New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

The Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) in Albuquerque is one of the world’s only medical examiners offices with a CT scanner. The OMI offers an exciting possibility to conduct high-resolution scans of NM fossil. To date, the OMI has graciously run free scans on fossil Plesiadapiform teeth and the holotype skull of the Pachycephalosaurid Sphaerotholus goodwini (NMMNH P-27403). These initial scans provide good quality images on specimens >4mm in size. In addition, the UNM Nursing School has allowed access to their MicroCT scanner than provides resolution of specimens <1mm. These two CT scanners provide a chance to make three-dimensional digital models of unique fossil material (such as holotypes) and the ability to share those scans with students and researchers all over the world. The OMI/Nursing School are very interested in being involved in this cutting edge research. Paleontologists are often interested in the size of a creature’s brain and the way it was laid out in the skull. CT scans can cut through the rock and answer those questions. CT scans can show tooth roots and canals that run through fossil teeth. This can tell researchers what kind of nerves the animal might have possessed and whether the specimen had special sensor systems on its face. Scans may also provide tantalizing clues about upright posture in animals based on the position of the inner ear structure. Funding must be obtained in order to continue using the OMI/Nursing School scanning equipment. However, the potential new discoveries that such facilities present make the cost worthwhile.