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233-7 The Integrative Paleobotany Portal (PBot): a free online repository and research workbench for digital fossil plant data

Session: Revisiting the archives: New discoveries from existing core collections (Posters)

Poster Booth No.: 195

Presenting Author:

Julian Moore

Authors:

Currano, Ellen D.¹, Contreras, Dori L.², Cleveland, Claire³, Koll, Rebecca⁴, Moore, Julian⁵, Meredith, Douglas D.⁶, Peters, Shanan E.⁷, Uhen, Mark D.⁸, Zaffos, Andrew A.⁹r> (1) Departments of Botany and Geology & Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA, (2) Science Division, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, TX, , (3) Departments of Botany and Geology & Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Lemont, PA, , (4) Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom, (5) Science Division, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Denton, TX, USA, (6) Arizona Geological Survey, University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ, USA, (7) Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA, (8) Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA, (9) Arizona Geological Survey, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA,

Abstract:

Here, we introduce PBot, the Integrative Paleobotany Portal (PBot; pbot.paleobiodb.org), a free online software platform designed specifically for fossil plant data management, analysis, and exploration. Fossil plants provide an essential record for understanding ancient terrestrial environments, yet they remain severely underrepresented in major online scientific databases. Until now no online data-management infrastructure could accommodate the full range of informal and formal naming practices used in paleobotany, incorporate trait and descriptive data, or facilitate the comparison and synonymization of taxa across regions, time periods, or research groups. PBot was designed to solve these fundamental gaps in the digital landscape while complementing existing resources, working in conjunction with the Paleobiology Database, existing museum specimen portals, and digital image repositories. PBot’s graph-based architecture supports a rich network of data, linking informal and formal taxa directly to fossil specimens and references. These specimens are tied to precise geographic, geologic, and sampling data, with options for images, text descriptions, and scored character traits and measurements. By integrating this data into a single platform, PBot acts as free data management software for researchers to directly organize, manage, and share their research with the public. Through the PBot Workbench, registered users can enter and edit data, build custom dynamic character schemas, and manage collaborative datasets and data privacy from project inception to publication. The PBot Explore portal enables anyone to view public fossil plant data and to perform flexible, multi-parameter searches across geographic, geologic, and descriptive data. By bridging critical data infrastructure gaps and bringing paleobotany's hidden data to light, PBot sustains the meaningful inclusion of fossil plants in large-scale synthetic studies of global biodiversity, paleoecology, and evolutionary biology.

The Integrative Paleobotany Portal (PBot): a free online repository and research workbench for digital fossil plant data

Description

Session Format: Poster

Presentation Date: 10/13/2026

Presentation Room: CCC, Hall F

Poster Booth No.: 195

Author Availability: 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.

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