ONLINE IMAGE COLLECTION

About the Image

Three-dimensional reconstruction of the pyritized fossil fruit Palaeorhodomyrtus subangulata (Myrtaceae) from the Lower Eocene London Clay Formation, based on serial sections obtained from high-resolution x-ray computed tomography (HRXCT). Upper image is a volume rendering of a 1.5-mm-thick wedge; specimen is ;10 mm in diameter. Seeds are highlighted in purple. Lower images are volume renderings of seeds with surrounding material made progressively more transparent, revealing three-dimensional seed forms and arrangements. Seeds are approximately 0.4 mm thick. This technique is applicable to many fossil and extant fruits and seeds and provides an excellent means of imaging the three-dimensional structure of rare, type, and figured material in a nondestructive way.