Data from: A refined modelling approach to assess the influence of sampling on palaeobiodiversity curves: new support for declining Cretaceous dinosaur richness

Modelling has been underdeveloped with respect to constructing palaeobiodiversity curves, but it offers an additional tool for removing sampling from their estimation. Here an alternative to subsampling approaches, which often require large sample sizes, is explored by the extension and refinement of a pre-existing modelling technique that uses a geological proxy for sampling. Application of the model to the three main clades of dinosaurs suggests that much of their diversity fluctuations cannot be explained by sampling alone. Furthermore, there is new support for a long-term decline in their diversity leading up to the K/Pg extinction event. At present use of this method with data that includes either lagerstätten or ‘Pull of the Recent’ biases is inappropriate, although partial solutions are offered.在古生物多样性曲线的构建领域，相关建模研究仍有待进一步发展，但该方法可为从多样性估算中剔除采样偏差提供一种额外的辅助工具。本文针对通常需要大样本量的子采样（subsampling）方法，提出一种替代方案：通过扩展并优化一项已有的、以地质代用指标（geological proxy）表征采样状况的建模技术得以实现。将该模型应用于恐龙的三大主要演化支（clade）后，研究结果显示，其多样性波动的绝大部分成因无法仅通过采样效应加以解释。此外，本研究为恐龙多样性在白垩纪-古近纪灭绝事件（K/Pg extinction event）前长期衰退的假说提供了新的支撑证据。尽管本文给出了部分改进方案，但目前该方法仍不适用于包含特异埋藏化石库（lagerstätten）或‘现代偏向’（Pull of the Recent）偏差的数据集。