Batscans: Lavia Frons

The specimen of Lavia frons shown here was collected in October of 1912 by the AMNH Lang-Chapin Expedition in Faradje, Congo. It is currently under study by Dr. Nancy Simmons of the AMNH, who is including Lavia frons in her studies of evolutionary relationships of bats. The CT scans of this specimen will be used to study details of skeletal structure and to collect data for phylogenetic analysis. Unlike traditional museum preparations, CT scans allow scientists to see inside the skull without damaging it, and to visualize the tiny, three-dimensional bones of the wrists and ankles (which in bats are as small as grains of sand). Studies of this and other CT scans of bat will allow Dr. Simmons and her colleagues to view many structures for the first time, and to use information on variation among species to help resolve their evolutionary relationships.

See more CT scans like this one.

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