The FossilSimShiny app for simulating under the fossilized birth–death process and plotting the results

Phylogenetic inferences using combined datasets of both extant and extinct species have grown increasingly popular, in part thanks to the development of the fossilized birth–death (FBD) process. The FBD process provides a powerful model for the evolution of past and present lineages and can be used for both inference and simulation. Simulations in particular are very helpful for new users to gain better understanding of the model and its different components. In this work, we present FossilSimShiny, a visual application for simulating phylogenies, fossil samples, and fossil taxonomies under the FBD process. The app integrates a wide range of simulation models and presents the simulation results in clear, customizable figures. As a teaching tool, FossilSimShiny allows lecturers to create illustration plots and students to directly experiment with the model. For research applications, the app can help researchers save time and effort by testing and calibrating simulation setups before running them on a large scale.