UNRAVELING DISTORTION: AN OVERVIEW OF TECHNIQUES FOR RECONSTRUCTING FLATTENED FOSSILS
The Chinese fossil record, specifically that of Cretaceous age non-avian dinosaurs and birds, is of tremendous scientific importance. However, many fossils from China (and elsewhere) suffer varying degrees of crushing and distortion that make study difficult. In this paper, we review how and why the distortion of a 98 million-year-old (Cenomanian) snake skull from the Middle East was modeled digitally using high resolution X-ray computed tomography. Then we discuss briefly some new techniques such as laminography that could be applied to crushed fossils. Visualization tools such as X-ray computed tomography and digital three-dimensional reconstruction can provide a morphological model that allows testing of bone identifications, elucidation of character states, and realistic simulation of taphonomy. Digital visualization is not only important as a research tool, but its potential can be more fully realized in digital publications, which can be distributed widely and economically.
Michael J. Polcyn Louis L. Jacobs Lu Junchang
Department of Geological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275, U.S.A. Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
国际会议
2005·河源国际恐龙学术研讨会(2005 Heyuan International Dinosaur Symposium)
广东河源
英文
205-215
2005-04-08（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）