Tibiotarsus
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Pigeon skeleton; numbers 10 and 11 indicates the tibiotarsus
The tibiotarsus is the large bone between the femur and the tarsometatarsus in the leg of a bird. It is the fusion of the proximal part of the tarsus with the tibia.
A similar structure also occurred in the Mesozoic Heterodontosauridae. These small ornithischian dinosaurs were unrelated to birds and the similarity of their foot bones is best explained by convergent evolution.
File:Tibiotarsi of extinct birds.jpg
Tibiotarsi of Grus cubensis, Propelargus edwardsi, and Palaelodus gracilipes at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
See also
References
- Proctor, Nobel S. Manual of Ornithology: Avian Structure and Function. Yale University Press. (1993) ISBN 0-300-05746-6
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