# Digital Atlas of Ancient Life — Digital Atlas

> Fossil species identification guide for Neogene, Pennsylvanian, Ordovician, and Cretaceous periods in the USA. (iPhone/iPad app by Rodney C Spears.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/digital-atlas-of-ancient-life/id971829286 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Rodney C Spears](https://appshunter.io/developer/519519732)
- Category: Reference, Education
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.50/5 from 30 App Store ratings · 16 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 11.4 · 89 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2015-09-18
- Data updated: 2026-06-11
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/digital-atlas-of-ancient-life/id971829286/reviews.md

## What is Digital Atlas of Ancient Life?

This app is a free resource designed to help individuals identify and better understand fossil species from the Neogene, Pennsylvanian, Ordovician, and Cretaceous of the U.S.A.  It is a companion to the Digital Atlas of Ancient Life website https://www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org  and was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF EF-1206757, EF-1206769, EF-1206750 and DBI-1602067, DBI-1645520) to principal investigators Dr. Bruce S. Lieberman (University of Kansas), Dr. Alycia Stigall (Ohio University), and Dr. Jonathan Hendricks (Paleontological Research Institution). This project is related to a broader natural history specimen digitization effort supported by the National Resource for Advancing the Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (ADBC) called Integrated Digitized Biocollections, or iDigBio. For additional information about this work please see the open-access paper by Hendricks, Stigall, and Lieberman (2015) in Palaeontologia Electronica.

## Key features

- Fossil species identification
- Information on Neogene fossils
- Information on Pennsylvanian fossils
- Information on Ordovician fossils
- Information on Cretaceous fossils
- Companion to online database

## Recent user reviews (10 of 16)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/digital-atlas-of-ancient-life/id971829286/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Digital atlas identify

*2023-03-25, version 2.3.0*

On google I saw that it said digital atlas identify was unavailable could you please tell me when it will be available 

Thank you 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠❤️

### 3/5 — Missing periods and species idk

*2022-06-19, version 2.3.0*

This app is good but the creator only included the pennsylvainian, ordivician, neogene and cretaceous period when there are other periods. Also the pennsylvanian is a sub period of the carbenifoures along with the missisipian period. Also when we look in the taxonomy section you can see the creators are missing a few species. Apart from that the app is good and functional

### 2/5 — Account suspended

*2021-09-22, version 2.3.0*

I was thoroughly enjoying using the app but was extremely surprised when I tried to log in and an “account suspended” message appeared. Tried to find out why but no luck. Sure would like to know why….

### 5/5 — Awesome new update

*2019-12-08, version 2.0.1*

Just got the new version of the app and really love it. I’d been a long time user of the previous version and the new version has great new graphics and interface, and the Cretaceous time period is an excellent addition. The app is an excellent tool for learning more about various types of fossils, what they look like and where to find them.

### 1/5 — Review

*2018-05-26, version 1.0*

Great potential, but lacking information and facts. There are hardly any fossils, and the ones that are mentioned are missing facts and data.

### 1/5 — Not helpful

*2017-08-05, version 1.0*

They should definitely add more. And it only has three time zones. :(

### 1/5 — Horrible app.

*2016-10-20, version 1.0*

This is the worst app I've ever downloaded. Who in the hell gave this a positive review?

### 5/5 — Excellent app

*2015-12-28, version 1.0*

Easy to use and perfect for amateur paleontologists. I am in the construction trade and collect fossils in my spare time. I really like the mapping function and use this app all the time. I strongly recommend it and you can't beat the price.

### 4/5 — Great App

*2015-11-13, version 1.0*

I've been waiting for a fossil app to come along!  Love the content and information. Hope to see additional time periods and more pics. I have many interesting fossils including some different conularia species that I didn't see on the site. I would love to have a forum to submit photos for possible inclusion.

### 5/5 — Fantastic App!

*2015-11-09, version 1.0*

This is a great resource for quickly looking up specimens!

## Frequently asked questions about Digital Atlas of Ancient Life

### What fossil periods does Digital Atlas of Ancient Life cover?

Digital Atlas of Ancient Life focuses on fossil species from the Neogene, Pennsylvanian, Ordovician, and Cretaceous periods found in the U.S.A.

### Is Digital Atlas of Ancient Life free to use?

Yes, Digital Atlas of Ancient Life is a free resource. It was developed with support from grants and does not have any in-app purchases or advertisements.

### What devices is Digital Atlas of Ancient Life compatible with?

Digital Atlas of Ancient Life is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices.

### How often is Digital Atlas of Ancient Life updated?

The latest version of Digital Atlas of Ancient Life is 2.3.0, which was last updated on July 12, 2020. This indicates updates may not be very frequent.

### What is the age rating for Digital Atlas of Ancient Life?

Digital Atlas of Ancient Life has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for young learners and adults alike.

### Does Digital Atlas of Ancient Life have ads?

No, Digital Atlas of Ancient Life does not contain advertisements. It is a completely ad-free experience.

### Where can I find more information about the research behind Digital Atlas of Ancient Life?

More information about the research can be found on the Digital Atlas of Ancient Life website and in the open-access paper by Hendricks, Stigall, and Lieberman (2015) published in Palaeontologia Electronica.

### What is the user rating for Digital Atlas of Ancient Life?

Digital Atlas of Ancient Life has an average rating of 3.5 stars from 30 ratings, suggesting a mixed but generally positive user reception.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.3.0 — 2020-07-12

Improved Image handling, especially on downloading the full image

### 2.2.1 — 2020-06-15

Announcing the companion app, Digital Atlas Identify. Once your fossil is taxonomically identified  you can "link" over to Atlas to find out more about it.

### 2.2.0 — 2020-06-15

Announcing the companion app

### 2.1.1 — 2020-05-27

Updated to work better with Digital Atlas Identify.

### 2.1.0 — 2020-03-30

Deep Linking for the soon to be released Digital Atlas Identify app.

## More apps by Rodney C Spears

- [Block Schedule Clock](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/block-schedule-clock/id1482316907)
- [Process Sim](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/process-sim/id6446362678)
- [KTA Assist](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kta-assist/id6744850629)

All apps by Rodney C Spears: https://appshunter.io/developer/519519732

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-11.*