http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...sil-Earth.html
https://paleobiodb.org/navigator/
Paleobiology Database encompasses all known dinosaur species, with more than 2,000 types represented
Interactive map allows users to explore nearly 8,000 discovery sites, with information on over 15,000 fossils
Dots of different colours are scattered around the globe, representing different periods in Earth’s history
By Cheyenne Macdonald For Dailymail.com
Scientists have created a massive database of fossils discovered all around the world in a painstaking project that covers 165 million years of dinosaur evolution.
The Paleobiology Database encompasses all known dinosaur species, with more than 2,000 types represented across every continent on Earth.
And, it’s steadily growing, as researchers continue to discover new dinosaurs ‘to the tune of a new species every month or two.’
A remarkable interactive map visualizing the data allows users to explore nearly 8,000 discovery sites, revealing information on what could be as many as 25,000 dinosaur fossils.
https://paleobiodb.org/navigator/
Dr Matthew Carrano, Curator of Dinosauria at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, first began contributing to the database in 2000 – and, the work continues to grow today.
‘Right now there are about 7,900 localities with dinosaur fossils represented,’ Carrano told Dailymail.com in an email.
‘That means 7,900 holes in the ground where someone has found a dinosaur fossil and published a scientific paper documenting that.’
So far, this accounts for more than 15,000 individual fossils – but, according to Carrano, it’s likely ‘more like 25,000.’
‘Many localities have just a single dinosaur fossil, but others are very rich bonebeds of thousands of fossils,’ Carrano explained.
In the map, dots of different colours can be seen scattered around the globe, representing different periods in Earth’s history.
The data, which for now excludes birds, covers the Middle Triassic through the latest Cretaceous periods, about 235 to 66 million years ago.
Users can choose to browse based on a particular type of fossil or era, or simply choose a location and zoom in to learn more.
Zooming in on New York City, for example, reveals the discovery of a type of clam that dates back to the Pleistocene.