Blair Witch papers

[Heinrich Mallison <heinrich.mallison@mfn-berlin.de>]

A bunch of interesting papers in the latest Palaeontologia Electronica, 
which now features a section for technical methods (yay!). I really like 
the idea of being able to use satellite pics to pre-plan exploratory 
field trips. And yes, this message includes shameless self-promotion, too ;)


THE HEAD AND NECK MUSCLES ASSOCIATED WITH FEEDING IN SPHENODON 
(REPTILIA: LEPIDOSAURIA: RHYNCHOCEPHALIA)
Marc E.H. Jones, Neil Curtis, Paul O'Higgins, Mike Fagan, and Susan E. Evans

Feeding in Sphenodon, the tuatara of New Zealand, is of interest for 
several reasons. First, the modern animal is threatened by extinction, 
and some populations are in competition for food with Pacific rats. 
Second, Sphenodon demonstrates a feeding apparatus that is unique to 
living amniotes: an enlarged palatine tooth row, acrodont dentition, 
enlarged incisor-like teeth on the premaxilla, a posterior extension of 
the dentary and an elongate articular surtace that permits prooral 
shearing. Third, Sphenodon has a skull with two complete lateral 
temporal bars and is therefore structurally analogous to the 
configuration hypothesised for the ancestral diapsid reptile. 
Furthermore, the fossil relatives of Sphenodon demonstrate considerable 
variation in terms of feeding apparatus and skull shape. Lastly, as 
Sphenodon is the only extant rhynchocephalian it represents a 
potentially useful reference taxon for both muscle reconstruction in 
extinct reptile taxa and determination of muscle homology in extant taxa.



the technical stuff:

REMOTE SENSING APPLIED TO PALEONTOLOGY: EXPLORATION OF UPPER CRETACEOUS 
SEDIMENTS IN KAZAKHSTAN FOR POTENTIAL FOSSIL SITES
Dmitry V. Malakhov, Gareth J. Dyke, and Christopher King

Here we show that low-cost analysis of satellite image data (derived 
from Landsat ETM+) can be used efficiently for the âremote prospectingâ 
of a large field area, in this test case in Kazakhstan. By developing a 
spectral library to characterize the sedimentary profiles in our field 
area, we outline a simple method that can be used to quickly identify 
the locations of potentially fossiliferous strata that can subsequently 
be prospected first-hand by paleontologists on the ground. We have 
successfully tested this remote approach to search for fossils in the 
Lower Syrdarya Uplift in southern Kazakhstan - an area that encompasses 
more than 17,000 square kilometers. As image capture and analysis 
technologies develop, remote prospecting (sensing) applications are 
likely to become more and more prevalent in paleontology, especially in 
the development of remote field areas.


MECHANICAL DIGITIZING FOR PALEONTOLOGY - NEW AND IMPROVED TECHNIQUES
Heinrich Mallison, Alexander Hohloch, and Hans-Ulrich Pfretzschner

Three-dimensional digitized representations of bones offer several 
advantages over real bones or casts. However, creation of 3D files can 
be time consuming and expensive, and the resulting files are difficult 
to handle due to their size. Mechanical digitizing was hitherto limited 
to large bones. Here, new and improved data collection techniques for 
mechanical digitizers are described, facilitating file creation and 
editing. These include:
- Improvements to the in-program digitizing procedure, reducing time and 
financial demands.
- Specifics for an easy to assemble and transportable holder for small 
fossils.
- A significant increase in the size range of digitizable bones, 
allowing both exact digitizing of bones only a few centimeters long and 
bones larger than the range of the digitizer. This increase allows the 
study of assemblages including both small and large bones.
- Complex shapes such as costae and vertebrae can now be digitized with 
ease.
- Step-by-step directions for digitizer and program use to facilitate 
easy acquisition of the techniques.
3D-files of fossils digitized with these methods can be added to online 
databases easily, as small-scale preview and complete files. The file 
formats are common and the file sizes relatively small in comparison to 
CT or laser-scan data. Pointcloud files can be used interchangeably with 
laser-scan files of similar resolution. Other possible uses for 
mechanical digitizing data are described.
Additionally, techniques to extract and edit comparable data from CT 
scans are briefly described. CT-based data is used to check the accuracy 
of mechanically digitized data.


--
Dr. Heinrich Mallison
Museum fÃr Naturkunde - Leibniz-Institut fÃr Evolutions- und
BiodiversitÃtsforschung an der Humboldt-UniversitÃt zu Berlin
Invalidenstrasse 43
10115 Berlin


Tel: +49(0)30-2093-8764
Email: heinrich.mallison@mfn-berlin.de