Scytalocrinus robustus

A Scytalocrinus robustus (Hall, 1861) crinoid fossil from Indiana USA.  This crinoid existed in the Mississippian Period. It is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

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.