The openVertebrate (oVert) project involved 18 institutions over the past five years creating 3D reconstructions of museum specimens, which are now available freely online. The animals on display behind glass at the museum are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to museum collections, which contain thousands of specimens that have been collected and carefully preserved over the decades.
But the physical limits to accessing these specimens have always hindered scientific collaboration and education. Already, the process of scanning specimens has given scientists new perspectives on subjects they've been studying for years. While scanning spiny mice for the project, researchers noticed their tails were covered in internal bony plates called osteoderms, previously thought to be unique to armadillos.
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