Estimating the Age of Poorly Dated Fossil Specimens and Deposits Using a Total-Evidence Approach and the Fossilized Birth-Death Process

• DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syac073
• Publication Date: 2022-11-16T11:54:40Z
• Authors: Joëlle Barido-Sot...; Dagmara Żyła; Tracy A Heath
• Keywords: Taphonomy; Fossil Record; Paleoanthropology

Bayesian total-evidence approaches under the fossilized birth-death model enable biologists to combine fossil and extant data while accounting for uncertainty in ages of specimens, an integrative phylogenetic analysis. Fossil age is a key feature record as many empirical sets may contain mix precisely dated poorly specimens or deposits. In this study, we explore whether reliable estimates can be obtained from analyses model. Through simulations based on example Baltic amber deposit, show that through such analysis are accurate, particularly when proportion remains low majority have precise dates. We confirm our results using set living penguins by artificially increasing around some showing resulting overlap with recorded ranges. Our applicable where classical methods establishing failed, Gobi Desert [Bayesian inference; estimates; birth-death; Lagerstätte; total-evidence.].