Pixels preserve world's rarest porpoise to 3D digital archive as extinction risk grows

Pixels preserve world's rarest porpoise to 3D digital archive as extinction risk grows

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), an elusive porpoise found only in the shallow waters of Mexico's northern Gulf of California, is one of the rarest and most endangered marine mammals on Earth. Measuring about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length, it is the world's smallest cetacean—a group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Known for the distinctive dark rings around its eyes and mouth, the vaquita remained unknown to science until the latter half of the 20th century. Today, it has become a global symbol of the growing biodiversity crisis unfolding in the world's oceans.

Pixels Preserve World’s Most Endangered Marine Mammal, the Vaquita

How do you preserve one of the world's rarest animals when so few remain? Researchers created an unprecedented 3D digital archive of the vaquita -- the world's most endangered marine mammal. Using advanced CT and micro-CT imaging, the team captured the skeleton of a female porpoise collected in 1966, in extraordinary detail, from its overall anatomy to microscopic bone structures. Freely available online, the models provide a lasting resource fo…