Molecular and Fossil Data on Isthmus of Panama Formation

The dataset contains molecular and fossil data from terrestrial and marine organisms, used to analyze the timing of the Isthmus of Panama's emergence. It supports an earlier and more complex formation timeline than commonly assumed, with implications for biodiversity and climate models. The data was authored by Christine D. Bacon and last updated in June 2020.

Use Cases

• Analyze molecular data from terrestrial organisms to date early biotic migrations across the Isthmus of Panama.
• Compare fossil data from marine organisms with molecular sequences to refine the geological emergence timeline.
• Integrate terrestrial and marine organism data to model the Isthmus's impact on regional biodiversity patterns.

Strengths

• Data integrates both molecular sequences and fossil records for cross-validation.
• Analysis covers a broad temporal scope from the Oligocene to the present.
• Dataset is openly available under a CC0 1.0 public domain license.

Limitations

• The specific row count, column structure, and file formats are unknown, limiting immediate usability.
• Data is static with a last update in 2020 and no stated update frequency.

Provenance

Source

Dryad digital repository.

Collection Method

Compilation and analysis of published molecular and fossil data.

Time Range

Oligocene to present.

Freshness

Last updated 2020-06-24; no stated update frequency.

Geography

Isthmus of Panama region, linking North and South America.