title: A comprehensive database of quality-rated fossil ages for Sahul's Quaternary vertebrates.
abstract: The study of palaeo-chronologies using fossil data provides evidence for past ecological and evolutionary processes, and is therefore useful for predicting patterns and impacts of future environmental change. However, the robustness of inferences made from fossil ages relies heavily on both the quantity and quality of available data. We compiled Quaternary non-human vertebrate fossil ages from Sahul published up to 2013. This, the FosSahul database, includes 9,302 fossil records from 363 deposits, for a total of 478 species within 215 genera, of which 27 are from extinct and extant megafaunal species (2,559 records). We also provide a rating of reliability of individual absolute age based on the dating protocols and association between the dated materials and the fossil remains. Our proposed rating system identified 2,422 records with high-quality ages (i.e., a reduction of 74%). There are many applications of the database, including disentangling the confounding influences of hypothetical extinction drivers, better spatial distribution estimates of species relative to palaeo-climates, and potentially identifying new areas for fossil discovery.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Rey
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.|Department of Biogeography and Global Change, National Museum of Natural Sciences-Spanish Research Council (CSIC), c/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herrando-Pérez
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Barry W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Brook
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Frédérik
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5040-3911
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saltré
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, New South Wales 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alroy
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beeton
authors.affiliation: College of Science, Technology and Engineering and Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Studies, College of Science Technology and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael I
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1801-8703
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Bird
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7738-7851
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.|Archaeology &Natural History, School of Culture, History &Language, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.affiliation: Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
authors.forename: Zenobia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0450 USA.
authors.forename: Gifford H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia 5042, Australia.
authors.forename: Gavin J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Prideaux
authors.affiliation: Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0128-4119
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Climate Change Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Chris S M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6733-0993
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Turney
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: Corey J A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5328-7741
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Bradshaw
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005580:Fossils; D014714:Vertebrates