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Comparative anatomy of the intertarsal joint in extant and fossil birds: inferences for the locomotion of Hesperornis regalis (Hesperornithiformes) and Emeus crassus (Dinornithiformes)

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Abstract

Reconstruction of the soft tissues (i.e., collateral ligaments, Lig. anticum, menisci, tendon of the M. fibularis brevis) involved in the mechanism of intertarsal joint stabilization in two species of extinct birds, Hesperornis regalis and Emeus crassus, allowed insights into their locomotion. The foot-propelled diving of Hesperornis included loon-like movement of the tarsometatarsus and grebe-like movement of the toes. Movement of the tarsometatarsus in Emeus was restricted to the parasagittal plane, thus resembling those of other Ratites and most highly cursorial birds.

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Notes

  1. Lig. intercondylare tibiometatarsale, given to Lig. anticum in Nomina Anatomica Avium (Baumel et al. 1993), is incorrect due to the absence of contact between the mentioned ligament and tibia (Zinoviev 2010)

  2. The description is fully applicable to an other member of Dinornithiformes, Dinornis robustus (Zinoviev 2013a).

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Oliver Hampe (Natural History Museum, Humboldt University of Berlin) for access to specimens and a comfortable research environment. I would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments that greatly contributed to improving the final version of the article. The research was partially supported by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Program “Forschungsaufenthalte für Hochschullehrer und Wissenschaftler.”

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  1. Department of Biology, Tver State University, Chaikovskogo pr., 70a, 170002, Tver, Russia

    Andrei V. Zinoviev

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  1. Andrei V. Zinoviev
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Correspondence to Andrei V. Zinoviev.

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Communicated by E. Matthysen.

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Zinoviev, A.V. Comparative anatomy of the intertarsal joint in extant and fossil birds: inferences for the locomotion of Hesperornis regalis (Hesperornithiformes) and Emeus crassus (Dinornithiformes). J Ornithol 156 (Suppl 1), 317–323 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1195-4

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