A data model for paleontological species occurances

 Alphabetical List of Entities 

All Entities in the model are listed below in alphabetical order with brief descriptions. Color codes follow the e-r diagram. Descriptions should not be considered definitive definitions of scope of entity.

EntityPortion of modelBrief Description
1D_LOCATIONProvenanceA linear distance
3D_LOCATIONProvenanceLocation on the surface of the Earth recorded as Latitude, Longitude, and altitude in meters using a specified datum
AUTHORVouchersAn author of a publication
AUTHORITYProvenanceSource for information indicating that a collectingevent came from a particular stratigraphic context
AUTHOR_PUB_TAX_ASSOCIATIONVouchersAssociative entity relating authors,publications,and taxon names. Used to record authorship of taxon names
BIOLOGICALInterpretationsInformation concerning the biology of a species
BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC_ZONEProvenanceAn interval of geologic time
BOOKVouchersBibliographic reference to a book
BOOK_PUB_ASSOCIATIONVouchersAssociative entity relating books to publishers
CASTVouchersA physical copy of a CollectionsObject
CHARACTERInterpretationsCharacters and Character states describing the morphology of a species
COLLECTIONS_OBJECTVouchersA physical object such as a fossil held in a paleontological museum collection
COMPLEX_SPATIAL_OBJECTProvenanceA spatial object that is not defined by a simple geometry
EARTH_POSITION_COMPOSITEProvenanceA region in three dimensional space defined by a set of bounding locations
EARTH_SURFACE_FEATUREProvenanceA geographic location on or near the surface of the Earth
ELECTRONIC_PUBLICATIONVouchersA publicationin some non-traditional electronic form
ELEC_PUB_ASSOCIATIONVouchersAssociative entity relating electronic publications to publishers
FOSSIL_ON_SLABVouchersA fossil located on a particular part of a slab of rock
FOSSIL_ON_GRIDDED_SLIDEVouchersA fossil located in a particular grid square of a microscope slide
FOSSIL_ON_SLIDE_(XY)VouchersAn individual fossil located on a microscope slide through X Y coordinates
GEOCHRONOLOGIC_EPOCHProvenanceAn interval of time of rank Epoch
GEOCHRONOLOGIC_AGEProvenanceAn interval of time of rank Age
GEOCHRONOLOGIC_ERAProvenanceAn interval of time of rank Era
GEOCHRONOLOGIC_PERIODProvenanceAn interval of time of rank Period
GEOGRAPHIC_FEATUREProvenanceA named Earth surface feature such as a hill or river
GEOLOGIC_PROVINCEProvenanceA large region with a bedrock geology that shares a common large-scale tectonic history
GEOPOLITICAL_FEATUREProvenanceA region on the surface of the Earth delimited by political boundaries such as a county, state, or town
GEOPOLITICAL_ASSOCIATIONProvenanceAssociative entity relating two Geopolitical Features in a parent-child relationship (this includes both nesting relationships, such as towns within counties, and temporal relationships such as name changes)
GEOCHRONOLOGIC_ZONEProvenanceAn interval of time corresponding to a biostratigraphic Zone
HIGHER_TAXONTaxonomyTaxonomic group of rank Genus or higher
HIGHER_TAXONTaxonomyA taxon of generic or greater rank
IDENTIFICATIONVouchersThe assignment of a species name to a collections object
INVALID_PUBLISHEDTaxonomyA Species name that is Avialible, but considered Invalid
INTERPRETIVE_INFORMATIONInterpretationsInformation related to a species name
INT_COM_PUB_ASSOCIATIONInterpretationsAssociative Entity Relating Proposed Combiniations with Interpretive Information and Publications
INTERPRETATIONInterpretationsPaleoenvrironmental interpretations related to lithostratigraphic units
JOURNAL_ARTICLEVouchersBibliographic reference to an individual article in a serial publication
JOURNAL_OR_SERIESVouchersThe name of a serial publication
KEYWORDVouchersA word or phrase in a controlled vocabulary that is used to identify the subject matter of a publication
LANGUAGEVouchersThe language in which a publication is written
LEGAL_SURVEY_2D_LOCATIONProvenanceA location on the surface of the Earth specified by Latitude and Longitude
LITHOLOGYInterpretationsData concerning the lithologies found in lithostratigraphic units
LITERATURE_VOUCHEROccuranceOccurance records based upon literature citations
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC_SUPERGROUPProvenanceA formally named body of rock of rank supergroup
