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Numerical methods for the reconstruction of fossil material in three dimensions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

J. H. Doveton
J. H. Doveton
Affiliation:
Kansas Geological Survey, 1930 Avenue ‘A’, Campus West, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66044, USA
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Summary

Distances measured between homologous reference points on fragmentary fossil material can be used to recover a three-dimensional framework by operations of standard matrix algebra. A procedure that combines both linear and non-linear algorithms is described and illustrated in a simple reconstruction of Waptia fieldensis. The approach attempts to provide a modelling process in which a palaeontologist can explore the geometrical consequences of fossil measurements through continuous interaction with programmed reconstructions.

Type
Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 116 , Issue 3 , May 1979 , pp. 215 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

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