Digitization of Fossils from the Fezouata Biota (Lower Ordovician, Morocco): Evaluating Computed Tomography and Photogrammetry in Collection Enhancement

Abstract

Palaeontological collections housing material from the Fezouata Shale Lagerstatte (Lower Ordovician, Morocco) are of a high scientific interest as they testify to the existence of Burgess Shale-type taxa in one of the most critical Palaeozoic period: the Cambrian–Ordovician transition. The preservation of this unique patrimony can benefit from the emergence of imaging methodologies that have provided innovative ways in three-dimensional (3D) digitization. Computed tomography and photogrammetry were applied in order to create 3D models of fossils from the Fezouata Biota. Tomographic results show the exciting potential of these techniques in internal investigation of fossils, while photogrammetric method enables surface reconstructions with great accuracy in terms of texture, color, and morphology and can be convenient when internal exploration is not required. Three-dimensional digitization techniques thus seem to be reliable methods suited to highlight the potential of palaeontological data housed in museums and make easier the scientific dissemination of information.