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<h2>Collection and Occurrence Data Entry Tip Sheet</h2>
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<font size=-1>
<i>This page was written by <NAME> and <NAME>, March 1999; revised by Alroy, 17/21 June 1999, 8 September 2000, and by the taphonomy working group, 26 October 2001, 25 February 2002.
It gives information on the <a href="#Collections">main collection record form</a> and <a href="#Occurrences">taxonomic occurrences form</a>.</i>
</font>

<hr>

<h3>General comments</h3>

<h4>This section is very important. Please read all of it very carefully.</h4>

<ul>
<li>If you have any questions, please write to either the <a href="/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?user=Guest&action=displayPage&page=personnel">Database coordinator</a> or <a href="/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?user=Guest&action=displayPage&page=personnel">Database manager</a>.<p>

<li>Each data record should include <i>one</i> fossil collection.
A geographic locality or stratigraphic level may include many collections.
So, if the authors give a table listing the taxa in several bulk samples or fossiliferous horizons, enter each column of data as a separate collection record.
Likewise, if two papers describe material clearly, entirely collected at completely different times from the same place, make two collection records.
We can always lump such records later when we do analyses; we cannot separate out such collections if they have been lumped during data entry. <i>Lumping collections destroys data.</i><p>

<li>However, <i>don't</i> split every paper as a new collection record.
A "collection" is any set of fossils whose exact geographic and stratigraphic position cannot be distinguished, regardless of when they were collected or described, and by whom.
So, if five people describe five new, unrelated species in five different papers, don't make five collection records unless different physical collections from different places and/or strata are involved.
Instead, enter the occurrences from the oldest paper first, and then add the occurrences from each younger paper in order to the existing taxonomic list.
<i>Do not</i> make a separate collection just because the older paper gave more vague geographic and stratigraphic data - if two taxonomic lists apply to mostly or entirely the same physical set of specimens, there definitely should be only one collection record and taxonomic occurrence list.
If a newer paper merely changes the name of an existing occurrence, use the "Reidentify occurrences" script to record the name change.<p>

<li><i>Never</i> make a new collection record just because your authorizer doesn't own an old record for the same actual hole in the ground.
Instead, add occurrences to the other authorizer's taxonomic list.
The system <i>does</i> allow you to do this.
For example, if authorizer A owns Mazon Creek and put in plants, but you work for authorizer B and want to put in invertebrates, add your occurrences to A's list.<p>

<li>When in doubt, enter the data. Complete lists are very valuable! So, enter all the taxa on the list, including algae, vertebrates, microfossils, trace fossils, etc. <i>Do not</i> exclude taxa just because the taxonomic list is old or you are not an expert in the relevant taxonomic group. Give complete citations. Give the longest possible name for a collection.<p>

<li>The collection record represents our best current knowledge about the collection.
So, if the original paper said "Eocene" but a later paper narrowed the age to "Middle Eocene," enter "Middle Eocene" as the time interval.
Both references need to be associated with the collection, which you do by making each reference in turn your "current" reference, and then editing the collection record while that reference is "current."
<i>Important note:</i> occurrences do <i>not</i> represent the most recent name put on an occurrence that first appeared in an older paper.
Instead, always enter the original name in the occurrence list and then record name changes using the "Reidentify occurrences" function.<p>

<li>Lay off the "submit" button. We <i>know</i> it's really frustrating to wait to hear back from our server once you send in a record - but if you keep hitting "submit," you'll tie up the server even more, slowing down the system and potentially corrupting the data files by creating multiple, identical copies of the same record.
Remember, the extra hang time could just as well be the fault of your browser, your local network, or a logjam on the Internet as a problem with the NCEAS server.<p>

<li><i>Never, ever</i> hit the back button anywhere on the site for any reason if you are doing data entry.
You'll get the wrong web pages or (even worse) end up submitting duplicated or otherwise corrupted data. If it would make things faster to hit the back button in some cases, write us a letter explaining the shortcut you need, and we'll add a shortcut link on the relevant page so you can get "back" in one step.<p>

<b>Important note</b>: if you accidentally create a duplicate or otherwise erroneous reference, collection, occurrence, or reidentification record, here's what you should do.<p>
  <ul>
  <li>Find a paper describing another new reference/collection/occurrence/reID record you need to enter anyway.
  <li>Retrieve the duplicate/erroneous record.
  <li>Write over the existing, duplicate/erroneous data with new, legitimate data.
  <li>If the new data record should be tied to a different collection or occurrence, write the database manager an e-mail and to have the tie changed.
Note that you <i>always</i> can change a reference tie on your own.
  </ul><p>


  
<li>If you are having weird problems with the taxonomic occurrences page (or any of our web pages), it may be your web browser's fault.  Here's what you can do:
 <ul>
 <li>Upgrade the version of your browser.
 <li>Switch to a better browser. We recommend Safari or OmniWeb on Mac OS X, and Netscape or Mozilla on Windows. We recommend <b>not using Internet Explorer</b>, which has caused many bug reports.  Click <A HREF="/public/tips/browser_tips.html">here</A> to read a tip sheet about browser versions.
 <li>Change your preferences to suppress display of subgenera, abundances, and/or plant organs.
 <li>Limit the number of new rows you are given, again by setting your preferences.
 <li>Quit and restart the browser frequently.
 </ul><p>  
  

<li>If you are working from a French, German, Italian, or Spanish language paper, you might want to consult <a href="http://wordreference.com">WordReference.com</a> for help with translation.<p>

<li>Funny characters cannot be entered safely over the web.
We have tried to get our server to handle accents and umlauts and so on, but we can't guarantee that problems won't occur. Therefore  (for example) handle umlauts by adding an "e" after the relevant vowel (e.g., <i>"Fuersich"</i> instead of <i>"Fursich").</i><p>
</ul>

<hr>
<a name="Collections"></a>
<H3>Main collection record</H3>

<H4>Basic information</H4>

<p>
<b><A NAME="BasicInformation"></A>Collection name</b> (up to 80 characters)<br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field, intended to provide a unique identification that may also aid in recognizing close links among collections.  For example, if you are entering multiple collections from the same collection (e.g., a series of consecutive beds), use collection names that reflect their relationship (e.g., "Bully Hill 1.5 meter bed"  and "Bully Hill 2.0 meter bed").</p>

<p>
<b>Also known as</b><br>
An optional field for alternative names by which the collection may be known.  This may permit the recognition in the database of two or more collections contributed by different researchers that were derived from the same, or overlapping, venues.  Museum numbers for collections should also be entered here.<p>

<b>Subset of collection #</b><br>
If this new collection is a spatiotemporal subset of a more general collection, enter the collection ID number of this larger collection.
For example, if you have a new bulk sample from a roadcut and an older, previously entered paper describes the general fauna from the roadcut, create a new collection for the bulk sample and enter the ID number of the older, general faunal collection here.
<i>However,</i> we strongly prefer to avoid entering both general collections and subset collections.
So, never create both general and subset collections if they largely represent the same physical acts of collection.
In other words, don't make two collections if the taxonomic lists pertain to mostly or entirely the same actual specimens.
In those cases, record the small-scale collection and just record some comments mentioning any stray occurrences you can't nail down to a specific hole in the ground.<p>

<b>References</b><br>
The references that should be associated with a collection are computed for you by the system.
Whenever you edit the collection while you are using a reference (i.e., the "current" reference), that reference is associated with the collection record.
Likewise, if you add occurrences to a taxonomic list while using a reference, that reference becomes associated.
We track one reference as the "primary" reference.
The primary reference is the first to be published that (1) appears in a book or peer reviewed journal (if earlier references were in gray literature); (2) gives at least one taxonomic occurrence; and (3) gives key data including the geographic location and geological time interval of the collection.
Once more than one reference is associated with a collection, you can change the one that is designated as the primary reference by clicking a radio button. <p>

<b>Author's main reason for describing collection</b><br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field.
Characterize the intent or subject area of the <i>part</i> of the publication from which the collection was compiled.
Be careful because different parts of one paper might have different purposes.
When in doubt, use the category that best describes the whole paper.
<ul>
<li><i>"biostratigraphic"</i> means described for the purpose of temporal correlation, or in the course of a geological study (e.g., lists given within descriptions of measured sections).
<li><i>"paleoecologic"</i> means described for the purpose of paleoecological analysis, including taxonomic lists that are given without descriptions of fossils and without discussions of temporal correlation.
<li><i>"taphonomic"</i> means described for the purpose of a taphonomic analysis.
<li><i>"taxonomic"</i> means a systematic paleontology treatment, including simple descriptions of fossils.
Use this if the all the taxa are included in a systematic paleontology section, or if the taxonomic list is given only in support of an otherwise taxonomic account of one or a few taxa.
<li><i>"general faunal/floral"</i> means there is no detailed discussion of the age, environment, ecology, preservation, or morphology of the fossils, but a taxonomic list is given. Use this category only if the other ones are too specific.
</ul>

<H4>Geographic information</H4>
<A NAME="GeographicInformation"></A>

<p>
<b>Country</b><br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field. If the country is the USA, write out "USA" and <i>not</i> "US," "U.S.," "U.S.A." or "United States."
If the country is not English speaking, <i>use the English name anyway.</i>
So, write out "Netherlands" and <i>not</i> "Nederland."</p>

<p>
<b>State/province</b><br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field if the country is the USA. Elsewhere, its use is also encouraged (e. g., England is a "state" of the United Kingdom, Ontario is a province of Canada). You must spell out the entire state name; do <i>not</i> use U.S. postal codes like "CA" or "WY."</p>

