QuickTime Virtual Reality Objects
Paleontological Specimens

J Bret Bennington

QTVR Objects are animations built from a sequence of still photos. An object movie can be advanced and reversed by clicking and dragging the cursor over the image. To create object movies of paleontological specimens, we took digital photos using either a rotating platform (large specimens) or a custom built rotating stage (binocular microscopy). By taking sequences of images at progressively higher magnification, the effect of zooming into a specimen is achieved without any loss of image resolution. Many of the object movies below show the specimen in rotation followed by a zoom to reveal detail. Selected frames in each object movie have been labeled and annotated to identify the specimens and point out key features. Object movies can be imported into Power Point (provided that QuickTime is the default media player) or viewed using the QuickTime player. The small movies are useful for previewing on the web. The large movies are high resolution, suitable for projecting in a classroom.

Phylum Porifera
Class Calcarea

Astraeospongium

Silurian

Object zooms to show octactine spicule.

Object Movie (1.3 mb)

Phylum Porifera
Class Demospongia

Recent

Image rotates to show overall form of sponge colony.

Object Movie (1.3 mb)

Image zooms to show minute siliceous spicules embedded in fibers of spongin.

Object Movie (1.2 mb)

Phylum Cnidaria
Order Rugosa
Hexagonaria

Devonian

Image zooms to high magnification, showing septa within corallites.

Object Movie (1.0 mb)

Phylum Cnidaria
Order Scleractinia
Siderastrea

Recent

Image zooms to high magnification, showing septa within corallites.

Object Movie (1.4 mb)

Phylum Bryozoa
Class Stenolaemata
Order Trepostomata
Hallopora

Ordovician

Image rotates and zooms to high magnification, showing zooecia.

Object Movie (1.4 mb)

Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda
Subclass Ammonoidea

Reconstruction of a living ammonite

Jurassic

Model rotates 360°.

Object Movie (900 kb)

Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda
Subclass Ammonoidea

Placenticeras

Upper Cretaceous
South Dakota

Full 360° rotation of large specimen.

Object Movie (2.6 mb)

Phylum Arthropoda
Class Trilobita

Olenellus

Lower Cambrian
Pennsylvania

Image rotates to allow viewing at different angles. Annotated frame shows cephalon, thorax, and pygidium.

Medium Object Movie (145 k)
Large Object Movie (532 k)

Phylum Arthropoda
Class Trilobita

Phacops rana

Middle Devonian
Hamilton Group
New York

This image of the cephalon of the trilobite highlights the large holochroal compound eye. The object movie rotates around the eye with annotation.

Small Object Movie (266 k)
Medium Object Movie (766 k)
Large Object Movie (3 mb)