#ShoeGator update—Today Grace Vance & I took apart the carcass. We skinned it & removed the limbs, saving the torso (& shoe) for another day. The full skin is shown here, but the CT data helped us cut it into sections with just osteoderms, which we'll feed to the dermestids. 🐊
#ManateeMonday#shoegator. We did vascular injections of both heads 20 yrs ago but can get better scan data now. Cthulhu vibes aside, so much new science to do! Sadly, the smaller manatee shows 3 clear slashes from a boat propeller. 😥
Thanks to Ryan Ridgely, we've got all 3 datasets for this shoe-eating alligator assembled—as well as the shoe itself. Coincidentally, I provided 3D viz of this exact specimen (OUVC 9761) to CBS for a 2011 episode of CSI Miami—where an alligator was the murder weapon! #shoegator🐊
Good question and one that we’re wondering now, too! Did the shoe cause a GI obstruction? We may never know, of course, but we’ll look closely once the dissection reaches that area.
This is a shoe-in for the weirdest scan! So, today Grace Vance, Joey McManus, & I were scanning the body of an alligator (OUVC 9761) to go along with the head we'd scanned & skeletonized earlier. Strange object in its belly turned out to be the sole of a shoe or a boot! 🤪🐊👢
Manatees! These amazing specimens (an adult & a youngster) sadly were killed by speedboats in Florida & were then legally donated to our research. Getting them ready today for CT scanning tomorrow with Grace Vance, our resident marine mammal researcher & @OHIOHonors undergrad.
Happy #SkeletonSaturday#SeabirdSaturday#SquamateSaturday#SeaturtleSaturday#Caturday. Accessioning some of the summer's effort into the OUVC collection. All major amniote groups—3 mammals, 1 lizard, 1 turtle, 5 crocs, & 8 birds. Thx to all the @OhioU students who helped!
I don't often get to actively celebrate #worldwhaleday but last week I was at @GeorgiaSouthern giving a Darwin Day talk & had a chance to see the stunning Georgiacetus fossils! Snapped these photos on Darwin's 215th birthday—Darwin would've loved a whale with legs & toes! 🐳