<p>
<b>County/parish</b><br>
An optional field.<p>

<a name="Coordinates"></a><b>Latitude</b> and <b>Longitude</b><br>
Optional but strongly recommended.  
Record the present-day latitude and longitude (as opposed to paleolatitude and paleolongitude, which are not currently included in this database). "Degrees" must be filled out if anything on these two lines is. Enter minutes and seconds if these are given in the original source; if decimal values are given instead (e.g., "37.823"), enter the part before the decimal point in "Degrees" (e.g., "37") and the part after the decimal point in "Decimal value" (e.g., "823"). <i>Do not fill in both the minutes fields and the decimal field.</i> So if you have data like "37 degrees 21.57 minutes," convert the ".57" part into seconds (in this case, 34.2 seconds). Note that you can put decimal values in the seconds field, just not in the minutes field.<p>
You can use any of the following search engines to obtain coordinates:<p>
<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.statoids.com/statoids">Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids")</a> (names and other facts)
<li><a href="http://www.astro.com/cgi-bin/atlw3/aq.cgi?lang=e">Astrodienst Atlas Query</a> (coordinates of towns)
<li><a href="http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/find_a_place/index_html">The Atlas of Canada</a> (coordinates of place and feature names)
<li><a href="http://www.dmap.co.uk/utmworld.htm">DMAP UTM Grid Zones of the World</a>
<li><a href="http://gnswww.nga.mil/geonames/GNS/index.jsp">Geonames Query</a> (good source for non-US place names)
<li><a href="http://www.fallingrain.com/world/">Global Gazetteer</a>
<li><a href="http://www.heavens-above.com/countries.asp">Heavens Above</a> (coordinates of towns; global)
<li><a href="http://www.landnetusa.com/">LandNet Corporation</a>'s Interactive Map of the USA
<li><a href="http://www.maptown.com/coordinates.html">Map Town</a>
<li><a href="http://www.meridianworlddata.com/Distance-Calculation.asp">Meridian World Data</a>
<li><a href="http://www.multimap.com">multimap.com</a> (global interactive maps with coordinates)
<li><a href="http://http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/geolex_qs.html">National Geologic Map Database GEOLEX</a> (comprehensive lexicon of stratigraphic terms)
<li><a href="http://www.anotherurl.com/mapping/test.asp">OSGB convert</a> (English grid system conversion)
<li><a href="http://www.esg.montana.edu/gl/trs-data.html">Township and range to lat/long converter</a> for selected Western states
<li><a href="http://www.traveljournals.net/explore">Traveljournals.net</a> (coordinates arranged alphabetically; global)
<li><a href="http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer/">USGS EarthExplorer</a>
<li><a href="http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnis/web_query.gnis_web_query_form">USGS GNIS</a> (good source for US place names)
<li><a href="http://www.tandt.be/wis/index.html">UTM converter</a>
<li><a href="http://www.cellspark.com/UTM.html">UTM converter</a> at cellspark.com (recommended)
</ul>

<p>
<b>Basis of coordinate</b><br>
If at all possible, record the information you used to obtain this latitude/longitude coordinate.</p>

<ul>
<li>"<i>stated in text</i>" means the coordinate is directly taken from what the authors said in the text
<li>"<i>based on nearby landmark</i>" means the coordinate is that of a town, mountaintop, river, etc. that is nearby the fossil locality
<li>"<i>based on political unit</i>" means based on the midpoint, or any other point falling within, a county, state, province, country, etc.
<li>"<i>estimated from map</i>" means a coordinate read or measured off of a map that includes latitude/longitude markings - this does include coordinates based on township and range data!
<li>"<i>unpublished field data</i>" means the coordinate was taken from a museum database or unpublished field notes
</ul>

<p>
<b>Scale of geographic resolution</b><br>
From the pop-up menu, select the resolution that best characterizes your collection. Err on the side of conservatism: if you know the collection is from a particular road cut but don't know if it does or doesn't come from a small excavation within the road cut, enter "outcrop" instead of "small collection." If no information is given, do not make a selection. Terms are defined as follows:
</p>
<ul>
<li>"<i>small collection</i>" means from an area < 10 x 10 m, e.g., a single fossil, an individual bulk sample, or a small quarry
<li>"<i>outcrop</i>" means from an area < 1 x 1 km, e.g., a large quarry, road cut, or wash
<li>"<i>local area</i>" means from an area < 100 x 100 km, e.g., approximately a one-by-one degree lat/long rectangle or the size of most individual counties in the USA
<li>"<i>basin</i>" means from any area > 100 x 100 km
</ul>
<p>

<b>Location details</b>
Provide any additional information that you think is important with respect to the geographic location of the collection.
Do <i>not</i> put museum collection numbers or alternative locality names here; put them in the "Also known as" field.
If the lat/lon for the geographic location were taken from a GPS device or interpolated from a large-scale map, please record here the datum for the lat/lon coordinates (e.g., NADConus27, WGS84). A large-scale map shows a small land area in great detail.<p>

<H4>Stratigraphic information</H4>
<A NAME="StratigraphicInformation"></A>

<p>
<b>Period,</b> <b>Epoch/series,</b> <b>International age/stage</b>, and <b>Local age/stage</b><br>
These fields were used previously to record time data, but have now been abandoned.
The field contents are printed when you view an old collection but will be empty for a new collection.
The information is printed to help you correct the data in the <i>Time interval</i> field (see).</p>

<p>
<b>Time interval</b><br>
Enter the zone, age/stage, epoch, or period from which your collection is drawn.
Use the most precise term you can.
Most geographically localized terms like "Wasatchian" and "Richmondian."
If the time interval's name starts with "Late," "Upper," "Middle," etc., use the pull-down menu to select the proper term.
<i>Do not</i> type these terms into the input field.
Note that the "Early/Middle/Late" pull-down menu is <i>not</i> required.
If the age of the collection spans more than one interval, put the oldest (= maximum) time interval in the first input field and the youngest in the second.
Example: the collection is "Late Triassic to Early Jurassic."
Put "Triassic" at the left and "Jurassic" at the right, with the left and right pull-downs set to "Late/Upper" and "Early/Lower," respectively.
If a collection is known to span, or could span, multiple intervals, ignore the ones in between.
So, if the span is as the Givetian, Frasnian, and Fammenian stages, then the maximum is "Givetian" and the minimum is "Fammenian."
If the maximum and minimum values are identical, only the first field needs to be filled in.
Do <i>not</i> put words like "epoch," "series," "age," or "stage" in these fields!
This is the only <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> stratigraphic information field.<p>

<b>Group</b>, <b>Formation</b>, and <b>Member</b><br>
Names of stratigraphic units yielding the fossils.
Always enter the formation name if it is available.
<b>Important</b>: do <i>not</i> put the terms "group," "formation," "fm.", "member," or "mbr." in these fields.<p>

<b>Local section name</b><br>
An optional field used most often if the collection is a horizon within a measured section or core. Enter the name of the section or core; abbreviations are acceptable as long as they are used consistently. You <i>must</i> provide a unique name for every local section. So "3" is not acceptable because all sorts of sections are section "3"; you want to enter something like "Ajax Mining Company Quarry Section 3" instead.<p>

<b>Bed/horizon</b><br>
The number, letter, or other identifier of the bed or horizon yielding the fossil collection. Make this a single string if possible.<p>

<b>Numbered from</b><br>
The direction in which the section was numbered. <i>Bottom to top</i> means that the lowest bed is bed 1 (or A, or what have you) and the highest has the highest number; <i>top to bottom</i> is the reverse; and <i>no particular order</i> means just that.
For lettered sections, do use the bottom-top or top-bottom values if that makes any sense (e.g., if the lowest bed is bed A, the next one is B, etc.).<p>

<b>Basinal/regional section name</b><br>
The name of a generalized section including the collection. Do not use this for measured sections, which are local by definition. Do use it for units within a sequence stratigraphic scheme, or for intervals within a long-distance correlational scheme based on (say) geochemical matching of ash fall horizons.<p>

<b>Scale of stratigraphic resolution</b><br>
Select the scale of the stratigraphic unit that includes the fossils.
For example, if the collection is from more than one member of a formation then pick "formation"; if it is from throughout a measured section that spans the exposure of a full member, then pick "member," but if it is from just part of the member then pick "group of beds"; if it is from two thin beds that are immediately superposed in an outcrop, pick "group of beds" and not "bed."
If you are unsure, don't make a selection.<p>

<b>Comments about stratigraphy</b><br>
Provide any additional information that you think is important with respect to the stratigraphic delineation of the collection.
Most biostratigraphic zone names (e.g., most of those based on pollen, conodonts, forams, ammonites, nannoplankton, or graptolites) should go here.<p>


<h4>Other geological information</h4>

<p>
<b>Original, complete description of lithology</b><br>
Quote the entire description of the lithology if it includes <i>any</i> information you can't record in the other fields of this section.
Even if there is just a word difference like "carbonate" vs. "lime," the description should be quoted in full.
The purpose of the field is to make it possible to revise this section if we change the fields later on.</p>

<p>
<b>Lithology adjectives</b><br>
The form provides pop-up menus for <i>as many as four adjectives</i> that describe the lithologies. Each of the four lithology adjective menus and the two lithology menus provides an identical list of choices.  <i>Review the lithology adjectives</i> carefully before making selections; they include several different classes of information.<p>

<b>Lithification</b><br>
If the extent of lithification is known, the most appropriate characterization should be selected from the pop-up menu provided below the lithology adjectives. Do <i>not</i> make a selection if the only information is that the lithology is a "clay" (which does not necessarily mean unlithified) or a "claystone" (not necessarily lithified).
If one lithology is lithified and the other is unlithified, select "poorly lithified."<p>

<b>Primary lithology</b><br>
The lithology that makes up most of the exposure (for an outcrop) or part of the core that was studied (for a sample from a core).
If it is not clear which lithology dominates, list them in the order that they are mentioned in the text.
If more than two lithologies are mentioned, pick the two that are most important or yield most of the fossils.
The <a href="javascript: tipsPopup('/public/tips/lithtips.html')">terms</a> are explained on another page.<p>

<b>Fossils collected from this lithology?</b><br>
Check this box only if there are two lithologies and there is specific information stating that the fossils in this collection came from this lithology.
If there is no information or if there is only one lithology, don't check the box. If both lithologies definitely include fossils, check both boxes.<p>

<b>Secondary lithology</b><br>
The lithology that makes up less than half of the exposure or part of the core.<p>

<b>Paleoenvironment</b><br>
Several pop-up menus are provided for different kinds of paleoenvironmental settings.  Select a description from <i>only one</i> of them.  Note: each menu is headed by a general classification in that category that you should use only if a more precise determination is not possible. Full <a href="javascript: tipsPopup('/public/tips/environtips.html')">details</a> are given on a second page.<p>

<b>Tectonic setting</b><br>
Full <a href="javascript: tipsPopup('/public/tips/environtips.html#TectonicSetting')">details</a> are given on a second page.<p>

<b>Comments about geology</b><br>
Provide any additional information that you think is important with respect to the geologic attributes of the collection.<p>

