Siliceous and Delicious

Returned to work with renewed resolve after yesterday’s flagging enthusiasm. Started early, arriving well before 8 in the morning, and had knocked several more models out by 9. On the way to lunch, knocked out a couple more, though progress slowed a little. By 2pm, had done a reasonable job at making models with 16 or less measurements for each individual for all but three species—the dreaded Centrobotrys lineage. These are an extra level of tricky because they’re not axially symmetric, and I’m not sure how to get a reasonable approximation of the strange “fused post- and antecephalic chambers” that form the upper part of the shell.

At 6:17, finally managed to pull through and come up with a geometric model (however daft) for each species. A huge relief. At some point I will visualize these using Google SketchUp to show what the models look like and how they compare to the actual forms; for the measurement protocol and RadData interface, however, I’ll only need to provide a diagram of how the measurements are made.

That, however, is for tomorrow. Good riddance, day!