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC_BEDProvenanceA horizon or informally named body of rock of rank bed
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC_MEMBERProvenanceA formally named body of rock of rank member
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC_FORMATIONProvenanceA formally named body of rock of rank formation
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC_UNITProvenanceA formally named body of rock
LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC_GROUPProvenanceA formally named body of rock of rank group
LOTVouchersA collections object that has been taken to at least stage 3 (sorted) of the collections continuum
LOCATIONProvenanceA linear distance or a point on the surface of the Earth
MONOGRAPHVouchersBibliographic reference to amonograph
MON_PUB_ASSOCIATIONVouchersAssociative entity relating monographs to publishers
NOMENCLATORIAL_ACTTaxonomyAny use of a species name that could form an entry in a synonomy
OBJECT_VOUCHEROccuranceOccurance records based upon collections objects
OCCURANCEOccuranceA report of a species having been found in some provenance
ORIGINAL_FORM_OF_SPECIES_NAMETaxonomyThe original form and spelling of a species name
OTHER_PUBLICATIONVouchersBibliographic reference to an unpublished work or a form of publication other than a Book, Journal Article, orMonograph
OTH_PUB_ASSOCIATIONVouchersAssociative entity relating Other Publications to Publishers
OTHER_DATA_SETVouchersAn electronic data set other than an image or bitmap
OUTCROPProvenanceAn exposure of rock at the surface of the earth where one or more collecting events have taken place
PALEOENVIRONMENTAL_INFORMATIONInterpretationsInformation concerning the paleoenvironmental setting of a lithostratigraphic unit
PART_OF_ASSOCIATIONVouchersA collections object that is part of an associated set of fossils
PART_OF_PUBLICATIONVouchersA publication that is part of another publication
POINTProvenanceA point on the surface of the Earth
PROPOSED_COMBINATIONTaxonomySpecies rank name
PUB_PALE_LITH_ASSOCIATIONInterpretationsAssociative Entity Relating Lithostratigraphic Units with Paleoenvrironmental Information and Publications
PUBLICATIONVouchersA bibliographic reference to a published or unpublished work
PUBLICATION-KEYWORD_ASSOCIATIONVouchersAn associative entity relating Publications to Keywords
PUBLISHER_OR_UNIVERSITYVouchersThe publisher of a book, monograph or Other Publication
REGIONProvenanceA simple geometric region on the surface of the earth defined by a center and one or two linear distances such as a circle, square, or ellipse
SEA_LEVEL_CYCLEProvenanceAn interval of time identified within a sequence stratigraphic scheme
SIMPLE_SPATIAL_OBJECTProvenanceA simple geometric spatial object
SLABVouchersA lithified rock bearing fossils
SLIDEVouchersA microscope slide bearing one or more fossils
SPATIAL_OBJECTProvenanceA point or region in space
SPECIMEN_COMPONENTVouchersA Collections object that is part of a fossil collected or present in more complete form
STORAGE_LOCATIONVouchersThe place in amuseum where a collections object should be found
STRATIGRAPHIC_CONTEXTProvenanceThe temporal and/or lithostratigraphic context of a collecting event
SUBSET_OF_LARGER_OBJECTVouchersA collections object that is part of a larger collections object such as a particular fossil on a slab
SUBSTRATE_TYPEProvenanceA description of the lithology of a stratigraphic occurance
TEMPORAL_OBJECTProvenanceA point or interval of geologic time
TEMPORAL_PERIODProvenanceA formal interval of geologic time
TEMPORAL_EVENTProvenanceA point in geologic time
TRAYVouchersA collections object consisting of a set of specimens in a specimen tray, box, or similar container
TYPE_TAXONTaxonomyA taxon that has been designated as the type of a higher taxon.
UNAVAILIBLETaxonomyA Species name that is unavailible under the rules of the ICZN
VALIDTaxonomyA species name that is considered valid
WELLProvenanceA hole drilled into the surface of the Earth

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A datamodel for Paleontological Species Occurances
All Material on this page and in associated images Copyright © Paul J. Morris, 1998. This model may be freely reproduced so long as the original copyright notice in kept intact.
Paul J. Morris mole@morris.net

18 Apr 1998