<h4>Taphonomy</h4>

<p>
<b>Modes of preservation</b><br>
These boxes record the kind of fossils that are present (body, cast, etc.) and the mineral composition of the fossils.
Check as many of them as apply to any of the fossils in the collection.
Check boxes only if you have unambiguous information; just because you suspect that the fossils are actual body fossils and not molds or casts doesn't mean you should check a box. Impressions, casts, and molds are fossils with none of the original biomineralized or organic tissue preserved. These three categories are differentiated from each other as follows:</p>

<ul>
<li>"<i>impression</i>" may be a 2D fossil (e.g., leaf impression)
<li>"<i>cast</i>" means a 3D fossil that is a <i>positive</i> image of the original
<li>"<i>mold</i>" means a 3D fossil that is a <i>negative</i> image of the original
</ul>

<p>
<b>Original biominerals or organics, if preserved</b><br>
These values refer to the ORIGINAL composition of the skeleton if it is preserved. Do not use this section if the original biominerals have been completely replaced. For the latter, see "Replacement minerals" below.</p>

<p>
<b>Replacement/permineralization minerals</b><br>
These values refer to the secondary or tertiary minerals that have replaced the original biomineralized or organic tissues of the organism.  These include void-filling minerals in the case of permineralization. "apatite" means as in bones and conodonts; "other" includes barite, chlorite, and glauconite.<p>

<b>Special modes of occurrence</b><br>
<ul>
<li>"amber": includes true amber, copal, dammar, and a few other things, we suspect.
<li>"concretion": Mazon creek nodules are one end member, but mineral encrustations should be considered as incipient concretion formation
<li>"coprolite": fossil feces; includes cololite (intestinal casts)
<li>"midden": accumulation of fecal matter or other debris concentrated by an organism's behavior
</ul>

<p>
<b>Lagerst&auml;tten type</b><br>
This field is reserved for extraordinary fossil deposits in which an unusually rich biological record is preserved.</p>

<ul>
<li>"conservation" means an extraordinary assemblage in which soft tissue and other fine structures generally are preserved, such as the Burgess Shale, Balboa fish beds, Hunsruck, etc.
<li>"concentration" means a thick and dense accumulation of fossils formed by biological or physical (e.g., winnowing) condensation of biomineralized elements such as the Agate Springs bone bed, Calvert Cliffs coquinas, Petrified Forest, etc.
</ul>

<p>
<b>Concentration of fossils</b><br>
The measure of dispersal among individual elements within a defined sedimentary unit (e.g., lamina, bed).  Concentrated should only be selected if a more precise designation is not provided or specified in the reference.  If a more precise designation is available, select one of the values below characterizing the assemblage genesis.</p>

<ul>
<li>"dispersed" means isolated or rare elements distributed in a sedimentary unit; no close juxtaposition of elements.
<li>"concentrated" means accumulations in which fossils are abundant at a localized scale; elements may or may not be bioclast supported.  
<li>"single event" means an assemblage that is believed to have originated in one formational process (e.g., single storm deposit, volcanic eruption)
<li>"multiple events" means an assemblage believed to have originated from more than one event resulting in an amalgamated deposit.
<li>"lag" means a condensed or winnowed/reworked residual deposit 
<li>"hiatal" means an assemblage generated by erosion or little or no deposition
<li>"bone bed" means a single sedimentary stratum in which the bone concentration is unusually dense relative to adjacent deposits
<li>"vertebrate microsite" means a single sedimentary deposit in which small vertebrate elements are abundant  relative to adjacent deposits (e.g., ant hill concentrations)
</ul>

<p>
<a name="AssemblageComponents"></a><b>Assemblage components</b><br>
Check all gross size categories that describe the fossils in the taxonomic list.
Check a size category if the greatest length in any direction of the average fossil of any taxon fits into that category.
Hence, if you have a 12 mm bivalve and a 3 mm gastropod, check both <i>macrofossil</i> (for the bivalve) and <i>mesofossil</i> (for the gastropod).</p>

<ul>
<li>"macrofossils": a <i>macrofossil</i> is at least 10 mm (1 cm) long
<li>"mesofossils": a <i>mesofossil</i> is between 1 mm and 10 mm long
<li>"microfossil": a <i>microfossil</i> is less than 1 mm long
</ul>

<p>
<b>Spatial orientation</b><br>
This field applies to the dominant orientation of the organisms in the assemblage.</p>
<ul>
<li>"life position" means most individuals are positioned as they were when living (e.g., obrution deposit)
<li>"random" means no preferential orientation can be distinguished
<li>"preferred" means some directionality in alignment or organization of elements in the assemblage
</ul>

<p>
<b>Preservation of anatomical detail</b><br>
This represents the most common type of preservation in the assemblage as indicated in the publication (text and/or plates) or as identified from the collection under consideration.</p>
<ul>
<li>"excellent": delicate and fine-scale features are obvious (e.g., feathers, cellular detail, spines,  thin-delicate projections, original color pattern, soft tissues) on complete specimens
<li>"good": hard part morphology readily visible and unaltered, may be  partly fragmented
<li>"medium": overall morphology preserved but delicate features are degraded if known in the taxon; assignment to family level or below is still possible
<li>"poor": highly degraded or fragmented, few if any diagnostic characteristics are present
<li>"variable": this term is restricted to circumstances where disparate preservational styles occur in the same collection/assemblage
</ul>

<p>
<b>Articulation/element representation</b><br>
These fields are intended to characterize the assemblage elements in a qualitative sense.  Each of the four categories should be completed with none, some, many, or all as applicable.
Pull down "some" if there is at least one fossil in the category, even if you don't know the total.
You may pull down values as minimum estimates for some categories and leave others blank.
The terms "major" and "minor" refer to the part's size relative to the body and <i>not</i> to its anatomical or taxonomic importance. Elements are "minor" if they are relatively small and (often) serially repeated.</p>

<ul>
<li>"articulated whole bodies": more than half of the body is associated and articulated.
<li>"associated major elements": elements that are articulated or disarticulated, but definitely associated to form single individuals; the elements form much of the body. Examples: calyx with stem, pygidium with thoracic segments; vertebrate head with vertebral columns, whole limbs, vertebral column with ribs and hot sauce; branch with attached leaves.
<li>"disassociated major elements": elements that individually form much of the body, but cannot be associated to form single individuals. Examples: calyx, cranidium, pygidium; vertebrate femur, humerus, mandible with or without teeth; cones, leaves, fronds.
<li>"disassociated minor elements": Examples: crinoid stem ossicles, osteoderms, phalanges, scutes, spines, teeth, vertebrae; cone scales, flowers, fruits, palynomorphs, seeds.
</ul>

<p>
<b>Size sorting</b><br>
The variation in bioclast size within the assemblage.</p>
<ul>
<li>"poor" means a wide array of bioclast sizes exists; approximately equal numbers of all clast sizes
<li>"moderate" means a dominant mode of clast size with notable tails
<li>"good" means a single size-class dominates
</ul>

<p>
<b>Fragmentation</b><br>
A qualitative assessment of the degree to which individual elements in the assemblage are broken.</p>

<p>
<b>Bioerosion</b><br>
A qualitative assessment of the degree to which individual elements in the assemblage were bored, excavated, dissolved, etc. by other organisms.<p>

<b>Encrustation</b><br>
A qualitative assessment of the degree to which individual elements in the assemblage have been overgrown by one or more organisms.<p>

<b>Feeding/predation traces</b><br>
<p>
Check all of the following that apply to specimens within the collection based either on original reference or other unambiguous source.

<ul>
<li>"drill holes": singular perforations that can be attributed to predatory/parasitic activity 
<li>"repair scars": breakage, fracture, or other sublethal damage to an organism that shows evidence of healing
<li>"fractures": breakage sustained by an organism that shows no evidence of healing
<li>"punctures": irregular perforations or indentations that can be attributed to predatory/parasitic activity
<li>"tooth marks": punctures or grooves that can be attributed to processing by dental apparatus (shearing plates, teeth, etc.)
<li>"gastric dissolution": pitting and etching that can be attributed to acid dissolution within a gut 
<li>"margin feeding": evidence of biting, chewing, or removal of tissues along the margin of a leaf or pinnule (photosynthetic unit)
<li>"mining": evidence of subcutaneous ingestion of tissues within a photosynthetic unit
<li>"coprolite": bone, plant, or shell-bearing fecal deposit
</ul>

<p>
<b>Temporal resolution</b><br>
An estimate of time averaging (temporal mixing) of the assemblage, indicating the degree of non-contemporaneous nature of the fossils.</p>
<ul>
<li>"snapshot" means a single event deposit representing geologically instantaneous accumulation (e.g., minutes, hours, days, months)
<li>"time-averaged" means prolonged or episodic accumulation is represented within an assemblage; the total time can range from years to millennia
<li>"condensed" means records that include mixtures of fossils over longer time scales, representing 10s of thousands to millions of years
</ul>

<p>
<b>Spatial resolution</b><br>
These terms relate to the predominant relationship of the assemblage to the life habitats of the organisms.</p>

<ul>
<li>"autochthonous" means a fossil assemblage that is preserved in its growth or ecological habitat of the constituent organisms
<li>"parautochthonous" means a fossil assemblage comprised of elements derived locally but not preserved in situ
<li>"allochthonous" means a fossil assemblage comprised of elements that are not derived locally but have been transported some distance outside of their growth or ecological habit
</ul>

<p>
<b>Comments on taphonomy</b><br>
Add taphonomically relevant information and/or interpretations of the author(s) concerning the processes responsible for assemblage formation.</p>

<h4>Collecting information</h4>

<p>
Select as many check boxes from any or all of the rows in this section that you need to further characterize the collection.</p>

<p>
<b>What is <i>not</i> included in the list?</b><br>
The categories pertain to the taxa that <i>could</i> have been listed because they were definitely present in the outcrop or collections, but weren't listed.
This field is the basis for determining the "quality" of the reporting, not the type of preservation: did the author collect, prepare, and report all of the taxa that could have been collected, prepared, and reported if they had bothered? <!-- just like Jack wanted it -->
<b>IMPORTANT</b>: This field is frequently misused to record all categories of taxa that <i>might have been present</i> but weren't reported, as opposed to those that <i>definitely were present</i> but weren't reported.
Be very careful not to do this. The idea is to <i>only</i> record cases where the author clearly indicates they are leaving something out.
<p>

