A new high-resolution 3-D quantitative method for analysing small morphological features: an example using a Cambrian trilobite.

ABSTRACT: Taphonomic processes play an important role in the preservation of small morphological features such as granulation or pits. However, the assessment of these features may face the issue of the small size of the specimens and, sometimes, the destructiveness of these analyses, which makes impossible carrying them out in singular specimen, such as holotypes or lectotypes. This paper takes a new approach to analysing small-morphological features, by using an optical surface roughness (OSR) meter to create a high-resolution three-dimensional digital-elevation model (DEM). This non-destructive technique allows analysing quantitatively the DEM using geometric morphometric methods (GMM). We created a number of DEMs from three populations putatively belonging to the same species of trilobite (Oryct

SUBMITTER: Esteve J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5809599 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature