254-3 New perspectives on using digital imaging to enhance understanding in paleontology

Session: Recent Advances in Fossil Imaging

Presenting Author:

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Abstract:

Paleontology is a uniquely visual science. Our main task is describing fossils and comparing them to other fossils. The objects themselves are often behind closed doors in museum storage, so the dissemination of basic visual information on these fossil objects has historically been relegated to 2D images.The rise of CT scanning and segmentation over the past few decades has come with great advances, but perhaps also some complacency in the name of accuracy: the resulting 3D virtual objects are a theoretically accurate representation of fossil morphology and thus a minimum of post-processing is desired. These virtual objects are often shown in the same orientations with the same flat backgrounds that their physical counterparts have been depicted for a century. But scientific illustration is not just the act of accurately representing the object in question, it is using artistic techniques to emphasize areas of importance to increase understanding. Digital preparation of 3D objects opens the door not only to corrective techniques such as retrodeformation and digital reconstruction, but also to physically impossible viewing angles, combinations of illustration styles, and unique visual environments as options for achieving rapid understanding and “aha” moments for researchers and audiences. Here we illustrate some of the above modalities we are using and/or exploring for their increased explicatory power in a variety of projects. Digital reconstruction and retrodeformation of taphonomically disrupted fossils has been utilized in paleontology since the advent of CT scanning. Other techniques can be borrowed from “traditional” pen-and-ink scientific illustration, such as the use of shadows to simulate a 3D environment, or stippling as a shading effect. The ability of a virtual camera to be placed anywhere, for example in the nasal cavity of a multituberculate mammal or next to a bone cell lacuna, is perhaps the most powerful tool in the 3D toolbox for novel conceptualizations and directing emphasis. While supplementary 3D files are becoming more common in publications, the need for informative 2D images is not likely to change anytime soon. As such, we hope that these examples can provide and inspire direction to the field.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-9994

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