<ul>
<li><i>"all microfossils"</i> or <i>"all macrofossils"</i> means that even though no genera in this size category were listed, the author does specifically say that fossils in this size category were present. Do <i>not</i> check "all microfossils" just because <i>you</i> think that they <i>might</i> have been present in the rocks.
<li><i>"some microfossils"</i> or <i>"some macrofossils"</i> means that the author specifically says that one or more major groups in this size category are present, but doesn't list the genera. For example, check the "some macrofossils" box if "bivalves" or "fishes" were present but individual genera in these groups were not listed.
<li><i>"some genera"</i> means that only selected genera in one or more groups were reported. For example, check this if an author reports only the "important" genera for determining age, environment, or paleobiogeography; or reports one group very thoroughly but only lists "common" or "key" genera in the other groups.
<li><i>"species names"</i> means genus names are listed and the fossils are clearly specifically determinable, but few or none of the species names are given.
<li><i>"difficult macrofossils"</i> means that one or more groups that are hard to identify are present and the author indeed made no serious effort to identify them.
Identifying these kinds of fossils typically requires either difficult preparation, study under a microscope, or detailed morphometric analyses.
Common examples are bryozoans and crinoids.
A counter-example is snake vertebrate, which are not "difficult macrofossils" even though they are rarely identified due to lack of expertise and/or interest; in cases like this one, select "some macrofossils" instead. 
</ul>

<p>
<b>Collection types</b></p>
<ul>
<li><i>"field collection"</i> means material collected and studied by the investigators.
<li><i>"observed (not collected)"</i> means material identified in the field but not brought back.
<li><i>"survey of museum collection"</i> means material studied in a museum but not collected by the investigators (typically, this includes historical collections).
<li>Check "<i>rock shop</i>" if at all possible.
</ul>

<p>
<b>Collection methods</b></p>
<ul>
<li>"<i>bulk</i>" means that all the fossils in a set volume of rock, or on an all surfaces of slabs of rock, were identified.
<li>"<i>core</i>" means that the fossils came from a core, regardless of whether all material was identified.
<li>"<i>selective quarrying</i>" means that a trench, pit, or quarry was dug to collect the fossils, but not everything was necessarily identified (if it was, then call it a <i>bulk</i> collection).
<li>"<i>salvage</i>" means that some fossils, but not all, were collected during an excavation intended for some other purpose (e.g., construction).
<li>"<i>surface (float)</i>" means that loose fossils were picked up at the surface.
<li>"<i>surface (in situ)</i>" means that fossils were found embedded in the rock but that no extensive quarrying or coring was done to collect them.
<li>"<i>anthill</i>" means that fossils were picked from the debris on the tops of anthills (a common method of collecting small vertebrates).
</ul>

<p>
<b>Preparation methods</b><br>
Check "sieve" for wet or dry screen-washed collections.
</p>

<p>
<b>Collection size</b><br>
This field is meant to record the total number of specimens or individuals for the entire fossil collection, if known.
Enter the total count if and only if: 1) a total is mentioned somewhere in the paper, but 2) no breakdown by species, or only a percentage breakdown, is given.
Make sure to select the units ("specimens" or "individuals") from the accompanying pull-down.
Rough estimates like "12,000" are okay but words like "many" are not.
Also, do not enter a number if it pertains only to part of the identified biota (e.g., to the brachiopods only).<p>

<b>Amount of rock censused</b><br>
Select the units (e.g., "cm (line intercept)") from the accompanying pull-down menu and enter the number in the text area.<p>

<b>Comments about collection </b>or<B> the taxonomic list</B><br>

Provide any additional information that you think is important with respect to the collection, or, in the second box, about the the taxonomic list that will be entered on the next page.<p>

<hr>
<a name="Occurrences"></a>
<H3>Taxonomic occurrences</H3>
<p>

<b>Genus name modifier</b><br>
An optional menu of modifiers like "aff." and "cf." that apply to the genus name. You may not enter more than one modifier, so pick the most relevant one. In
order of preference, these are "n. gen.," "aff.," "cf.," "ex gr.," and "?". 
So if a record says "? cf. Xus yus" you should select "cf.," not "?".
"n. gen." is important because it means that the genus was first described in this reference. IMPORTANT: only check this off if the type specimen <i>of the type species</i> comes from this particular collection (not just any collection mentioned in the same paper).
Do not pull down "n. gen." if a species is new but it is <i>not</i> the type species of the genus!
<p>
What the modifiers mean:
<p>
<ul>"<i>n. gen.</i>" = new genus
<li>"<i>aff.</i>" = related to but not the same as
<li>"<i>cf.</i>" = similar to but not definitely the same as
<li>"<i>ex gr.</i>" = of the group including (similar to "aff.")
<li>"<i>?</i>" = questionably identified as (similar to "cf.")
</ul>

<b>Genus</b><br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field. Basic rules:<p>

<ul>
<li>Always capitalize genus or higher-order names. Enter "Mytilus" or "Theropoda" and not "mytilus," "theropoda, "MYTILUS," or "THEROPODA."
<li>Never enter anything other than genus and higher-order names. The common terms "aff.," "cf.," "ex gr.," "n. gen." and "?" are handled by the preceding pull-down menu. If there are any additional modifiers, do not try to enter them in this field; instead, rewrite the entire verbatim identification including these modifiers in the comment field.
<li>Always enter records, even if the taxa are generically indeterminate. So you <i>do</i> put the family, order, class, or phylum name in this field.
<li>Always flag higher-order names. Do this by putting "indet." in the <b>species</b> field - not in the genus field!

<li>Never enter any extra punctuation. Quotation marks cannot be entered; if you think they indicate something important, enter the entire verbatim identification including the quotes in the comment field.
<li>Never enter subgenus names in this field. Subgenus names go in their own field, so if you have an identification like "Xus (Qus) yus" then enter "Xus" in the genus field, "Qus" in the subgenus field, and "yus" n the species field.
<li>Never enter abbreviations. If an identification says "Xus cf. X. yus," ignore the "X." part. Repeating an abbreviation for the genus name is grammatically correct but totally uninformative, so you should not bother to record this redundant information anywhere on the form.
<li>Avoid entering informal English names for higher taxa. If the reference says "horse," enter "Equidae" here, "indet." in the species field, and "horse" (in quotes) in the comment field. Similarly, for "bryozoan," "coral," "crinoid," and "shark" enter "Bryozoa," "Anthozoa," "Crinoidea," and "Chondrichthyes."
<li>For an informal species name, enter the higher order Latin name in the genus/higher taxon field, enter the term they used in the species field, and flag it as informal. For example, if the author listed "striated stem," enter "Plantae" in the genus field, enter "striated stem" in the species field, and pull down "informal." If the author listed a standardized morphotype such as "WA56" for a leaf in the family Betulaceae, enter "Betulaceae" in the genus field, enter "WA56" in the species field, and pull down "informal."
</ul>
<p>

<b>Species name modifier</b><br>
An optional menu of modifiers that apply to the species name. As with the genus name modifier, pick the most relevant term in order of preference: "n. sp.," "aff.," "cf.," "ex gr.," and finally "?". 
So if a record says "Xus cf. yus?" you should select "cf.," not "?".
<i>Only</i> check off "n. sp." if this particular collection includes the type specimen - just because the species is first described in the same paper does not mean that every record of the species should be checked off as "n. sp."
<p>

<b>Species</b><br>
More rules:<p>
<ul>
<li>Never leave this field blank. Write out "indet." if the genus is unknown and "sp." or "spp." if the genus is known but the species is not known.
<li>If there are multiple unnamed species in the same genus but the author doesn't list them, create a single record for all of them and enter "spp." in the species name field; don't write out a separate record for each unnamed species.
<li>However, if the author lists separate species such as "sp. 1" and "sp. 2" or "sp. A" and "sp. B," make a separate occurrence record for each numbered or lettered species, enter the species name just as the author wrote it out, and pull down the "informal" value for each occurrence from the species name modifier pull-down to the left.
<li>Always enter the entire species name in lower case letters. Enter "jonesi" and not "Jonesi" or "JONESI." Old publications often capitalize species names that are based on proper nouns (e.g., "Alaskensis"); ignore this and follow the all-lower-case rule (so enter "alaskensis").
<li>Never put subspecies names in this field. If a subspecific identification is given, just put the species name here, and then explain the situation in the comment field.
For example, if you have an identification like "Xus yus zus," put "Xus" in the genus field, "yus" in the species field, and "X. yus zus" in the comment field.
<li>Same goes for "varieties" or "variations" or "morphs." If multiple varieties are said to be present but are not numbered or lettered, give the species just one record and then list all varieties together in the comment field.
However, if a series of "morphs" is listed and each one is numbered or listed, make multiple occurrence records and select the "informal" value for each one from the modifier pull-down.
<li>As with the genus field, never enter modifiers, extra punctuation, subgenus names, or anything other than the species name itself (remember, modifiers and subgenus names go in their own fields). Handle these cases as with genera, i.e., by using the species name modifier pull-down and recording verbatim identifications when they include unusual modifiers, punctuation, or subgenus names.
</ul>
<p>

<a name="Abundance"></a>
<b>Abundance</b><br>
Optional, so the occurrence still will "count" even if you leave this field blank. Integers and real numbers are both okay.<p>

<b>Abundance unit</b><br>
This is required if you have entered a value in the preceding field. If you do not make a selection, the default value will be "specimens," which may not be correct.<p>

<b>Paleobiology Database ref #</b><br>
Enter the ID number of the relevant reference if the occurrence is not documented in the same reference as the collection, but instead comes from another source. For example, if the main collection reference is about crinoids and a second reference adds some identifications of brachiopods, write in the Paleobiology Database ID number of the brachiopod reference whenever you enter an identification from that paper.<p>

<b>Comments</b><br>
If you have modified the identification that originally appeared in the main reference, make sure to add a comment indicating what you have done and describing the original identification.<p>

<b>Classification</b><br>
After you submit the occurrences, you will see a taxonomic list that includes the appropriate higher order names (class, order, and family) that go along with each occurrence.
If a name is not classified or the higher order names are wrong, take the following steps:
<ul>
<li>Make sure the name is on the master list of names (= the "authorities" table) by using the "Add/edit taxonomic name" function to look for it.
<li>The version we have actually may be a different thing (e.g., your name is of a plant and we only have a record for an animal name that is spelt the same way). If so, then create a new authority record, and afterwards create an opinion record.
<li>If the name is on the master list but is simply not classified, use the "Add/edit taxonomic opinion" function to record the next higher taxon it belongs to (e.g., for a genus, record the family, subfamily, or tribe it belongs to).
</ul>

