Assessment of unique and potentially significant fossils may be considerably compromised by surrounding matrix. This paper assesses a fossil barnacle group from the mid to late Eocene of Seymour Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula, that potentially has very significant phylogenetic importance. It discusses why the specimen could be significant, and describes and applies as a proof of concept an advanced imaging technique, using X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), that was effectively employed to confirm systematic taxonomy with virtual 3-D sections through the specimen. In this case, the Antarctic barnacle's complex internal plate morphologies were resolved by advanced 3-D imaging, such that a taxonomic attribution could be made to either the Archaeobalanidae or Austrobalanidae, excluding the initial assessment of Coronulidae, which would have otherwise been allusive.

中文翻译：

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来自南极半岛的化石藤壶：利用 X 射线计算机断层扫描 (CT) 探索稀有和/或精致标本性质的改进方法

对独特且具有潜在意义的化石的评估可能会受到周围基质的极大影响。本文评估了南极半岛西摩岛始新世中晚期的一个化石藤壶群，它可能具有非常重要的系统发育重要性。它讨论了为什么标本可能很重要，并描述并应用先进的成像技术作为概念证明，使用 X 射线计算机断层扫描 (CT)，该技术被有效地用于通过标本的虚拟 3-D 切片确认系统分类. 在这种情况下，南极藤壶复杂的内部板块形态是通过先进的 3-D 成像解决的，因此可以对古龟科或南方龟科进行分类归属，不包括对冠状病毒科的初步评估，