#  Computer tomography of invertebrate fossils 

 



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Our group has a growing interest in the application of X-ray based micro-computer tomography to study the three dimensionally preserved morphology of extinct invertebrates. Current projects include imaging of flattened soft-bodied fossils from Cambrian and Ordovician deposits, biomineralized taxa preserved as external moulds, and amber collections from the Museum of Comparative Zoology.

   ![Ercaicunia](/sites/g/files/omnuum6461/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/ortega-hernandezlab/files/ercaicunia.png?itok=1Inl6IGw) 

 

The stem-group pancrustacean *Ercaicunia multinodosa* from the Cambrian (Stage 3) Chengjiang biota in South China. Computer tomography reveals phylogenetically informative morphological details of the appendicular organization that are otherwise concealed by the rock matrix - Zhai, Ortega–Hernández, et al. 2019. *Current Biology* 29, 171-177. Click [HERE](https://skfb.ly/6UwYv) to access an interactive 3D model of *Ercaicunia* hosted in Sketchfab.

   ![Sinoburius_website](/sites/g/files/omnuum6461/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/ortega-hernandezlab/files/sinoburius_website.png?itok=FQ6iH2it) 

 

The non-biomineralized trilobitomorph artiopodan *Sinoburius lunaris* from the Cambrian (Stage 3) Chengjiang biota in South China. Thanks to computer tomography it is possible to study the delicate structure of the ventral appendages and obtain a better understanding of the morphology and ecology of this enigmatic euarthropod - Chen, Ortega–Hernández, et al. 2019. *BMC Evolutionary Biology* 19: 165. Click [HERE](https://skfb.ly/6UyA9) to access an interactive 3D model of *Sinoburius* hosted in Sketchfab.

   ![XiaocarisTweet](/sites/g/files/omnuum6461/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/ortega-hernandezlab/files/xiaocaristweet.jpg?itok=fB6SiTKX) 

 

*Xiaocaris luoi* (Luo's small arthropod) from the early Cambrian (Stage 3) Chengjiang biota in South China. Originally assigned to the enigmatic fossil *Jianshania furcatus* Luo, computer tomography revealed important details of the exoskeletal organization and ventral limbs that indicate an affiniy with fuxianhuiids, an important clade of stem-group euarthropods that are only known from early Cambrian deposits in China. Unlike other fuxianhuiids, the limbs of *Xiaocaris luoi* bear numerous strong spines that suggest a macrophagous diet on soft food items - Liu, Ortega–Hernández, et al. 2020 *BMC Evolutionary Biology* 20: 62 - Work supported by the [**Harvard China Fund.**](https://hcf.fas.harvard.edu/programs/faculty/)

   ![MicroCT model of the tardigrade Beorn leggi from Cretaceous Canadian amber. Image by Javier Ortega-Hernández and Russell Garwood](/sites/g/files/omnuum6461/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/ortega-hernandezlab/files/4_ortega-hernandez_beornct330_0.jpeg?itok=GEH7LCNa) 

 

Three-dimensional model of the Cretaceous tardigrade *Beorn leggi* preserved in Canadian amber, produced through phase contrast computer tomography  (Image by Javier Ortega–Hernández and Russell Garwood).

**Representative publications:**

\- Schmidt, M., Hou, X., Zhai, D., Mai, H., Belojević, J., Chen, X., Melzer, R.R., Ortega-Hernández, J. and Liu, Y., 2022. Before trilobite legs: *Pygmaclypeatus daziensis* reconsidered and the ancestral appendicular organization of Cambrian artiopods. *Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B*, *377*(1847), p.20210030.

\- Liu, Y., Ortega–Hernández, J., Zhai, D., and Hou, X.G. 2020. A reduced labrum in a Cambrian great-appendage euarthropod. *Current Biology* 30: 3057-3061.

\- Liu, Y., Ortega–Hernández, J., Chen, H., Mai, H., Zhai, D., and Hou, X.G. 2020. Computer tomography sheds new light on the affinities of the enigmatic euarthropod *Jianshania furcatus* from the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota. *BMC Evolutionary Biology* 20: 62, 1-17.

\- Chen, X., Ortega–Hernández, J., Wolfe, J. M., Zhai, D., Huijian, M., Hou, X.G., Chen, A. & Liu, Y. 2019. The appendicular morphology of *Sinoburius lunaris* and the evolution of the artiopodan clade Xandarellida (Euarthropoda, early Cambrian) from South China. *BMC Evolutionary Biology* 19, 1-20.

\- Zhai, D., Ortega–Hernández, J., Wolfe, J. M., Hou, X.G., Cao, C.J. & Liu, Y. 2019. Three-dimensionally preserved appendages in an early Cambrian stem-group pancrustacean. *Current Biology* 29, 171-177.