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<h2>Collection and Occurrence Data Entry Tip Sheet</h2>
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<font size=-1>
<i>This page was written by <NAME> and <NAME>, March 1999; revised by Alroy, 17/21 June 1999, 8 September 2000, and by the taphonomy working group, 26 October 2001, 25 February 2002.
It gives information on the <a href="#Collections">main collection record form</a> and <a href="#Occurrences">taxonomic occurrences form</a>.</i>
</font>

<hr>

<h3>General comments</h3>

<h4>This section is very important. Please read all of it very carefully.</h4>

<ul>
<li>If you have any questions, please write to either the <a href="/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?user=Guest&action=displayPage&page=personnel">Database coordinator</a> or <a href="/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?user=Guest&action=displayPage&page=personnel">Database manager</a>.<p>

<li>Each data record should include <i>one</i> fossil collection.
A geographic locality or stratigraphic level may include many collections.
So, if the authors give a table listing the taxa in several bulk samples or fossiliferous horizons, enter each column of data as a separate collection record.
Likewise, if two papers describe material clearly, entirely collected at completely different times from the same place, make two collection records.
We can always lump such records later when we do analyses; we cannot separate out such collections if they have been lumped during data entry. <i>Lumping collections destroys data.</i><p>

<li>However, <i>don't</i> split every paper as a new collection record.
A "collection" is any set of fossils whose exact geographic and stratigraphic position and date of collection cannot be distinguished, regardless of when they were described, and by whom.
So, if five people describe five new, unrelated species in five different papers, don't make five collection records unless different physical collections from different places and/or strata are involved.
Instead, enter the occurrences from the oldest paper first, and then add the occurrences from each younger paper in order to the existing taxonomic list.
<i>Do not</i> make a separate collection just because the older paper gave more vague geographic and stratigraphic data - if two taxonomic lists apply to mostly or entirely the same physical set of specimens, there definitely should be only one collection record and taxonomic occurrence list.
If a newer paper merely changes the name of an existing occurrence, use the "Reidentify occurrences" script to record the name change.<p>

<li><i>Never</i> make a new collection record just because your authorizer doesn't own an old record for the same actual hole in the ground.
Instead, add occurrences to the other authorizer's taxonomic list.
The system <i>does</i> allow you to do this.
For example, if authorizer A owns Mazon Creek and put in plants, but you work for authorizer B and want to put in invertebrates, add your occurrences to A's list.<p>

<li>When in doubt, enter the data. Complete lists are very valuable! So, enter all the taxa on the list, including algae, vertebrates, microfossils, trace fossils, etc. <i>Do not</i> exclude taxa just because the taxonomic list is old or you are not an expert in the relevant taxonomic group. Give complete citations. Give the longest possible name for a collection.<p>

<li>The collection record represents our best current knowledge about the collection.
So, if the original paper said "Eocene" but a later paper narrowed the age to "Middle Eocene," enter "Middle Eocene" as the time interval.
Both references need to be associated with the collection, which you do by making each reference in turn your "current" reference, and then editing the collection record while that reference is "current."
<i>Important note:</i> occurrences do <i>not</i> represent the most recent name put on an occurrence that first appeared in an older paper.
Instead, always enter the original name in the occurrence list and then record name changes using the "Reidentify occurrences" function.<p>

<li>Lay off the "submit" button. We <i>know</i> it's really frustrating to wait to hear back from our server once you send in a record - but if you keep hitting "submit," you'll tie up the server even more, slowing down the system and potentially corrupting the data files by creating multiple, identical copies of the same record.
Remember, the extra hang time could just as well be the fault of your browser, your local network, or a logjam on the Internet as a problem with the NCEAS server.<p>

<li><i>Never, ever</i> hit the back button anywhere on the site for any reason if you are doing data entry.
You'll get the wrong web pages or (even worse) end up submitting duplicated or otherwise corrupted data. If it would make things faster to hit the back button in some cases, write us a letter explaining the shortcut you need, and we'll add a shortcut link on the relevant page so you can get "back" in one step.<p>

<b>Important note</b>: if you accidentally create a duplicate or otherwise erroneous reference, collection, occurrence, or reidentification record, here's what you should do.<p>
  <ul>
  <li>Find a paper describing another new reference/collection/occurrence/reID record you need to enter anyway.
  <li>Retrieve the duplicate/erroneous record.
  <li>Write over the existing, duplicate/erroneous data with new, legitimate data.
  <li>If the new data record should be tied to a different collection or occurrence, write the database manager an e-mail and to have the tie changed.
Note that you <i>always</i> can change a reference tie on your own.
  </ul><p>


  
<li>If you are having weird problems with the taxonomic occurrences page (or any of our web pages), it may be your web browser's fault.  Here's what you can do:
 <ul>
 <li>Upgrade the version of your browser.
 <li>Switch to a better browser. We recommend Safari or OmniWeb on Mac OS X, and Netscape or Mozilla on Windows. We recommend <b>not using Internet Explorer</b>, which has caused many bug reports.  Click <A HREF="/public/tips/browser_tips.html">here</A> to read a tip sheet about browser versions.
 <li>Change your preferences to suppress display of subgenera, abundances, and/or plant organs.
 <li>Limit the number of new rows you are given, again by setting your preferences.
 <li>Quit and restart the browser frequently.
 </ul><p>  
  

<li>If you are working from a French, German, Italian, or Spanish language paper, you might want to consult <a href="http://wordreference.com">WordReference.com</a> for help with translation.<p>

<li>Funny characters cannot be entered safely over the web.
We have tried to get our server to handle accents and umlauts and so on, but we can't guarantee that problems won't occur. Therefore  (for example) handle umlauts by adding an "e" after the relevant vowel (e.g., <i>"Fuersich"</i> instead of <i>"Fursich").</i><p>
</ul>

<hr>
<a name="Collections"></a>
<H3>Main collection record</H3>

<H4>Basic information</H4>

<p>
<b><A NAME="BasicInformation"></A>Collection name</b> (up to 80 characters)<br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field, intended to provide a unique identification that may also aid in recognizing close links among collections.  For example, if you are entering multiple collections from the same collection (e.g., a series of consecutive beds), use collection names that reflect their relationship (e.g., "Bully Hill 1.5 meter bed"  and "Bully Hill 2.0 meter bed").</p>

<p>
<b>Also known as</b><br>
An optional field for alternative names by which the collection may be known.  This may permit the recognition in the database of two or more collections contributed by different researchers that were derived from the same, or overlapping, venues.  Museum numbers for collections should also be entered here.<p>

<b>Subset of collection #</b><br>
If this new collection is a spatiotemporal subset of a more general collection, enter the collection ID number of this larger collection.
For example, if you have a new bulk sample from a roadcut and an older, previously entered paper describes the general fauna from the roadcut, create a new collection for the bulk sample and enter the ID number of the older, general faunal collection here.
<i>However,</i> we strongly prefer to avoid entering both general collections and subset collections.
So, never create both general and subset collections if they largely represent the same physical acts of collection.
In other words, don't make two collections if the taxonomic lists pertain to mostly or entirely the same actual specimens.
In those cases, record the small-scale collection and just record some comments mentioning any stray occurrences you can't nail down to a specific hole in the ground.<p>

<b>References</b><br>
The references that should be associated with a collection are computed for you by the system.
Whenever you edit the collection while you are using a reference (i.e., the "current" reference), that reference is associated with the collection record.
Likewise, if you add occurrences to a taxonomic list while using a reference, that reference becomes associated.
We track one reference as the "primary" reference.
The primary reference is the first to be published that (1) appears in a book or peer reviewed journal (if earlier references were in gray literature); (2) gives at least one taxonomic occurrence; and (3) gives key data including the geographic location and geological time interval of the collection.
Once more than one reference is associated with a collection, you can change the one that is designated as the primary reference by clicking a radio button. <p>

<b>Author's main reason for describing collection</b><br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field.
Characterize the intent or subject area of the <i>part</i> of the publication from which the collection was compiled.
Be careful because different parts of one paper might have different purposes.
When in doubt, use the category that best describes the whole paper.
<ul>
<li><i>"biostratigraphic"</i> means described for the purpose of temporal correlation, or in the course of a geological study (e.g., lists given within descriptions of measured sections).
<li><i>"paleoecologic"</i> means described for the purpose of paleoecological analysis, including taxonomic lists that are given without descriptions of fossils and without discussions of temporal correlation.
<li><i>"taphonomic"</i> means described for the purpose of a taphonomic analysis.
<li><i>"taxonomic"</i> means a systematic paleontology treatment, including simple descriptions of fossils.
Use this if the all the taxa are included in a systematic paleontology section, or if the taxonomic list is given only in support of an otherwise taxonomic account of one or a few taxa.
<li><i>"general faunal/floral"</i> means there is no detailed discussion of the age, environment, ecology, preservation, or morphology of the fossils, but a taxonomic list is given. Use this category only if the other ones are too specific.
</ul>

<H4>Geographic information</H4>
<A NAME="GeographicInformation"></A>

<p>
<b>Country</b><br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field. If the country is the USA, write out "USA" and <i>not</i> "US," "U.S.," "U.S.A." or "United States."
If the country is not English speaking, <i>use the English name anyway.</i>
So, write out "Netherlands" and <i>not</i> "Nederland."</p>

<p>
<b>State/province</b><br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field if the country is the USA. Elsewhere, its use is also encouraged (e. g., England is a "state" of the United Kingdom, Ontario is a province of Canada). You must spell out the entire state name; do <i>not</i> use U.S. postal codes like "CA" or "WY."</p>

