paleobiology-guide

Scope

Use the Paleobiology Database for recorded fossil occurrences, fossil localities, taxonomic ranges, and sampled diversity. It does not establish true historical abundance or reconstruct phylogenies. Living distributions require a separate source; reconcile names independently rather than carrying PBDB identifiers into another database.

Identifiers

• paleobiology_get_taxon returns the matched record's taxon_no and its accepted identity separately. Use accepted_no for accepted-clade searches; retain the matched identifier when discussing the queried record. A status does not necessarily mean synonymy.
• Occurrence rows supply occurrence_no, accepted taxon accepted_no, and, when recorded, collection_no and reference_no. Collections also supply collection and reference identifiers. Use these returned integers rather than guessing IDs from names.
• paleobiology_search_occurrences issues canvas_id and a table name when staging succeeds. These identify temporary analytical data, not PBDB records.

Gates

• Read filter-warning notices before treating a result as evidence for the requested scope. PBDB can return rows while ignoring an unrecognized selector; correct the selector before drawing a filtered conclusion.
• Check page and staged coverage before reporting an aggregate as the whole match set. Inline rows and staged rows can cover different amounts of data. A table capped at 50,000 occurrences is partial when more matches exist.
• Interpret diversity originations and extinctions as first and last appearances in the selected data. Inspect boundary notices: the oldest and youngest bins can reflect truncated ranges. Extant-range extension is opt-in (recent defaults to false); enabling it does not remove other selection-boundary effects.
• Before calling a taxon extinct, distinguish its sampled last appearance from a biological extinction event and inspect its extant status. Before comparing richness, hold taxonomic rank, time bins, and geographic/environmental selection consistent.
• Use stored formation names. Pass their spelling, lists, and wildcard expressions unchanged; do not automatically strip “Formation”, “Group”, “Member”, or abbreviations. A zero match can reflect a name mismatch rather than an empty fauna.
• Do not equate an empty page beyond the reported total with absence. Follow paging guidance and examine the actual filtered match set. Missing classification is unknown, not a separate taxon or evidence that a rank is absent.