Arothron: An R package for geometric morphometric methods and virtual anthropology applications.

Area of Science:

• Paleoanthropology
• Computational Biology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• The study of human evolution relies on statistical analysis of fossil remains.
• The human fossil record is sparse and often degraded by taphonomic processes.
• Virtual Anthropology utilizes digital techniques to reconstruct incomplete fossils.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce Arothron, an R software package for processing and analyzing digital skeletal models.
• To provide tools for virtual extraction of cavities, statistical alignment of elements, and visualization of surface variations.

Main Methods:

• Developed Arothron as an R software suite.
• Implemented tools for digital cavity segmentation (e.g., cranial endocasts).
• Included functionalities for statistical alignment of disarticulated or fragmented skeletal elements.
• Integrated visualization tools for comparing morphological differences.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated Arothron's cavity segmentation on malleus, Neanderthal tooth, and human cranium models.
• Showcased digital alignment of a disarticulated human cranium.
• Illustrated shape comparison between Neanderthal and modern human brain hemispheres.
• Successfully reproduced shapes and calculated volumes of virtual cavities.

Conclusions:

• Arothron facilitates the study of digital fossil specimens.
• Enables easy handling and investigation of inner morphology of 3D skeletal models.
• Provides a full representation of damaged specimens' original shapes.
• Allows for robust shape comparison across multiple specimens.