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PALAEONTOLOGICAL DATABASES 171

Fig. 2. Basic database structure for palaeontological databases. Fields in bold (e.g. Taxon#') indicate principal
links between tables, although any field can be linked and queried. The 'Taxonomy' table can include any
information on the individual taxon, e.g. taxonomy, ecology, habitat. The 'locality' table can comprise
information such as geographic and stratigraphic data. The 'occurrence' table consists of data appropriate to
that unique occurrence of the taxon at the specified time and place, such as specimen information or
abundance.

Fig. 3. Basic database structure with the locality data linked to two additional tables that store the spatial and
temporal information separately.

palynological slide or geochemical sample.

Additional tables can then be added as neces-

sary for data provenance (references), higher

taxonomy, timescales, etc.

Although this chapter is not concerned with a

detailed description of database design (see

Peuquet (1988) for a more detailed discussion),

three logistical points are worthy of mention

because they directly affect the qualification of

the data. First, it is advisable that all records in

each database table should have a 'unique

identifier'. This is a field (variable) that has a