The openVertebrate Project (oVert)
The openVertebrate project, oVert for short, is an initiative to provide free, digital 3D vertebrate anatomy models and data to researchers, educators, students, and the public.
Over several years, the oVert team will CT scan 20,000 fluid-preserved specimens from U.S. museum collections, producing high-resolution anatomical data for more than 80 percent of vertebrate genera.
CT scanning is a nondestructive technology that reveals a specimen inside and out — its skeleton, muscles, circulatory and nervous systems, internal organs, parasites, eggs, and stomach contents.
Learn more about the project → floridamuseum.ufl.edu/overt
oVert is a multi-institutional project funded by the National Science Foundation.
Notes & Sources
- Project: openVertebrate (oVert) — collaborative digital anatomy initiative.
- Institutions: University of Florida, Yale University, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, and multiple U.S. museum partners.
- Funding: National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections program.
- Technology: High-resolution CT scanning of fluid-preserved vertebrate specimens.