Projects
1269 Projects

Media are grouped by projects created by users. Projects tend to contain media tied together by a theme. A project might represent the dataset for a single peer-reviewed paper, the results of a collections digitization project, or data for a digital lesson plan.

Projects can be used to share media ownership and access between project members, and projects can also be used to publish assortments of media and specimens for access and discovery by the public. If you want to share media ownership and access with multiple users across multiple projects, consider creating a user team. Projects can be managed by teams, and users with access to that team also gain access to any projects managed by that team.

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Listing of items you have deposited in MorphoSource
Title Description Team Creator Media Objects
Display all details of Jormungandr walhallaensis: a new mosasaurine (Squamata: Mosasauroidea) from the Pierre Shale Formation (Pembina Member: Middle Campanian) of North Dakota Mosasaurs are large, carnivorous aquatic lizards with a global distribution that lived during the Late Cretaceous. After two hundred years of scientific study, new mosasaur species are yet discovered as new localities are explored and specimens collected long ago are re-evaluated using modern standards of species delimitation. Even so, the phylogenetic positions of many key taxa are unresolved and therefore our understanding of mosasaur macroevolution is muddled. Here, we describe a new genus and species of mosasaurine mosasaur comprising a partial skull and skeleton from the Pembina Member of the Pierre Formation in Cavalier County, North Dakota, USA. The lower bound on the age of the specimen is 80.04 ±0.11 Ma, provided by the underlying bentonite bed. Its skull and jaws are nearly complete, and the postcranial skeleton preserves seven cervical vertebrae with three hypapophyseal peduncles, eleven ribs, and five anterior dorsal vertebrae. The new specimen was scored into a modified version of an existing phylogenetic matrix of Mosasauroidea and was recovered in a polytomy with Clidastes; however, given that its morphology is significantly different from that of Clidastes, we refer it to a new genus and species, Jormungandr walhallaensis. Notably, this new taxon shares a mosaic of features seen in both basal (e.g, Clidastes; high dental counts) and derived (e.g., Mosasaurus; subrectangular quadrate) mosasaurines, in addition to possessing its own unique suite of autapomorphies. Given that it possesses morphology intermediate between Clidastes and Plotosaurini, we suspect that future analyses of mosasaur phylogeny, following the addition of new characters and taxa, will recover Jormungandr as transitional between them. Its occurrence increases the known diversity of mosasaurs from the Pembina Member and is the earliest mosasaur to possess autapomorphies of Plotosaurini. Finally, we also analyzed the matrix using different outgroups to test their effect on tree topology and resolution, and found that including multiple non-mosasauroid anguimorphs increased resolution, but not support, of mosasaurid ingroup relationships. North Dakota Geological Survey North Dakota Geological Survey 57 1
Display all details of Unique damage-related, gap-filling tooth replacement in pycnodont fishes Most jawed vertebrates (gnathostomes) replace their teeth throughout life, ‘polyphyodonty’, and there is currently great interest in its molecular and cellular basis, particularly in fish. While much has still to be elucidated, it appears that whichever tooth replacement mechanism is used, only one tooth replaces one predecessor, at any one time. Here we present fossil crushing dentitions of two extinct pycnodont fishes, Pycnodus zeaformis and Pycnodus maliensis. Their surface features and X-ray micro-CT virtual sections show no evidence of one-for-one replacement. Instead, individual large teeth were replaced by multiple small teeth, for which, as far as we could ascertain, there is no known mechanism. This occurred where underlying dentigerous bone was damaged. Small teeth also developed where parts of large teeth had broken off, and in gaps between large teeth created by the geometry of their close alignment in rows. We compared the virtual sections to those of functionally analogous crushing dentitions of three modern fishes. Contrasting greatly to the pycnodonts, each showed an orderly, one-for-one replacement, typical of osteicthyans. We propose that the pycnodont specimens exhibit a gap-filling tooth addition hitherto unseen in gnathostomes, and that the oral epithelium retained an initiatory competence throughout life, with a programming of ‘if there is a gap, fill it’. This would also have facilitated the addition of large teeth in rows, in space provided by ontogenetic growth. We hypothesise that gaps were registered as an absence of pressure at the crushing surface, initiating tooth development, as in the modern cichlid Astatoreochromis alluaudi. Underwood, Charlie 7 7
Display all details of Mesozoic Vertebrate Fossil Tracks / Zion National Park Mesh models from several fossil tracksites within Zion National Park, Utah, USA. Models are named by their Utah Geologic Survey (UGS) site number and include information on the track types described in each model. Tracks range in age, dependent on the formation they occur within. These include vertebrate tracks from the Virgin Limestone Member of the Moenkopi Formation (251.2-247.2 Ma), Kayenta Formation (200 Ma) and the Navajo Sandstone (190 Ma). Some specimens rendered still reside within the Zion wilderness and are therefore still at risk to destruction due to natural hazards. Because of this, these models act as crucial resources in preserving these fossils for generations to come. Zion National Park (ZION), Utah, USA Bennett, Conner 0 0
