How do you preserve one of the world’s rarest animals when so few remain? Researchers created an unprecedented 3D digital archive of the vaquita — the world’s most endangered marine mammal. Using advanced CT and micro-CT imaging, the team captured the skeleton of a female porpoise from 1966, in extraordinary detail, from its overall anatomy to microscopic bone structures. Freely available online, the models provide a lasting resource for research, education and conservation, ensuring this critically endangered species on the verge of extinction can be studied for generations to come.

How do you preserve one of the world’s rarest animals when so few remain? Researchers created an unprecedented 3D digital archive of the vaquita — the world’s most endangered…

Saving a Tiny Endangered Porpoise One Pixel at a Time: Only a handful of vaquitas exist in the wild, but now one is preserved in unprecedented digital detail