Before I get too swept up in the world of 3D data, I’d like to ask how y’all feel about this new feature I’ve added to the blog ---------------------------------------------------->
I noticed last week that I lack a search box, and this would not be tolerated. I had to make do with what was available (other than paying for a fancier version of this kind of blog to acquire a search feature). I found this nifty "Accordion" application, and would love to know if you think this is an adequate replacement for a real-deal search feature, please and thanks :)
|
|
Now, back to business. I left for Madagascar almost exactly one year ago. We spent the second half of the three-week trip traveling throughout the southwest and collecting morphological data from an osteological collection at Beza Mahafaly. The first half of our visit (and today’s blog post) was dedicated to exploring the osteological collections at the University of Antananarivo.
As I’ve mentioned previously, we had this fancy new Artec Space Spider 3D surface scanner and couldn’t wait to start using it. Since our time was limited, we focused our scanning efforts on especially rare specimens, skulls from a bunch of extinct lemur species, and anything else that was super cool (AKA, things that PJ got especially excited about scanning/photographing). In my spare time, I’ve been cleaning and assembling the scan data for each specimen into 3D objects, and we’d love to share them with you (if you have an interest in that sort of thing). |
I will be uploading these post-processed 3D objects to MorphoSource, which is essentially a free virtual museum for 3D data that's primarily funded by Duke University. Our repository currently contains a collection of Daubentonia robusta (giant aye-aye) elements, a full Daubentonia madagascariensis (aye-aye) hand, and an Archaeoindris fontoynontii femur (see right; 10-inch diameter turntable for scale). I will eventually be uploading subfossil elements from a good portion of the extinct lemur species, along with a few modern ones later on, but if you are particularly interested in seeing this 3D data sooner rather than later please feel free to contact me or PJ. No export permits required! Cheers :) |