A DATABASE FOR THE DEVONIAN FAUNAS OF NEW YORK STATE

Over 150 years of research has generated a wealth of data concerning the Devonian taxa and biostratigraphy of New York however the dissemination of this taxonomic and biostratigraphic data has been, to some degree, hampered by its publication in a multiplicity of journals spanning many years. To address the lack of a comprehensive guide to the Devonian taxa and biostratigraphy of New York a database has been created which aggregates all taxonomic and biostratigraphic data in a single source. The scope of this project requires all data derived from relevant literature be viewed non-judgmentally. Taxa, their validity and their stratigraphic occurrence, are accepted as true unless newer data falsifies these assumptions. The database is composed of 4 components the first being the Reference component listing all sources used to generate taxa or biostratigraphic data. References can be in the form of published literature or data extracted from databases such as the Paleobiology Database (PBDB). The Genus Taxonomy component contains the current taxonomy for a genus as derived from the PBDB or the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. The Taxon component contains an entry for each taxon found in the Devonian strata of New York. Aside from data pulled from the Reference and Taxonomy components, this component includes a NY Status Flag (Valid, Invalid, Questionable) for the taxon’s status in New York. Valid indicates the taxon in question is valid while an Invalid flag indicates a taxon, at least for New York, is not valid. Reasons for Invalidity are detailed in a Comments field. The Taxon component also lists references which are pertinent for specimen identification. The Occurrence component is where the presence of a taxon in a specific stratigraphic unit is documented. Taxonomic and other taxon related information are pulled from the relevant components and married to the stratigraphic occurrence provided by a specific reference. Stratigraphic information for an occurrence can include Series, Stage, Group, Formation and Member. The relationships between these components allows for the generation of a variety of reports some examples being the stratigraphic range of a taxonomic unit such as a species or family or the creation of a faunal list for a stratigraphic unit.