Avizo reconstruction of skull of Siamogale melilutra dataset

Siamogale melilutra is an extinct species of giant otter from the late Miocene from Yunnan province, China. Ranking among the largest fossil otters, Siamogale represents a feeding ecomorphology with no living analog. Its giant size and high mandibular strength confer shell-crushing capability matched only by other extinct molluscivores, such as the marine bear Kolponomos.[1] The skull reveals a combination of otter-like and badger-like cranial and dental characteristics. The new species belongs to the Lutrinae because of its possession of a large infraorbital canal and ventral expansion of the mastoid process, among other traits.[2] Siamogale melilutra was about 1.9 m (6.25 ft) in overall length and weighed at least 40 kg (88 pounds).[3] The remains of the skull were found in China and were re-created with a special program called the CT scan which is able to reconstruct the skeleton without being damaged. (From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamogale_melilutra).

This dataset was generated by Avizo 2020.2. It represents our reconstruction of the skull of Siamogale melilutra. The original CT files are available on MorphoSource.org, media 000413248, DOI 10.17602/M2/M413248. A mesh PLY file of the reconstructed skull generated from this Avizo dataset is also available at MorphoSource.org, media 000413543, DoI 10.17602/M2/M413543.