The Paleo Data Working Group was launched in May 2020 as a driving force for broader conversations about paleontological data standards and integration of fossil data into larger data ecosystems. We are a community of practice centered around collections-based paleo and informatics professionals. Activities include regular meetings, workshops, community outreach, and engagement with parallel groups and processes. We also maintain a documentation pipeline for carrying conversation through to community resources and guidelines.

This group formed as a result of a decade of increasing collaboration between paleontology professionals digitizing their collections, including as part of an earlier Paleo Digitization Working Group hosted by iDigBio. Members of the group come from a wide range of institutions, including independent museums to university collections to representatives from US federal agencies. Currently members of this group are largely US-based, though with some international (and very welcome) participation.

List of institutions and people involved

trilocorn mascot

Our logo is of our working group mascot, the trilocorn (i.e. a trilobite + a unicorn). The trilocorn lives and thrives in our souls, encouraging us to be the best data and collections managers we can be. You could consider the trilocorn to be the patronus of paleo collections, protecting their staff against the slippery slope of data chaos.