<p>
<b>County/parish</b><br>
An optional field.<p>

<a name="Coordinates"></a><b>Latitude</b> and <b>Longitude</b><br>
Optional but strongly recommended.  
Record the present-day latitude and longitude (as opposed to paleolatitude and paleolongitude, which are not currently included in this database). "Degrees" must be filled out if anything on these two lines is. Enter minutes and seconds if these are given in the original source; if decimal values are given instead (e.g., "37.823"), enter the part before the decimal point in "Degrees" (e.g., "37") and the part after the decimal point in "Decimal value" (e.g., "823"). <i>Do not fill in both the minutes fields and the decimal field.</i> So if you have data like "37 degrees 21.57 minutes," convert the ".57" part into seconds (in this case, 34.2 seconds). Note that you can put decimal values in the seconds field, just not in the minutes field.<p>
You can use any of the following search engines to obtain coordinates:<p>
<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.statoids.com/statoids">Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids")</a> (names and other facts)
<li><a href="http://www.astro.com/cgi-bin/atlw3/aq.cgi?lang=e">Astrodienst Atlas Query</a> (coordinates of towns)
<li><a href="http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/find_a_place/index_html">The Atlas of Canada</a> (coordinates of place and feature names)
<li><a href="http://www.dmap.co.uk/utmworld.htm">DMAP UTM Grid Zones of the World</a>
<li><a href="http://gnswww.nga.mil/geonames/GNS/index.jsp">Geonames Query</a> (good source for non-US place names)
<li><a href="http://www.fallingrain.com/world/">Global Gazetteer</a>
<li><a href="http://www.heavens-above.com/countries.asp">Heavens Above</a> (coordinates of towns; global)
<li><a href="http://www.landnetusa.com/">LandNet Corporation</a>'s Interactive Map of the USA
<li><a href="http://www.maptown.com/coordinates.html">Map Town</a>
<li><a href="http://www.meridianworlddata.com/Distance-Calculation.asp">Meridian World Data</a>
<li><a href="http://www.multimap.com">multimap.com</a> (global interactive maps with coordinates)
<li><a href="http://http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/geolex_qs.html">National Geologic Map Database GEOLEX</a> (comprehensive lexicon of stratigraphic terms)
<li><a href="http://www.anotherurl.com/mapping/test.asp">OSGB convert</a> (English grid system conversion)
<li><a href="http://www.esg.montana.edu/gl/trs-data.html">Township and range to lat/long converter</a> for selected Western states
<li><a href="http://www.traveljournals.net/explore">Traveljournals.net</a> (coordinates arranged alphabetically; global)
<li><a href="http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer/">USGS EarthExplorer</a>
<li><a href="http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnis/web_query.gnis_web_query_form">USGS GNIS</a> (good source for US place names)
<li><a href="http://www.tandt.be/wis/index.html">UTM converter</a>
<li><a href="http://www.cellspark.com/UTM.html">UTM converter</a> at cellspark.com (recommended)
</ul>

<p>
<b>Basis of coordinate</b><br>
If at all possible, record the information you used to obtain this latitude/longitude coordinate.</p>

<ul>
<li>"<i>stated in text</i>" means the coordinate is directly taken from what the authors said in the text
<li>"<i>based on nearby landmark</i>" means the coordinate is that of a town, mountaintop, river, etc. that is nearby the fossil locality
<li>"<i>based on political unit</i>" means based on the midpoint, or any other point falling within, a county, state, province, country, etc.
<li>"<i>estimated from map</i>" means a coordinate read or measured off of a map that includes latitude/longitude markings - this does include coordinates based on township and range data!
<li>"<i>unpublished field data</i>" means the coordinate was taken from a museum database or unpublished field notes
</ul>

<p>
<b>Scale of geographic resolution</b><br>
From the pop-up menu, select the resolution that best characterizes your collection. Err on the side of conservatism: if you know the collection is from a particular road cut but don't know if it does or doesn't come from a small excavation within the road cut, enter "outcrop" instead of "small collection." If no information is given, do not make a selection. Terms are defined as follows:
</p>
<ul>
<li>"<i>small collection</i>" means from an area < 10 x 10 m, e.g., a single fossil, an individual bulk sample, or a small quarry
<li>"<i>outcrop</i>" means from an area < 1 x 1 km, e.g., a large quarry, road cut, or wash
<li>"<i>local area</i>" means from an area < 100 x 100 km, e.g., approximately a one-by-one degree lat/long rectangle or the size of most individual counties in the USA
<li>"<i>basin</i>" means from any area > 100 x 100 km
</ul>
<p>

<b>Location details</b>
Provide any additional information that you think is important with respect to the geographic location of the collection.
Do <i>not</i> put museum collection numbers or alternative locality names here; put them in the "Also known as" field.
If the lat/lon for the geographic location were taken from a GPS device or interpolated from a large-scale map, please record here the datum for the lat/lon coordinates (e.g., NADConus27, WGS84). A large-scale map shows a small land area in great detail.<p>

<H4>Stratigraphic information</H4>
<A NAME="StratigraphicInformation"></A>

<p>
<b>Period,</b> <b>Epoch/series,</b> <b>International age/stage</b>, and <b>Local age/stage</b><br>
These fields were used previously to record time data, but have now been abandoned.
The field contents are printed when you view an old collection but will be empty for a new collection.
The information is printed to help you correct the data in the <i>Time interval</i> field (see).</p>

<p>
<b>Time interval</b><br>
Enter the zone, age/stage, epoch, or period from which your collection is drawn.
Use the most precise term you can.
Most geographically localized terms like "Wasatchian" and "Richmondian."
If the time interval's name starts with "Late," "Upper," "Middle," etc., use the pull-down menu to select the proper term.
<i>Do not</i> type these terms into the input field.
Note that the "Early/Middle/Late" pull-down menu is <i>not</i> required.
If the age of the collection spans more than one interval, put the oldest (= maximum) time interval in the first input field and the youngest in the second.
Example: the collection is "Late Triassic to Early Jurassic."
Put "Triassic" at the left and "Jurassic" at the right, with the left and right pull-downs set to "Late/Upper" and "Early/Lower," respectively.
If a collection is known to span, or could span, multiple intervals, ignore the ones in between.
So, if the span is as the Givetian, Frasnian, and Fammenian stages, then the maximum is "Givetian" and the minimum is "Fammenian."
If the maximum and minimum values are identical, only the first field needs to be filled in.
Do <i>not</i> put words like "epoch," "series," "age," or "stage" in these fields!
This is the only <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> stratigraphic information field.<p>

<b>Group</b>, <b>Formation</b>, and <b>Member</b><br>
Names of stratigraphic units yielding the fossils.
Always enter the formation name if it is available.
<b>Important</b>: do <i>not</i> put the terms "group," "formation," "fm.", "member," or "mbr." in these fields.<p>

<b>Local section name</b><br>
An optional field used most often if the collection is a horizon within a measured section or core. Enter the name of the section or core; abbreviations are acceptable as long as they are used consistently. You <i>must</i> provide a unique name for every local section. So "3" is not acceptable because all sorts of sections are section "3"; you want to enter something like "Ajax Mining Company Quarry Section 3" instead.<p>

<b>Bed/horizon</b><br>
The number, letter, or other identifier of the bed or horizon yielding the fossil collection. Make this a single string if possible.<p>

<b>Numbered from</b><br>
The direction in which the section was numbered. <i>Bottom to top</i> means that the lowest bed is bed 1 (or A, or what have you) and the highest has the highest number; <i>top to bottom</i> is the reverse; and <i>no particular order</i> means just that.
For lettered sections, do use the bottom-top or top-bottom values if that makes any sense (e.g., if the lowest bed is bed A, the next one is B, etc.).<p>

<b>Basinal/regional section name</b><br>
The name of a generalized section including the collection. Do not use this for measured sections, which are local by definition. Do use it for units within a sequence stratigraphic scheme, or for intervals within a long-distance correlational scheme based on (say) geochemical matching of ash fall horizons.<p>

<b>Scale of stratigraphic resolution</b><br>
Select the scale of the stratigraphic unit that includes the fossils.
For example, if the collection is from more than one member of a formation then pick "formation"; if it is from throughout a measured section that spans the exposure of a full member, then pick "member," but if it is from just part of the member then pick "group of beds"; if it is from two thin beds that are immediately superposed in an outcrop, pick "group of beds" and not "bed."
If you are unsure, don't make a selection.<p>

<b>Comments about stratigraphy</b><br>
Provide any additional information that you think is important with respect to the stratigraphic delineation of the collection.
Most biostratigraphic zone names (e.g., most of those based on pollen, conodonts, forams, ammonites, nannoplankton, or graptolites) should go here.<p>


<h4>Other geological information</h4>

<p>
<b>Original, complete description of lithology</b><br>
Quote the entire description of the lithology if it includes <i>any</i> information you can't record in the other fields of this section.
Even if there is just a word difference like "carbonate" vs. "lime," the description should be quoted in full.
The purpose of the field is to make it possible to revise this section if we change the fields later on.</p>

<p>
<b>Lithology adjectives</b><br>
The form provides pop-up menus for <i>as many as four adjectives</i> that describe the lithologies. Each of the four lithology adjective menus and the two lithology menus provides an identical list of choices.  <i>Review the lithology adjectives</i> carefully before making selections; they include several different classes of information.<p>

<b>Lithification</b><br>
If the extent of lithification is known, the most appropriate characterization should be selected from the pop-up menu provided below the lithology adjectives. Do <i>not</i> make a selection if the only information is that the lithology is a "clay" (which does not necessarily mean unlithified) or a "claystone" (not necessarily lithified).
If one lithology is lithified and the other is unlithified, select "poorly lithified."<p>

<b>Primary lithology</b><br>
The lithology that makes up most of the exposure (for an outcrop) or part of the core that was studied (for a sample from a core).
If it is not clear which lithology dominates, list them in the order that they are mentioned in the text.
If more than two lithologies are mentioned, pick the two that are most important or yield most of the fossils.
The <a href="javascript: tipsPopup('/public/tips/lithtips.html')">terms</a> are explained on another page.<p>

<b>Fossils collected from this lithology?</b><br>
Check this box only if there are two lithologies and there is specific information stating that the fossils in this collection came from this lithology.
If there is no information or if there is only one lithology, don't check the box. If both lithologies definitely include fossils, check both boxes.<p>

<b>Secondary lithology</b><br>
The lithology that makes up less than half of the exposure or part of the core.<p>

<b>Paleoenvironment</b><br>
Several pop-up menus are provided for different kinds of paleoenvironmental settings.  Select a description from <i>only one</i> of them.  Note: each menu is headed by a general classification in that category that you should use only if a more precise determination is not possible. Full <a href="javascript: tipsPopup('/public/tips/environtips.html')">details</a> are given on a second page.<p>

<b>Tectonic setting</b><br>
Full <a href="javascript: tipsPopup('/public/tips/environtips.html#TectonicSetting')">details</a> are given on a second page.<p>

<b>Comments about geology</b><br>
Provide any additional information that you think is important with respect to the geologic attributes of the collection.<p>

