Digital Museum

OPENVERTEBRATE/FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

SCANNED SPECIMENS: Thousands of 3-D models are now available to explore online.

*see specimen list below

Museums around the world contain many rare and interesting animal specimens—most of which never go on display. The openVertebrate project aims to give researchers, educators, and students better access to these collections. The project showcases vertebrates—animals with a backbone. Over the past six years, the team behind the project captured 3-D images of more than 13,000 amphibians, reptiles, fish, and mammals using a CT scanner. This imaging machine uses X-rays, a type of electromagnetic radiation, to create pictures of internal body structures. The images are now available in a free online database. “I’m excited to share these remarkable resources with everyone,” says David Blackburn, co-leader of the project and a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Specimen List (from image above):
1. Shovelnose sturgeon
2. Burmese horned toad
3. Daggertooth
4. Bald eagle
5. Spix’s horned treefrog
6. Giant otter shrew
7. Gharial
8. Anglerfish
9. Armadillo lizard
10. Rattlesnake
11. Rockfish
12. Spiny mouse
13. Alligator lizard
14. Black wing flying fish
15. Chameleon
16. Black-bellied fruit bat
17. Green heron

Skills Sheets (2)
Skills Sheets (2)
Lesson Plan (1)
Text-to-Speech