A virtual world of paleontology

Journal article

Computer-aided visualization and analysis of fossils has revolutionized the study of extinct organisms. Novel techniques allow fossils to be characterized in three dimensions and in unprecedented detail. This has enabled paleontologists to gain important insights into their anatomy, development, and preservation. New protocols allow more objective reconstructions of fossil organisms, including soft tissues, from incomplete remains. The resulting digital reconstructions can be used in functional analyses, rigorously testing long-standing hypotheses regarding the paleobiology of extinct organisms. These approaches are transforming our understanding of long-studied fossil groups, and of the narratives of organismal and ecological evolution that have been built upon them.

Authors: Cunningham, J; Rahman, I; Lautenschlager, S; Rayfield, E; Donoghue, P

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cell Press
• Journal: Trends in Ecology and Evolution
• Publication date: 2014-05-10
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.04.004
• EISSN: 1872-8383
• ISSN: 0169-5347
• Pmid: 24821516
• Language: English
• Keywords: SBTMR; paleontology; digital visualization; computed tomography; computer modeling; functional analysis