Plotting on Possible Earths: a palaeontologist's guide to plate reconstructions and palaeogeography

In the past decade, using plate tectonic models has become a cornerstone of quantitative palaeobiology. Despite their broad distribution, frequent use and the increasing number of available global plate models (GPMs) there is little communication between palaeobiologists and model developers, which limits not only their critical use for palaeontological data analysis, but also the responsible integration of fossil data into palaeogeographic reconstructions. Focussing on GPM application in quantitative palaeobiology, in this introductory chapter we revisit the use of basic features of GPMs, the types of data integrated in them, highlight some technical aspects of plate tectonic reconstructions and try to provide guidelines to using the available resources. We introduce practical suggestions for model selection and usage, discuss consequences of plate model differences, and propose practices for community-driven data refinement. We highlight best practices for using GPMs in palaeontological research focussing on the importance of reproducibility and data principles. Through this synthesis, we aim to facilitate more robust and reproducible applications of tectonic models in palaeontology, and to support a broader, interdisciplinary dialogue around the role of Earth's dynamic surface in shaping the history of life.