EXTINCT ATLAS — ARCHIVE DATA FIELD GUIDE
Documentation updated: 2026-09-28
Dataset version: 2026-09-28.2
Landing page: https://extinctatlas.com/data
Fixed download: https://extinctatlas.com/downloads/datasets/extinct-atlas-species-data-2026-09-28.2.csv
Latest download: https://extinctatlas.com/datasets/species.csv
SHA-256 manifest: https://extinctatlas.com/downloads/datasets/releases.json
Contact: contact@extinctatlas.com

SCOPE
570 secondary archive entries. Six entries contain additional specimen-linked
source checks; the remaining 564 do not. Rows need not share a taxonomic rank.
This is not original measurement, a complete fossil-occurrence database or a
uniformly expert-validated research dataset. Blank means not additionally checked,
not zero, absent or disproven. Archive time ranges are not specimen dating.

FORMAT
CSV, UTF-8 with BOM, comma separated, quoted fields where needed, CRLF lines.
18 fields. Dates use YYYY-MM-DD. Size and time-range fields are text, not uniform
numeric measurements. Retain scientific names and identifiers when comparing rows.

FIELDS
id: site archive identifier; use it to construct /species/{id} links.
common_name_en: English common name.
common_name_zh: Chinese common name.
scientific_name: scientific name used in the archive; verify current taxonomy.
era: broad geological browsing context, not individual specimen dating.
time_range_en: English archive age description.
time_range_zh: Chinese archive age description.
category: site browsing category, not a formal taxonomic rank.
discovery_country: origin country of the referenced specimen, not full range.
reference_specimen: catalogue/collection identifier for the checked specimen.
size_estimate: qualified English estimate or anatomical evidence note.
size_estimate_zh: corresponding Chinese note.
doi: related paper DOI; consult the paper for its actual scope.
source_url: associated institutional or publication source.
evidence_status: archive_record or specimen_verified. The latter describes only
  the additional source checks, not independent validation of the whole row.
record_updated: archive entry modification date.
specimen_fields_checked: additional specimen check date; blank for unchecked rows.
dataset_version: release identifier; YYYY-MM-DD with .2, .3, etc. for later same-day releases.

CITATION AND REUSE
Extinct Atlas. "Extinct-life archive dataset." Version 2026-09-28.2.
https://extinctatlas.com/data. Include the actual access date and the original source/DOI.
Free download does not assign a Creative Commons or redistribution licence.
Review https://extinctatlas.com/terms and original-source terms; enquire about republication.

EXERCISE
Compare the Sophie specimen entry for Stegosaurus with a general size chart.
Explain why an individual specimen's length differs from a general reference.
Locate the catalogue number and DOI, then identify a field that is unknown.
Do not fill blank fields by copying estimates from unrelated specimens.

RELEASE NOTES — 2026-09-22
The export now uses the same resolved time ranges and modification dates as
the English and Chinese archive pages. Dataset release, record modification
and specimen checks are independent dates. The six specimen checks remain
2026-09-02; this release does not claim they were repeated.
This is the first immutable snapshot retained by the site. The earlier
2026-09-02 live export was not archived and cannot be reproduced as a release.
Use the versioned URL for reproducible citations; /datasets/species.csv is latest.

RELEASE NOTES — 2026-09-22.2
Updated the time ranges and record modification dates for Brontornis,
Megalocnus and Isoxys. Retained the original 2026-09-22 snapshot unchanged.

RELEASE NOTES — 2026-09-22.3
Corrected time ranges and record dates for Grypania, Emeus and Bajadasaurus.
Emeus now includes the Late Pleistocene; uncertain fossil ranges are labelled
as such. The 2026-09-22 and 2026-09-22.2 snapshots remain unchanged.