Preparation, articulation, and photogrammetry of a neonatal moose (Alces alces) skeleton.

Abstract

Objective: Neonatal skeletal articulations for research and display purposes are uncommon due to issues surrounding incomplete bone maturation and reduced structural integrity that affect the bone preparation and articulation procedures. The present project was designed to add to the veterinary literature on neonatal moose (Alces alces) osteological specimens, document the procedures of preparing and articulating a delicate specimen, and construct a 3-dimensional (3D) scan of the articulated skeleton that could be used for scientific and veterinary research and study worldwide.

Animal: A neonatal moose that had succumbed to capture myopathy resulting from entanglement in a barbed wire fence was the sole subject of this project.

Procedure: The neonatal moose carcass was degloved, the bones processed and cleaned, the skeleton articulated, and the articulated skeleton rendered into a 3D model using photogrammetry.

Results: The result was an articulated neonatal moose skeleton. The articulation is on display at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC); the 3D model is available on UNBC's website.

Conclusion and clinical relevance: This project adds to the literature and makes available tools to study neonatal ungulate (A. alces) allometry, morphometry, osteology, and skeletal articulation. The documented processes and 3D model can be used as references in veterinary and biological research, study, and instruction. In addition, the 3D model is available to download (open source) for future projects from UNBC (www.unbc.ca/roy-rea/moose-calf-articulation).