Minimum Animal Units MAU

Normalize independently established MNE by skeletal element copies and maximum MAU; fractional animal units are representational indexes, unlike ceiling-based MNI individual bounds.

Description

MAU divides represented skeletal elements by copies in a complete skeleton.

MAU divides represented skeletal elements by copies in a complete skeleton. Relative MAU scales these fractional animal units to the largest observed value.

Normalize independently established MNE by skeletal element copies and maximum MAU; fractional animal units are representational indexes, unlike ceiling-based MNI individual bounds.

When to use Minimum Animal Units MAU

Use this tool to normalize independently established MNE by skeletal element copies and maximum MAU; fractional animal units are representational indexes, unlike ceiling-based MNI individual bounds.

Prepare the fossil measurements or occurrence records and the chosen calibration parameters. Retain the stated coordinate, age and measurement conventions.

How to use Minimum Animal Units MAU and understand its results

Prepare the fossil measurements or occurrence records and the chosen calibration parameters. Retain the stated coordinate, age and measurement conventions.
Enter minimumElementNumbers, elementCopiesPerSkeleton using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
Read minimumAnimalUnits, maximumNormalizedMauPercentages. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type; see rules below	Requirement
minimumElementNumbers	Minimum element numbers	list of number	Required
elementCopiesPerSkeleton	Element copies per skeleton	list of number	Required

Align nonnegative integer MNE with positive integer copy counts and require positive maximum MAU. Return fractional units and maximum-normalized percentages.^[1]

Paired lists must be nonempty and have equal lengths.

MAU = MNE/copies per skeleton; percent = 100 × MAU/max(MAU)

Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
minimumAnimalUnits	Minimum animal units	list of number
maximumNormalizedMauPercentages	Maximum normalized mau percentages	list of number

json

{
  "input": {
    "minimumElementNumbers": [
      2,
      4,
      1
    ],
    "elementCopiesPerSkeleton": [
      1,
      4,
      2
    ]
  },
  "output": {
    "minimumAnimalUnits": [
      2,
      1,
      0.5
    ],
    "maximumNormalizedMauPercentages": [
      100,
      50,
      25
    ]
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

MAU is a representational index, not a ceiling-based minimum individual count.

Numbers and computed results must be finite; overflow produces an error. Numeric lists are limited to 100,000 entries; the rules above may require smaller limits. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use NISP to MNE Conversion: Infer minimum elements as maximum diagnostic landmark multiplicity within caller matched element/side groups, then compare NISP; fragments are not directly divided by a universal conversion factor. For a complementary task, use Specimen Completeness Percentage: Distinguish observed anatomical inventory coverage from preservation-weighted element equivalents on caller expectations; neither index certifies taxonomic identification or skeleton completeness.

References

Minimum Animal Units MAU — tool.io

Similar or alternative tools

NISP to MNE Conversion
Infer minimum elements as maximum diagnostic landmark multiplicity within caller matched element/side groups, then compare NISP; fragments are not directly divided by a universal conversion factor.
Specimen Completeness Percentage
Distinguish observed anatomical inventory coverage from preservation-weighted element equivalents on caller expectations; neither index certifies taxonomic identification or skeleton completeness.