A ubiquitous ~62-Myr periodic fluctuation superimposed on general trends in fossil biodiversity. I. Documentation

TL;DR

This study identifies a consistent approximately 62-million-year cycle in marine fossil biodiversity using Fourier analysis, suggesting a real periodic pattern superimposed on long-term trends, but not observed in terrestrial records.

Contribution

It provides robust evidence for a 62-Myr biodiversity cycle in marine fossils through comprehensive Fourier analysis across multiple datasets, accounting for systematic biases.

Findings

A 62-Myr periodicity is present in marine fossil biodiversity.

The periodicity is absent in terrestrial fossil records.

Signal strength diminishes over time due to long-lived genera accumulation.

Abstract

We use Fourier analysis and related techniques to investigate the question of periodicities in fossil biodiversity. These techniques are able to identify cycles superimposed on the long-term trends of the Phanerozoic. We review prior results and analyze data previously reduced and published. Joint time-series analysis of various reductions of the Sepkoski Data, Paleobiology Database, and Fossil Record 2 indicate the same periodicity in biodiversity of marine animals at 62 Myr. We have not found this periodicity in the terrestrial fossil record. We have found that the signal strength decreases with time because of the accumulation of apparently "resistant" long-lived genera. The existence of a 62-Myr periodicity despite very different treatment of systematic error, particularly sampling-strength biases, in all three major databases strongly argues for its reality in the fossil record.