Turtle Evolution Database (TED) provides specimens housed and belonging to various repositories identified in the specimen records. Text information and media within TED are generally available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) license, allowing for broad sharing and use. 3D models shared through MorphoSource are available with individual copyright details for each specimen, but In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted by default.
Other media within TED are protected by copyright and accessing them or sharing require permissions from the housing repository, which holds the copyright. The text information within TED is freely accessible and can be shared with other projects utilizing the Darwin Core standard, such as GBIF.
The CC BY-NC license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator of the media and the source, namely TED.
If you encounter media or information within TED that are not explicitly licensed under CC BY-NC, you will need to obtain permission from the repository holding the copyright. To request permission, contact the curators of the relevant repository.
When using and publishing TED data, or if you found TED helpful in your work, please cite our project as:
If the database has contributed to your research in any way, please cite the reference: Chroust, M., Szczygielski, T. 2025. TED (Turtle Evolution Database), an online database of fossil turtles from Czechia and Poland with images and 3D models.
Feel free to use other citation formats, however, please include a link to the source and give us credit for the work we do of collecting, digitizing, maintaining, and publishing the information you find most easily, online.
It's important to use data and media responsibly. Avoid any use that could be illegal, unethical, harmful, or misleading. Remember that data and media are constantly evolving and may contain inaccuracies or biases. To safeguard the reputation of the original source, always clearly acknowledge any modifications you make to the data or media.
Do you like our project? Would like to contribute and help to spread the information about fossil turtles? If yes, you are most welcome to cooperate with us.
For all other questions, do not hesitate to contact milan.chroust@gmail.com or t.szczygielski@twarda.pan.pl.