3D Museum

 Lyelliceras ulrich

3DMuseum.org / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Last week I posted a link to a 3D trilobite image, now I am posting links to a virtual museum with a number of these types of images.  Click on the names under the images to go to a page that will allow you to rotate the image in 3 dimensions. The web site hopes to inspire a scientific interest in the natural objects presented to its visitors.  University of California, Davis hosts the web site.

Phacops rana trilobite fossil

3DMuseum.org / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

One can learn more about how the images were made at this page.  Curious about what it takes to create images like this, I found a site that listed prices of the Minolta Range and Vivid cameras.  At between $25,000 to $70,000 these cameras will not be within the general public's reach very soon.  One day maybe technology like this will be in the hands of the every day consumer.

 Flexicalymene trilobite

3DMuseum.org / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Cryptolithus tesselatus trilobite

3DMuseum.org / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Platystrophia ponderosa brachiopod

3DMuseum.org / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Silurian Recepticulites

Recepticulites (some type of sponge?) found in the Laurel Member of the Salamonie Dolomite (Nelson County, Kentucky).  Fossil existed in the Silurian Period.

Homalophyllum (Zaphrentis) ungula

These horn corals are on display at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.  They are located in the Ancient Seas section on the first floor.  The three specimens are identified as Homalophyllum (Zaphrentis) ungula of the Devonian Period found in Kentucky.

This museum is an amazing national treasure loaded with specimens of all types!  I started with this fossil since I suspect it is from Louisville and probably the Falls of the Ohio.  My visit to the museum was educational and tiring after trying to see as much of the material before they closed for the day.  A later post will overview my visit and impressions of such a grand place once I collect my thoughts and survey the photos taken.

The odd thing is when I type the scientific name Homalophyllum ungula or Zaphrentis ungula into the Smithsonian collections database nothing is found.