Digital Data in Biodiversity Research Conference

MorphoSource is a publicly accessible 3D data repository where subject experts, educators, and the public can find, view, interact with, and download 3D/2D media representing physical objects important to the world’s natural history, cultural heritage, and scientific collections. Over 193,000 media datasets have been contributed by ~2,150 contributors and have been downloaded over 595,500 times by a community of ~21,000 registered users. MorphoSource is under active development, with a team of developers continually improving the platform. We will discuss new and upcoming MorphoSource features. Features that have already been added include anonymous reviewer access links, improved media download review, 3D viewing and measurement improvements, a new collection type called a “media list” akin to a “playlist”, standardized data vocabularies, API metadata query and file downloading, and remote records hosted by external (e.g., institutional) file servers. A major feature to be released in Q2 2024 is an overhaul to how museum teams manage their media in MorphoSource, simplifying workflows and expanding team capabilities, and empowering imaging facilities. Other features that will be released in the future include automated tiering of data between hot and cold storage, decreasing storage costs significantly, and substantial site speed increases.