The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the world’s smallest cetacean, a shy porpoise barely 1.5 metres long that lives only in the shallow waters of Mexico’s northern Gulf of California. It is also the most endangered marine mammal on Earth, with only a handful thought to remain.
To make sure something survives, researchers at Florida Atlantic University — working with the San Diego Natural History Museum, SeaWorld California and NOAA Fisheries — have digitised a complete female vaquita skeleton donated to the museum back in 1966.
Combining medical CT scanning, high-resolution micro-CT imaging and digital photography, the team reconstructed precise 3D models that let scientists explore and measure the skeleton without ever touching the fragile original. The work, published in Marine Mammal Science, makes all of the data freely available through the open-access repository MorphoSource.
It is a bittersweet milestone: a meticulous digital record of a species we may not be able to save in the wild — and, its creators hope, a spur to try.
Sources: ScienceDaily · Florida Atlantic University · Marine Mammal Science
