austrofossil and its background
This database provides you with information on taxonomic groups, geographic-, geologic-, chrono- and lithostratigraphical units, references, and status and repository of animal and plant fossils found in Austria and the surrounding area.
austrofossil includes the following information, underlined sections are searchable:
The chronostratigraphic unit means the geological system. A search of series and/or stages is possible in the text box. The combination of more fields in one search run is possible.
At the moment the database includes 50.000 datasets as well as a register of 3954 species published in the Catalogus Fossilium Austriae. Regular updates will be provided in future.
Geoscientists interested in the distribution of organisms in time and space will find relevant geographic and chrono- and lithostratigraphic data.
Taxonomists working with the Catalogus Fossilium Austriae will find taxonomic data, tips on the preservation of collections as well as references. However, Austrofossil is more than an update of the Catalogus Fossilium Austriae.
Paleontologists using the database Catalogue of Paleontological Types in Austrian Collections will learn about fossils housed abroad (64% of the collections), in private or unknown collections and which therefore are not included in the "Catalogue of Paleontological Types in Austrian Collections". Furthermore, by confronting the specimens of Austrian collection included in Austrofossil with those in the Catalogue of Paleontological Types in Austrian Collections, you may discover which specimens have been lost.
austrofossil is based on the evaluation of more than 1180 publications including descriptions or citations of fossils from Austrian (and some Italian, Slovenian and Bavarian localities) as well as the fossils of the twenty numbers of Catalogus Fossilium Austriae. Syntypes (holotypes, paratypes etc.) are marked by STYP.
Figured, described or listed specimens are not specially designated. These data were not evaluated or revised. The repositories of the fossils cited in the publications were not checked. Specific geographic details are not given consistent.
austrofossil is supported by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The database management and web design was done by Nikolai Jursic, the retrieval script for the internet version was written by Christian Balluch (Austrian Academy of Sciences).
The data handling, data preparation and data updating was performed by using CDS/ISIS for Windows prepared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific an Cultural Organization (UNESCO).