engMorphoSource is a publicly accessible 3D data repository where subject experts, educators, and the general public can find, view, interact with, and download 3D and 2D media representing physical objects important to the world’s natural history, cultural heritage, and scientific collections. Media data are contributed by a community that includes museums, institutions, researchers, scholars, and other subject experts who use MorphoSource to archive data, share findings, and increase scholarly impact. Contributed media represent both biological objects such as fossils and representatives of living species, as well as artifacts and objects created by humans that are critical to our shared cultural heritage. Data users can find media through searching and browsing, and can interact with media directly in the browser through preview tools that support viewing, inspecting, and measuring 3D models, volumetric CT/MRI scans, 2D images, and videos. Data are commonly viewed or downloaded for research or education purposes, but there are many other possible usage examples, such as using data as inspiration for art or for 3D printing replicas of anatomical elements. Institutions or individual data contributors determine how and for what purposes their media may be used.
