This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information.

Mapping

Explore an interactive map of every fossil ever documented

If you've ever wondered what it would look like if you mapped all the fossils ever discovered, wonder no more
  • Apr 25, 2016
  • 209 words
  • 1 minutes
If you've ever wondered what it would look like if you mapped all the fossils ever discovered, wonder no more. Click here to explore the Paleobiology Database Navigator.
Expand Image
Advertisement

“Revealing the history of life” might sound like an impossibly ambitious goal for a single map, but the Paleobiology Database’s Navigator platform lives up to its premise.

The database contains information on almost every fossil ever documented around the world, and though it’s been around in one form or another since 1998, the Navigator allows the public to explore its contents through time, space and taxonomy on one beautiful, user-friendly interface.

The database’s intended audience is researchers, but you don’t have to have a doctorate in paleontology to explore the map; pictograms accompany the taxonomical classifications so you can tell if the specimens on the map were reptiles, birds, mammals or invertebrates, and the plotted points are colour-coded by geological time period.

Playing around with the map’s search filters reveals Alberta to be rich in fossils dating to the Cretaceous period, while British Columbia is a hotbed for Early Jurassic specimens. Users can also zoom in on Newfoundland to explore some of the oldest fossils ever discovered — mollusks that lived around 541 million years ago.

If exploring the Database whets your appetite for fossils, you may want to plan a visit to the new Phillip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.

Advertisement

Are you passionate about Canadian geography?

You can support Canadian Geographic in 3 ways:

Related Content

Assassin's Creed Odyssey landscape

Mapping

Inside the intricate world of video game cartography

Maps have long played a critical role in video games, whether as the main user interface, a reference guide, or both. As games become more sophisticated, so too does the cartography that underpins them. 

  • 2569 words
  • 11 minutes
The War of 1812 giant floor encourages students to interact with history

Kids

Giant floor maps put students on the map

Canadian Geographic Education’s series of giant floor maps gives students a colossal dose of cartography and is a powerful teaching tool

  • 1487 words
  • 6 minutes
The New York Times COVID-19 map

Mapping

Mapping COVID-19: How maps make us feel

Canadian Geographic cartographer Chris Brackley continues his exploration of how the world is charting the COVID-19 pandemic, this time looking at how artistic choices inform our reactions to different maps

  • 1145 words
  • 5 minutes

Mapping

How the Great Trail interactive map is linking communities and changing exploration

As Canada's most famous trail celebrates its near completion, Esri Canada president Alex Miller discusses the ambitious trail map that is helping Canadians get outdoors

  • 1298 words
  • 6 minutes