Manage data about sensitive localities

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Specific locality information may be restricted for some or all paleontological specimens due to federal regulations as well as the preferences of private landowners.

If coordinates need to be shared with less precision than the data available

• Information should be truncated
  • Do not round or randomize numbers
• The recommendation is to truncate to a tenth of a degree equivalent
  • Similar to being as specific as a city name
• Remove any other descriptive locality information that would compromise the more specific location

If any locality data is restricted, data providers using Darwin Core should follow the instructions below for each Darwin Core term:

• informationWithheld - Explanation of restriction can be included here. Examples: “More data may be available” or “Locality description is available to researchers upon request.”

• dataGeneralizations - Essential term to include if an institution does not serve the most specific decimal latitude/longitude available for a specimen. Example: “Latitude and longitude reported at maximum precision of 0.1 degrees.”

  External resources

  • Current Best Practices for Generalizing Sensitive Species Occurrence Data:
  • Best Practice Guidelines for Repositing and Disseminating Contextual Data Associated with Vertebrate Fossils:
  • BLM Paleontology Management: Paleontology management for the Bureau of Land Management is guided by the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009 (PRPA), as implemented through the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 43 CFR Part 49 – Paleontological Resources Preservation. This website provides context and links to understand these rules better.