Welcome to the home of all things microCT at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology! Kicking things off with this skeletal scan of a green frog (Lithobates clamitans) that has an unusual number of legs. This specimen was collected right here in Washtenaw county!

AI-generated animation of a twin-spotted rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei) from our skeletal and diceCT scans! Here you can see that scanning specimens as-is gives us a clear visual of the bone, while staining specimens in iodine (dice-staining) allows us to see soft tissue.

Who's getting excited about SSAR 2024? We can't wait to introduce you to this little buddy, which we 3D printed today as part of a new exhibit that you can see at the Welcome Reception! See you soon :)

3D mesh of a caecilian skull! If you’re not familiar with them, caecilians are a type of amphibian with a snake-like body form. They live underground and are often referred to as the sharks of the soil due to their large, sharp teeth! sketchfab.com/3d-models/caec…

Taking our CT lab in a new direction, scanning fungus! This ant has been infected by a species of cordyceps fungus (that’s same kind of fungus that creates zombies in the Last of Us!) #fungifriday #ctscan #thelastofus #cordyceps Nature Is Metal

Adding to our herbarium scanning collection, we have a pinecone from a Martinez pinyon (Pinus maximartinezii). This large pinecone scanned in less than 15 minutes, allowing us to see all of the internal structures including the seeds!

My first chapter is out! This was an enormously challenging project but I learned a lot and am very excited to share with you the hidden world of ultraviolet coloration in snakes. nature.com/articles/s4146…