<h4>Taphonomy</h4>

<p>
<b>Modes of preservation</b><br>
These boxes record the kind of fossils that are present (body, cast, etc.) and the mineral composition of the fossils.
Check as many of them as apply to any of the fossils in the collection.
Check boxes only if you have unambiguous information; just because you suspect that the fossils are actual body fossils and not molds or casts doesn't mean you should check a box. Impressions, casts, and molds are fossils with none of the original biomineralized or organic tissue preserved. These three categories are differentiated from each other as follows:</p>

<ul>
<li>"<i>impression</i>" may be a 2D fossil (e.g., leaf impression)
<li>"<i>cast</i>" means a 3D fossil that is a <i>positive</i> image of the original
<li>"<i>mold</i>" means a 3D fossil that is a <i>negative</i> image of the original
</ul>

<p>
<b>Original biominerals or organics, if preserved</b><br>
These values refer to the ORIGINAL composition of the skeleton if it is preserved. Do not use this section if the original biominerals have been completely replaced. For the latter, see "Replacement minerals" below.</p>

<p>
<b>Replacement/permineralization minerals</b><br>
These values refer to the secondary or tertiary minerals that have replaced the original biomineralized or organic tissues of the organism.  These include void-filling minerals in the case of permineralization. "apatite" means as in bones and conodonts; "other" includes barite, chlorite, and glauconite.<p>

<b>Special modes of occurrence</b><br>
<ul>
<li>"amber": includes true amber, copal, dammar, and a few other things, we suspect.
<li>"concretion": Mazon creek nodules are one end member, but mineral encrustations should be considered as incipient concretion formation
<li>"coprolite": fossil feces; includes cololite (intestinal casts)
<li>"midden": accumulation of fecal matter or other debris concentrated by an organism's behavior
</ul>

<p>
<b>Lagerst&auml;tten type</b><br>
This field is reserved for extraordinary fossil deposits in which an unusually rich biological record is preserved.</p>

<ul>
<li>"conservation" means an extraordinary assemblage in which soft tissue and other fine structures generally are preserved, such as the Burgess Shale, Balboa fish beds, Hunsruck, etc.
<li>"concentration" means a thick and dense accumulation of fossils formed by biological or physical (e.g., winnowing) condensation of biomineralized elements such as the Agate Springs bone bed, Calvert Cliffs coquinas, Petrified Forest, etc.
</ul>

<p>
<b>Concentration of fossils</b><br>
The measure of dispersal among individual elements within a defined sedimentary unit (e.g., lamina, bed).  Concentrated should only be selected if a more precise designation is not provided or specified in the reference.  If a more precise designation is available, select one of the values below characterizing the assemblage genesis.</p>

<ul>
<li>"dispersed" means isolated or rare elements distributed in a sedimentary unit; no close juxtaposition of elements.
<li>"concentrated" means accumulations in which fossils are abundant at a localized scale; elements may or may not be bioclast supported.  
<li>"single event" means an assemblage that is believed to have originated in one formational process (e.g., single storm deposit, volcanic eruption)
<li>"multiple events" means an assemblage believed to have originated from more than one event resulting in an amalgamated deposit.
<li>"lag" means a condensed or winnowed/reworked residual deposit 
<li>"hiatal" means an assemblage generated by erosion or little or no deposition
<li>"bone bed" means a single sedimentary stratum in which the bone concentration is unusually dense relative to adjacent deposits
<li>"vertebrate microsite" means a single sedimentary deposit in which small vertebrate elements are abundant  relative to adjacent deposits (e.g., ant hill concentrations)
</ul>

<p>
<a name="AssemblageComponents"></a><b>Assemblage components</b><br>
Check all gross size categories that describe the fossils in the taxonomic list.
Check a size category if the greatest length in any direction of the average fossil of any taxon fits into that category.
Hence, if you have a 12 mm bivalve and a 3 mm gastropod, check both <i>macrofossil</i> (for the bivalve) and <i>mesofossil</i> (for the gastropod).</p>

<ul>
<li>"macrofossils": a <i>macrofossil</i> is at least 10 mm (1 cm) long
<li>"mesofossils": a <i>mesofossil</i> is between 1 mm and 10 mm long
<li>"microfossil": a <i>microfossil</i> is less than 1 mm long
</ul>

<p>
<b>Spatial orientation</b><br>
This field applies to the dominant orientation of the organisms in the assemblage.</p>
<ul>
<li>"life position" means most individuals are positioned as they were when living (e.g., obrution deposit)
<li>"random" means no preferential orientation can be distinguished
<li>"preferred" means some directionality in alignment or organization of elements in the assemblage
</ul>

<p>
<b>Preservation of anatomical detail</b><br>
This represents the most common type of preservation in the assemblage as indicated in the publication (text and/or plates) or as identified from the collection under consideration.</p>
<ul>
<li>"excellent": delicate and fine-scale features are obvious (e.g., feathers, cellular detail, spines,  thin-delicate projections, original color pattern, soft tissues) on complete specimens
<li>"good": hard part morphology readily visible and unaltered, may be  partly fragmented
<li>"medium": overall morphology preserved but delicate features are degraded if known in the taxon; assignment to family level or below is still possible
<li>"poor": highly degraded or fragmented, few if any diagnostic characteristics are present
<li>"variable": this term is restricted to circumstances where disparate preservational styles occur in the same collection/assemblage
</ul>

<p>
<b>Articulation/element representation</b><br>
These fields are intended to characterize the assemblage elements in a qualitative sense.  Each of the four categories should be completed with none, some, many, or all as applicable.
Pull down "some" if there is at least one fossil in the category, even if you don't know the total.
You may pull down values as minimum estimates for some categories and leave others blank.
The terms "major" and "minor" refer to the part's size relative to the body and <i>not</i> to its anatomical or taxonomic importance. Elements are "minor" if they are relatively small and (often) serially repeated.</p>

<ul>
<li>"articulated whole bodies": more than half of the body is associated and articulated.
<li>"associated major elements": elements that are articulated or disarticulated, but definitely associated to form single individuals; the elements form much of the body. Examples: calyx with stem, pygidium with thoracic segments; vertebrate head with vertebral columns, whole limbs, vertebral column with ribs and hot sauce; branch with attached leaves.
<li>"disassociated major elements": elements that individually form much of the body, but cannot be associated to form single individuals. Examples: calyx, cranidium, pygidium; vertebrate femur, humerus, mandible with or without teeth; cones, leaves, fronds.
<li>"disassociated minor elements": Examples: crinoid stem ossicles, osteoderms, phalanges, scutes, spines, teeth, vertebrae; cone scales, flowers, fruits, palynomorphs, seeds.
</ul>

<p>
<b>Size sorting</b><br>
The variation in bioclast size within the assemblage.</p>
<ul>
<li>"poor" means a wide array of bioclast sizes exists; approximately equal numbers of all clast sizes
<li>"moderate" means a dominant mode of clast size with notable tails
<li>"good" means a single size-class dominates
</ul>

<p>
<b>Fragmentation</b><br>
A qualitative assessment of the degree to which individual elements in the assemblage are broken.</p>

<p>
<b>Bioerosion</b><br>
A qualitative assessment of the degree to which individual elements in the assemblage were bored, excavated, dissolved, etc. by other organisms.<p>

<b>Encrustation</b><br>
A qualitative assessment of the degree to which individual elements in the assemblage have been overgrown by one or more organisms.<p>

<b>Feeding/predation traces</b><br>
<p>
Check all of the following that apply to specimens within the collection based either on original reference or other unambiguous source.

<ul>
<li>"drill holes": singular perforations that can be attributed to predatory/parasitic activity 
<li>"repair scars": breakage, fracture, or other sublethal damage to an organism that shows evidence of healing
<li>"fractures": breakage sustained by an organism that shows no evidence of healing
<li>"punctures": irregular perforations or indentations that can be attributed to predatory/parasitic activity
<li>"tooth marks": punctures or grooves that can be attributed to processing by dental apparatus (shearing plates, teeth, etc.)
<li>"gastric dissolution": pitting and etching that can be attributed to acid dissolution within a gut 
<li>"margin feeding": evidence of biting, chewing, or removal of tissues along the margin of a leaf or pinnule (photosynthetic unit)
<li>"mining": evidence of subcutaneous ingestion of tissues within a photosynthetic unit
<li>"coprolite": bone, plant, or shell-bearing fecal deposit
</ul>

<p>
<b>Temporal resolution</b><br>
An estimate of time averaging (temporal mixing) of the assemblage, indicating the degree of non-contemporaneous nature of the fossils.</p>
<ul>
<li>"snapshot" means a single event deposit representing geologically instantaneous accumulation (e.g., minutes, hours, days, months)
<li>"time-averaged" means prolonged or episodic accumulation is represented within an assemblage; the total time can range from years to millennia
<li>"condensed" means records that include mixtures of fossils over longer time scales, representing 10s of thousands to millions of years
</ul>

<p>
<b>Spatial resolution</b><br>
These terms relate to the predominant relationship of the assemblage to the life habitats of the organisms.</p>

<ul>
<li>"autochthonous" means a fossil assemblage that is preserved in its growth or ecological habitat of the constituent organisms
<li>"parautochthonous" means a fossil assemblage comprised of elements derived locally but not preserved in situ
<li>"allochthonous" means a fossil assemblage comprised of elements that are not derived locally but have been transported some distance outside of their growth or ecological habit
</ul>

<p>
<b>Comments on taphonomy</b><br>
Add taphonomically relevant information and/or interpretations of the author(s) concerning the processes responsible for assemblage formation.</p>

<h4>Collecting information</h4>

<p>
Select as many check boxes from any or all of the rows in this section that you need to further characterize the collection.</p>

<p>
<b>What is <i>not</i> included in the list?</b><br>
The categories pertain to the taxa that <i>could</i> have been listed because they were definitely present in the outcrop or collections, but weren't listed.
This field is the basis for determining the "quality" of the reporting, not the type of preservation: did the author collect, prepare, and report all of the taxa that could have been collected, prepared, and reported if they had bothered? <!-- just like Jack wanted it -->
<b>IMPORTANT</b>: This field is frequently misused to record all categories of taxa that <i>might have been present</i> but weren't reported, as opposed to those that <i>definitely were present</i> but weren't reported.
Be very careful not to do this. The idea is to <i>only</i> record cases where the author clearly indicates they are leaving something out.
<p>

