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The Challenge

Comparative and evolutionary morphologists increasingly work from 3D surface models — for geometric morphometrics, quantifying phenotypic variation across species and populations, documenting reference and teaching collections, and contributing to open data repositories. Yet the most informative specimens are often small, fragile, and irreplaceable: rodent and carnivoran skulls, mandibles, isolated teeth, and skeletal elements only a few centimeters across. Calipers miss true three-dimensional shape, shared micro-CT time is scarce and records no color, and many handheld scanners struggle to resolve the finest detail at this scale.

What the Scan Captured

The model above is a dried mink (Neogale vison) cranium, roughly 6 cm long and typical of a small carnivoran skull. Scanned on the Micro II in two positions and merged for complete coverage, it resolved the zygomatic arches, auditory bullae, palatal foramina, tooth rows and cusp detail, and cranial sutures — a clean, watertight mesh produced contact-free, with no surface coating or scanning targets.

What Matters to Morphology and Evolutionary-Biology Labs

• 5-micron point accuracy, 2-micron repeatability (ISO 12836). Surface fidelity sits well below the biological signal being measured, so landmark and semilandmark data reflect anatomy rather than scanner noise — and repeat captures stay consistent across an entire collection.
• Fully automated, one-click capture. The scanner orients the specimen and selects its own scan path; students or collections staff can batch-digitize drawers of material with minimal training, freeing PI and lab time.
• Contact-free and target-free. No casting, coating, or handling stress — appropriate for type, loaned, or delicate specimens that cannot be marked or risked.
• Full-color texture (24-bit). Records staining, pathology, taphonomy, and specimen labels alongside geometry — valuable for documentation and teaching, not shape alone.
• Open, standard outputs (STL, OBJ, PLY). Models flow directly into geometric morphometric pipelines, archives such as MorphoSource, web viewers, and 3D-printed models.

Where It Fits

The Micro II captures external surfaces, not internal structure, so it complements micro-CT rather than replacing it. For external cranial, dental, and skeletal morphology of specimens up to 20 × 20 × 15 cm, it delivers metrology-grade, full-color surfaces on the benchtop — no radiation, no dedicated facility, and far faster per specimen. Larger skulls and skeletal elements are handled by its handheld counterpart, the Artec Spider II, within the same Artec Studio software.

3DMakerWorld, Inc. is an Artec 3D Gold-Certified Partner. We provide demonstrations on your own specimens, support for grant and startup-package purchases, and full training.