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FOSSIL SECRETS REVEALED: X-RAY CT SCANNING AND APPLICATIONS IN PALEONTOLOGY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2017

Rachel Racicot
Rachel Racicot*
Affiliation:
The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90007, USA 〈rracicot@nhm.org〉
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Abstract

X-ray computed tomography (CT) provides a nondestructive means of studying the inside and outside of objects. It allows accurate visualization and measurement of internal features, that are otherwise impossible to obtain nondestructively, and is a lasting digital record that can be made available to future researchers, museums, and the general public. Here, an overview of CT scanning methodologies and protocol is provided, as well as some recent examples of how this technology is allowing paleontologists to make new inroads into understanding the ecology, evolution, and development of both extant and extinct organisms. Lastly, some frontiers and outstanding questions in the acquisition, processing, and storage of digital 3-D morphological data are highlighted.

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Type
Research Article
Information
The Paleontological Society Papers , Volume 22: Virtual Paleontology , September 2016 , pp. 21 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © 2017, The Paleontological Society 

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