Display all details of Rollot et al. 2023. 3D models of Allaeochelys libyca This project contains the cranial 3D models for the specimen BSPG 1991 II 130 of Allaeochelys libyca. These files were uploaded as supplements for the paper "A digital redescription of the middle Miocene (Langhian) carettochelyid turtle Allaeochelys libyca" by Yann Rollot, Serjoscha Evers, and Walter Joyce. The manuscript is currently under review at Fossil Record, please refrain from using 3D models until the article is published. The CT scans and 3D models of the partial cranium and endosseous labyrinth are already available at MorphoSource under the projects "Evers. 2021. Fossil turtle cranial CT scans" (https://www.morphosource.org/projects/000350496) and "Evers. 2021. Extant and fossil amniote labyrinth and cranial models" (https://www.morphosource.org/projects/000372533). 23 1
Display all details of A whole body micro-CT scan library that captures the skeletal diversity of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes Here we describe a dataset of freely available, readily processed, whole-body μCT-scans of 56 species (116 specimens) of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes that captures a considerable majority of the morphological variation present in this remarkable adaptive radiation. We contextualise the scanned specimens within a discussion of their respective ecomorphological groupings and suggest possible macroevolutionary studies that could be conducted with these data. We also describe a methodology to efficiently μCT-scan (on average) 23 specimens per hour, limiting scanning time and alleviating the financial cost whilst maintaining high resolution. We demonstrate the utility of this method by reconstructing 3D models of multiple bones from multiple specimens within the dataset. We hope this dataset will enable further morphological study of this fascinating system and permit wider-scale comparisons with other cichlid adaptive radiations. Callum V Bucklow 116 82
Display all details of CT data and endocranial reconstructions of Thescelosaurus neglectus (NCSM 15728) Supplementary Data for: Button, D.J. & Zanno, L.E. 2023. Neuroanatomy of the late Cretaceous Thescelosaurus neglectus (Neornithischia: Thescelosauridae) reveals novel ecological specialisations within Dinosauria. Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-45658-3 North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences - Paleontology 4 1
Display all details of MINKS - Conserving our wildlife heritage: comparative biomechanics of feeding in native and introduced minks The European mink (Mustela lutreola) is the second most threatened mammal in Europe. In the last decade, its population has been halved by habitat degradation and introduction of American Mink (Neovison vison) populations. This invasive species is larger and less habitat-restricted than the European mink. It is unclear whether dietary overlap occurs between these mink species, although skull morphology would suggest that the American mink has access to a wider variety of food items. MINKS aims to compare the mechanical performance of the jaws in feeding to assess the range of potential foods and extent of dietary competition between both mink species. To accomplish this, MINKS will combine computer modelling techniques (iodine-enhanced microCT scans, finite element analysis (FEA)) with 3D geometric morphometric methods (3DGM) for statistical shape analysis. Differences in skull morphology between both mink species will be assessed, and the skull anatomy of each species will be 3D modelled and subjected to FEA, which will then be compared using 3DGM. MINKS represents the first 3D study on muscular architecture in carnivorans, and also the first application of CAHS’ whole-system-function methodology in the study of carnivoran anatomy. The results of this research will be applied to the conservation of European mink populations, particularly in areas where the food items available increase their survivability. MINKS has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 835736, and has been carried out at the Centre for Anatomical and Human Sciences (CAHS), Department of Archaeology, University of York (UK). Gálvez-López, Eloy 71 67
Display all details of Convergent evolution of ventral adaptations for enrollment in trilobites and extant euarthropods The ability to enroll for protection is an effective defensive strategy that has convergently evolved multiple times in disparate animal groups ranging from euarthropods to mammals. Enrollment is an evolutionary staple habit of trilobites, and their biomineralized dorsal exoskeleton offered a versatile substrate for the evolution of interlocking devices. However, it is unknown whether trilobites also featured ventral adaptations for enrolment. Here, we report ventral exoskeletal adaptations that facilitate enrollment in exceptionally preserved trilobites from the Upper Ordovician Walcott-Rust Quarry in New York State, USA. Walcott-Rust trilobites reveal the intricate three-dimensional organization of the non-biomineralized ventral anatomy preserved as calcite casts, including the spatial relationship between the articulated sternites (i.e., ventral exoskeletal plates) and the wedge-shaped protopodites. Enrollment in trilobites is achieved by ventrally dipping the anterior margin of the sternites during trunk flexure, facilitated by the presence of flexible membranes, and with the close coupling of the wedge-shaped protopodites. Comparisons with the ventral morphology of extant glomerid millipedes and terrestrial isopods reveal similar mechanisms used for enrollment. The wedge-shaped protopodites of trilobites closely resemble the gnathobasic coxa/protopodite of extant horseshoe crabs. We propose that the trilobites’ wedge-shaped protopodite simultaneously facilitated tight enrollment and gnathobasic feeding with the trunk appendages. Sarah R. Losso 8 4
Display all details of University of Tennessee Callitrichid Collection 492 248
Display all details of ML 2554 - Lusognathus almadrava A new species of Pterosaur from the Jurassic of Portugal Victor Beccari 4 1
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