PALEOBIOLOGY DATABASE: USING DATA FROM THE PAST TO EXPAND RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE FUTURE

Paleobiology Database (PBDB, paleobiodb.org) is an open resource of global paleontological data on all types of fossil organisms (plants, animals, microfossils, ichnofossils etc.) through all time periods. Data types include bibliographic references; taxonomic names, taxonomic opinions and classifications; primary fossil collection data; taxonomic occurrences; re-identifications of occurrences; and geologic time scales all stored in a relational database. PBDB currently contains over 1.26 million occurrences of over 325,000 fossil taxa, and is expanding every day as over 380 researchers from around the world continuously contribute data. Recent release of the PBDB API data service has prompted the creation of many freely available analysis tools that dynamically draw on PBDB data as it is entered. These data have been used for studies of paleobiodiversity, paleogeography, macroevolution, paleogeography, paleoclimatology, and many others. Hundreds of studies have been published that use data derived from the Paleobiology Database. These studies have had an enormous impact on the field of paleontology as well as modern biology and geology. Google Scholar tallies over 14,000 citations to over 580 publications that have used PBDB data in some fashion. Together, these publications have an h-index of 57. PBDB is also working with other paleontologic and modern databases, such as Neotoma and iDigBio, to provide additional easy access to data, and integration of deep time PBDB data with shallow time and recent biological data. PBDB is also expanding its scope beyond the current audience of researchers to provide a simplified interface for student users, along with research activities for instructors to use in undergraduate course settings. Paleobiology Database remains committed to being the leading source on fossil occurrence and taxonomic data for researchers while we also broaden our user base and partner with other related cyberinfrastructure resources.