MEASURE : a program for morphometric measurements

Abstract

'MEASURE', a FORTRAN77 program for collecting morphometric measurements, has been developed. Features of the program include the ability to accept distance and outline measurements in either 2 or 3 dimensions, to collect several different types of measurements on individual specimens, and to keep a running tally of the number of each type of specimen measured. The current version of the program is used for taxonomic and evolutionary studies of radiolarian microfossils and accepts data input from a digitizer tablet and a vertical measurement device attached to a microscope. An ordinary text file is used to configure the program for any desired set of distance or outline measurements. The program is highly modular, and is relatively easy to expand and modify. This report provides a detailed description of the program for both end-users and for programmers wishing to adapt MEASURE to their own uses. A full listing of the source code is included.