This database is a port of Sepkoski's (2002) published marine genus compendium (Bulletin of American Paleontology 363). No changes have been made to any of the taxonomic names or first and last appearance data, even when they are clearly incorrect. The following changes were, however, made:
For further explanation, please see Sepkoski (2002).
"Stages" in Sepkoski's data are a combination of series (mostly Cenozoic) and stages (mostly pre-Cenozoic). I have used the International Commission on Statigraphy to apply dates to Sepkoski's stage boundaries. Note that these dates were current at the time of datbase construction but the timescale is frequently revised; these updates may not be reflected in the data here. Because the ICS has left most of the Ordovician and Cambrian in open nomenclature (as it were) I have used the old GSA timescale for these intervals. This is undoubtedly incorrect. However, the absolute dates are only relevant in the calculation of rates scaled to interval duration. No other results are influenced by the absolute time scale. I have not yet mapped Sepkoski's substage data to the new ICS timescale and therefore these dates are not current.
This database is meant to complement the published compendium and to make the data easy to manipulate and examine for individuals that may not be able to write, or have time to write, fancy programs. It does not replace the published version, but should be used in concert with the compendium.
Please contact me (Shanan Peters) if you have any questions that are not resolved by refering to Sepkoski (2002). Also, be sure to check out the Friends of the Museum of Paleontology and Macrostrat websites!