Catalog of 3D models of crania and mandibles of genera and species of Brazilian mammals available on the internet

Abstract

The use of digital technologies is undoubtedly allowing new approaches in the study of mammal morphology, behavior, and evolution and the availability of 3D models of mammal skulls is increasing regularly. Brazil harbors currently 776 mammal species, but there are no estimates on the coverage of this species diversity as 3D cranial models in repositories worldwide. Our goal here was to survey these repositories and create a list of 3D models of Brazilian mammals with direct links, as a tool for teaching activities and as an auxiliary tool for possible preliminary morphological identification of skeletal remains. We found 3D models for about one-third of all Brazilian mammal species and models for congeneric species for ca. 50% of all other species. The distribution of models found for Brazilian mammals is uneven, with a few orders and families with good coverages but most still poorly sampled or lacking any model altogether. We hope that this initial step ignites a collective effort to cover all the Brazilian mammal fauna.