Morphological features are the primary identifying properties of most animals and key to many comparative physiological studies, yet current techniques for preservation and documentation of soft-bodied marine animals are limited in terms of quality and accessibility. Digital records can complement physical specimens, with a wide array of applications ranging from species description to kinematics modeling, but options are lacking for creating models of soft-bodied semi-transparent underwater animals. We developed a lab-based technique that can live-scan semi-transparent, submerged animals, and objects within seconds. To demonstrate the method, we generated full three-dimensional reconstructions (3DRs) of an object of known dimensions for verification, as well as two live marine animals-a siphonophore and an amphipod-allowing detailed measurements on each. Techniques like these pave the way for faster data capture, integrative and comparative quantitative approaches, and more accessible collections of fragile and rare biological samples.
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.