<ul>
<li><i>"all microfossils"</i> or <i>"all macrofossils"</i> means that even though no genera in this size category were listed, the author does specifically say that fossils in this size category were present. Do <i>not</i> check "all microfossils" just because <i>you</i> think that they <i>might</i> have been present in the rocks.
<li><i>"some microfossils"</i> or <i>"some macrofossils"</i> means that the author specifically says that one or more major groups in this size category are present, but doesn't list the genera. For example, check the "some macrofossils" box if "bivalves" or "fishes" were present but individual genera in these groups were not listed.
<li><i>"some genera"</i> means that only selected genera in one or more groups were reported. For example, check this if an author reports only the "important" genera for determining age, environment, or paleobiogeography; or reports one group very thoroughly but only lists "common" or "key" genera in the other groups.
<li><i>"species names"</i> means genus names are listed and the fossils are clearly specifically determinable, but few or none of the species names are given.
<li><i>"difficult macrofossils"</i> means that one or more groups that are hard to identify are present and the author indeed made no serious effort to identify them.
Identifying these kinds of fossils typically requires either difficult preparation, study under a microscope, or detailed morphometric analyses.
Common examples are bryozoans and crinoids.
A counter-example is snake vertebrate, which are not "difficult macrofossils" even though they are rarely identified due to lack of expertise and/or interest; in cases like this one, select "some macrofossils" instead. 
</ul>

<p>
<b>Collection types</b></p>
<ul>
<li><i>"field collection"</i> means material collected and studied by the investigators.
<li><i>"observed (not collected)"</i> means material identified in the field but not brought back.
<li><i>"survey of museum collection"</i> means material studied in a museum but not collected by the investigators (typically, this includes historical collections).
<li>Check "<i>rock shop</i>" if at all possible.
</ul>

<p>
<b>Collection methods</b></p>
<ul>
<li>"<i>bulk</i>" means that all the fossils in a set volume of rock, or on an all surfaces of slabs of rock, were identified.
<li>"<i>core</i>" means that the fossils came from a core, regardless of whether all material was identified.
<li>"<i>selective quarrying</i>" means that a trench, pit, or quarry was dug to collect the fossils, but not everything was necessarily identified (if it was, then call it a <i>bulk</i> collection).
<li>"<i>salvage</i>" means that some fossils, but not all, were collected during an excavation intended for some other purpose (e.g., construction).
<li>"<i>surface (float)</i>" means that loose fossils were picked up at the surface.
<li>"<i>surface (in situ)</i>" means that fossils were found embedded in the rock but that no extensive quarrying or coring was done to collect them.
<li>"<i>anthill</i>" means that fossils were picked from the debris on the tops of anthills (a common method of collecting small vertebrates).
</ul>

<p>
<b>Preparation methods</b><br>
Check "sieve" for wet or dry screen-washed collections.
</p>

<p>
<b>Collection size</b><br>
This field is meant to record the total number of specimens or individuals for the entire fossil collection, if known.
Enter the total count if and only if: 1) a total is mentioned somewhere in the paper, but 2) no breakdown by species, or only a percentage breakdown, is given.
Make sure to select the units ("specimens" or "individuals") from the accompanying pull-down.
Rough estimates like "12,000" are okay but words like "many" are not.
Also, do not enter a number if it pertains only to part of the identified biota (e.g., to the brachiopods only).<p>

<b>Amount of rock censused</b><br>
Select the units (e.g., "cm (line intercept)") from the accompanying pull-down menu and enter the number in the text area.<p>

<b>Comments about collection </b>or<B> the taxonomic list</B><br>

Provide any additional information that you think is important with respect to the collection, or, in the second box, about the the taxonomic list that will be entered on the next page.<p>

<hr>
<a name="Occurrences"></a>
<H3>Taxonomic occurrences</H3>
<p>

<b>Genus name modifier</b><br>
An optional menu of modifiers like "aff." and "cf." that apply to the genus name. You may not enter more than one modifier, so pick the most relevant one. In
order of preference, these are "n. gen.," "aff.," "cf.," "ex gr.," and "?". 
So if a record says "? cf. Xus yus" you should select "cf.," not "?".
"n. gen." is important because it means that the genus was first described in this reference. IMPORTANT: only check this off if the type specimen <i>of the type species</i> comes from this particular collection (not just any collection mentioned in the same paper).
Do not pull down "n. gen." if a species is new but it is <i>not</i> the type species of the genus!
<p>
What the modifiers mean:
<p>
<ul>"<i>n. gen.</i>" = new genus
<li>"<i>aff.</i>" = related to but not the same as
<li>"<i>cf.</i>" = similar to but not definitely the same as
<li>"<i>ex gr.</i>" = of the group including (similar to "aff.")
<li>"<i>?</i>" = questionably identified as (similar to "cf.")
</ul>

<b>Genus</b><br>
A <FONT COLOR="#ff0000">required</FONT> field. Basic rules:<p>

<ul>
<li>Always capitalize genus or higher-order names. Enter "Mytilus" or "Theropoda" and not "mytilus," "theropoda, "MYTILUS," or "THEROPODA."
<li>Never enter anything other than genus and higher-order names. The common terms "aff.," "cf.," "ex gr.," "n. gen." and "?" are handled by the preceding pull-down menu. If there are any additional modifiers, do not try to enter them in this field; instead, rewrite the entire verbatim identification including these modifiers in the comment field.
<li>Always enter records, even if the taxa are generically indeterminate. So you <i>do</i> put the family, order, class, or phylum name in this field.
<li>Always flag higher-order names. Do this by putting "indet." in the <b>species</b> field - not in the genus field!

<li>Never enter any extra punctuation. Quotation marks cannot be entered; if you think they indicate something important, enter the entire verbatim identification including the quotes in the comment field.
<li>Never enter subgenus names in this field. Subgenus names go in their own field, so if you have an identification like "Xus (Qus) yus" then enter "Xus" in the genus field, "Qus" in the subgenus field, and "yus" n the species field.
<li>Never enter abbreviations. If an identification says "Xus cf. X. yus," ignore the "X." part. Repeating an abbreviation for the genus name is grammatically correct but totally uninformative, so you should not bother to record this redundant information anywhere on the form.
<li>Avoid entering informal English names for higher taxa. If the reference says "horse," enter "Equidae" here, "indet." in the species field, and "horse" (in quotes) in the comment field. Similarly, for "bryozoan," "coral," "crinoid," and "shark" enter "Bryozoa," "Anthozoa," "Crinoidea," and "Chondrichthyes."
<li>For an informal species name, enter the higher order Latin name in the genus/higher taxon field, enter the term they used in the species field, and flag it as informal. For example, if the author listed "striated stem," enter "Plantae" in the genus field, enter "striated stem" in the species field, and pull down "informal." If the author listed a standardized morphotype such as "WA56" for a leaf in the family Betulaceae, enter "Betulaceae" in the genus field, enter "WA56" in the species field, and pull down "informal."
</ul>
<p>

<b>Species name modifier</b><br>
An optional menu of modifiers that apply to the species name. As with the genus name modifier, pick the most relevant term in order of preference: "n. sp.," "aff.," "cf.," "ex gr.," and finally "?". 
So if a record says "Xus cf. yus?" you should select "cf.," not "?".
<i>Only</i> check off "n. sp." if this particular collection includes the type specimen - just because the species is first described in the same paper does not mean that every record of the species should be checked off as "n. sp."
<p>

<b>Species</b><br>
More rules:<p>
<ul>
<li>Never leave this field blank. Write out "indet." if the genus is unknown and "sp." or "spp." if the genus is known but the species is not known.
<li>If there are multiple unnamed species in the same genus but the author doesn't list them, create a single record for all of them and enter "spp." in the species name field; don't write out a separate record for each unnamed species.
<li>However, if the author lists separate species such as "sp. 1" and "sp. 2" or "sp. A" and "sp. B," make a separate occurrence record for each numbered or lettered species, enter the species name just as the author wrote it out, and pull down the "informal" value for each occurrence from the species name modifier pull-down to the left.
<li>Always enter the entire species name in lower case letters. Enter "jonesi" and not "Jonesi" or "JONESI." Old publications often capitalize species names that are based on proper nouns (e.g., "Alaskensis"); ignore this and follow the all-lower-case rule (so enter "alaskensis").
<li>Never put subspecies names in this field. If a subspecific identification is given, just put the species name here, and then explain the situation in the comment field.
For example, if you have an identification like "Xus yus zus," put "Xus" in the genus field, "yus" in the species field, and "X. yus zus" in the comment field.
<li>Same goes for "varieties" or "variations" or "morphs." If multiple varieties are said to be present but are not numbered or lettered, give the species just one record and then list all varieties together in the comment field.
However, if a series of "morphs" is listed and each one is numbered or listed, make multiple occurrence records and select the "informal" value for each one from the modifier pull-down.
<li>As with the genus field, never enter modifiers, extra punctuation, subgenus names, or anything other than the species name itself (remember, modifiers and subgenus names go in their own fields). Handle these cases as with genera, i.e., by using the species name modifier pull-down and recording verbatim identifications when they include unusual modifiers, punctuation, or subgenus names.
</ul>
<p>

<a name="Abundance"></a>
<b>Abundance</b><br>
Optional, so the occurrence still will "count" even if you leave this field blank. Integers and real numbers are both okay.<p>

<b>Abundance unit</b><br>
This is required if you have entered a value in the preceding field. If you do not make a selection, the default value will be "specimens," which may not be correct.<p>

<b>Paleobiology Database ref #</b><br>
Enter the ID number of the relevant reference if the occurrence is not documented in the same reference as the collection, but instead comes from another source. For example, if the main collection reference is about crinoids and a second reference adds some identifications of brachiopods, write in the Paleobiology Database ID number of the brachiopod reference whenever you enter an identification from that paper.<p>

<b>Comments</b><br>
If you have modified the identification that originally appeared in the main reference, make sure to add a comment indicating what you have done and describing the original identification.<p>

<b>Classification</b><br>
After you submit the occurrences, you will see a taxonomic list that includes the appropriate higher order names (class, order, and family) that go along with each occurrence.
If a name is not classified or the higher order names are wrong, take the following steps:
<ul>
<li>Make sure the name is on the master list of names (= the "authorities" table) by using the "Add/edit taxonomic name" function to look for it.
<li>The version we have actually may be a different thing (e.g., your name is of a plant and we only have a record for an animal name that is spelt the same way). If so, then create a new authority record, and afterwards create an opinion record.
<li>If the name is on the master list but is simply not classified, use the "Add/edit taxonomic opinion" function to record the next higher taxon it belongs to (e.g., for a genus, record the family, subfamily, or tribe it belongs to).
</ul>

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