian vertebrate localities between 30 and 5 million years old (Arikareean through Hemphillian Land Mammal ages) from the western United States. Each locality entry is associated with a variety of data including quadrangle, latitude, longitude, relevant taxonomy, number of specimens, geologic age, depositional environment, taphonomic attributes, and bibliographic information.

For distribution on the world wide web, the MIOMAP database has been transferred into MySQL. Queries of the database can be made through HTML forms or an interactive map created using open source MapServer 4.0 software. Also, all data is downloadable in Microsoft Excel. Future web site additions include links to digital photos of type specimens and tools for spatial and other analyses of data. Current research using the database centers around understanding the effects of climatic and tectonic change on mammalian species diversity through time.