About DinoDig

DinoDig is an educational fossil map. It plots dinosaur and other tetrapod occurrences from the Paleobiology Database in space and time, so you can explore where fossils have been found and what we know about them.

Two modes, one site

DinoDig has two modes that share a single domain and the same set of URLs. Discover is the warm, exploratory view — plain-language summaries, bold colors, and a gentle path through the map for anyone who just wants to find fossils and follow their curiosity. Study uses the same data and the same maps, with full taxonomy, dense explanations, and citations. Switch between them at any time; every link is the same on either side.

Use the mode pill in the header to switch. Reading the map for a guide to what the dots, halos, and time picker mean.

Where the data comes from

Fossil occurrences: Paleobiology Database (PBDB). Re-pulled monthly.
Species summaries: Wikipedia, cached and attributed per article.
Species and site imagery: Wikimedia Commons, cached with author, license, and source link on every image.

DinoDig adds map tiling, time filtering, faceted search, and curated formation, period, and country pages on top of those sources. We do not modify the underlying records — anything that looks wrong upstream is best fixed at the upstream source.

Accessibility

DinoDig targets WCAG 2.1 AA. The map is fully usable from the keyboard, and every fossil in the visible map area is also available as a screen-reader-friendly list. Period colors are validated against deuteranopia and protanopia simulation, and the period name is always shown next to the swatch.

If you find an accessibility issue, the report-content link on any species page is the fastest way to flag it.

What we don't do

DinoDig has no accounts, no cookies beyond what is needed for the site to function, and no third-party analytics. Your favorites are stored only in your browser's local storage. Neither mode asks for personal information.