Endomaker, a new algorithm for fully automatic extraction of cranial endocasts and the calculation of their volumes

Antonio Profico, Costantino Buzi, Marina Melchionna, Alessio Veneziano, Pasquale Raia*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objectives: Reproducing cranial endocasts is a major goal of researchers interested in vertebrate brain evolution. We present a new R software, named endomaker, which allows the automatic extraction of endocasts from skull meshes along with the calculation of its volume. Materials and methods: We applied endomaker on non-primate and primate skulls including the Australopithecus africanus specimen Sts-5. Results: We proved endomaker is faster, more feature-rich and possibly more accurate than competing software. Discussion: Endomaker is the only available program endowed with the possibility to process an entire mesh directory straight away, promising to expand the scope and phylogenetic breadth of comparative studies of brain evolution.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)511-515
Number of pages5
JournalAmerican journal of physical anthropology
Volume172
Issue number3
Early online date18 Mar 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Jun 2020

Keywords

  • Arothron
  • endocast
  • endocranial volume
  • fossils
  • virtual anthropology

Cite this