International Team of Scientists Launches Fossil Database:

Open-source Resource Will Help Determine Evolution's Timescale

GREENWICH, CT, February 24, 2015 – Have you ever wondered exactly when a certain group of plants

or animals first evolved? This week a groundbreaking new resource for scientists will go live, and

it is designed to help answer just those kinds of questions. The Fossil Calibration Database (http:/

/fossilcalibrations.org), a free, open-access resource that stores carefully vetted fossil data, is the

result of years of work from a worldwide team led by Dr. Daniel Ksepka, Curator of Science at the

Bruce Museum in Greenwich, and Dr. James Parham, Curator at the John D. Cooper Archaeological

and Paleontological Center in Orange County, California, funded through the National Evolutionary

Synthesis Center (NESCent).

“Fossils provide the critical age data we need to unlock the timing of major evolutionary events”,

says Dr. Ksepka. “This new resource will provide the crucial fossil data needed to calibrate “molecular

clocks” which can reveal the ages of plant and animal groups that lack complete fossil records. When

did groups like songbirds, flowering plants, or sea turtles evolve? What natural events were occurring

that may have had an impact? Precisely tuning the molecular clock with fossils is the best way we have

to tell evolutionary time.”

More than twenty paleontologists, molecular biologists, and computer programmers from five

different countries contributed to the design and implementation of this new database. The Fossil

Calibrations Database webpage launches on Tuesday February 24th, and a series of five peer-reviewed

papers and an editorial on the topic will appear in the scientific journal Palaeontologia Electronica,

describing the endeavor. Dr. Ksepka is the author of one of the papers and co-author of the editorial.

Over 120 calibrations from these papers form the nucleus of a collection that will grow with time.

“This exciting field of study, known as ‘divergence dating,’ is important for understanding the origin

and evolution of biodiversity, but has been hindered by the improper use of data from the fossil

record,” says Dr. Parham. “The Fossil Calibration Database addresses this issue by providing molecular

biologists with paleontologist-approved data for organisms across the Tree of Life.”

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Press Release

The Tree of Life? “Think of it as a family tree of all species,” explains Dr. Ksepka.

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About the Bruce Museum

The Bruce Museum is a museum of art and science and is located at One Museum Drive in Greenwich,

Connecticut. The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm; closed Mondays

and major holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students up to 22 years, $6 for seniors and

free for members and children less than five years. Individual admission is free on Tuesday. Free on-
site parking is available and the Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities. For additional

information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376 or visit the website at brucemuseum.org