Corresponding author: Markus Bastir (
Academic editor:
The last two decades have seen the development of virtual morphology (ViMo), which emerged during the late 20th century through the application of medical imaging techniques to the study of fossil hominins (
The aim of this presentation is to briefly present standard workflows in the
The accidental discovery, in 2013, of fossil remains of a new human species,
Because of this modern strategy,
Markus Bastir
Biodiversity_Next 2019
CGL2015-63648-P, SYNTHESYS+
Paleoanthropology Group, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), J.G. Abascal 6, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa
The author acknowledges Professors Peter Schmid, Lee Berger, John Hawks for their kind invitation to participate in the Rising Star Workshop at Wits University in May 2014.
CGL2015-63648-P, SYNTHESYS+
Paleoanthropology Group, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), J.G. Abascal 6, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa
A typical workflow in virtual morphology for geometric morphometric research in digital collections. a) original cranium; b) virtual 3D model of a cranium; c) virtual cranium plus 3D landmarks (3D point-, curve-, and surface measurements with Cartesian coordinates); d) superimposed 3D landmarks of a large sample of virtual 3D models of crania; e) 3D landmarks of the sample mean shape; f) 3D-print of a virtual cranium morphed to the mean shape.