A Pictorial Atlas of Fossil Remains, consisting of coloured illustrations selected from Parkinson's "Organic remains of a former world," and Artis's "Antediluvian phytology."Mantell, Gideon Algernon
Science
A Pictorial Atlas of Fossil Remains, consisting of coloured illustrations selected from Parkinson's "Organic remains of a former world," and Artis's "Antediluvian phytology."
Mantell, Gideon Algernon
Paleontology
Third phalangeal bone Ungueal.
{ Length {3 0} -- 0 11
{ Circumference of proximal end {4 2} -- 4 0
Fifth ungueal bone
{ Length 2 6
{ Circumference of proximal end 3 9
The total length of the toes is as follows:--inner digit, 9½ inch.;
middle, 11½ inch.; outer, 9-1/3 inch. The transverse diameter of the
expanse of the foot, from the distal extremity of the inner toe (fig.
1^a), to that of the outer one (fig. 3^a), is 15½ inches. The length
from the posterior part of the trochlear extremity of the metatarsal
to the distal end of the ungueal of the middle toe (fig. 2^a), is
13 inches. If to the actual dimensions of the bones be added the
proportional thickness of the cartilaginous integuments, nails, &c.,
the length of the foot of the living bird may be estimated at about
16 inches, and the breadth at 17 or 18 inches.
From the great width and solidity of the metatarsals, and the form
and corresponding size and strength of the phalangeals and ungueals,
the ornithologist will perceive that the feet of the Moa must have
constituted powerful instruments for scratching, digging, and
uprooting the sub-terrestrial vegetable substances, which Professor
Owen, with great probability, infers, formed the chief sustenance of
the extinct colossal birds of New Zealand.
According to the relative proportions of the bones composing the
hinder extremities of the gigantic species of Moa, the corresponding
_tibia_, or leg-bone, of the feet above described, would be two feet
nine inches in length, and the _femur_, or thigh bone, nine and a
half inches; the total height of the bird was probably about ten feet.
Tibiæ, femora, and other bones of much larger proportions,
(apparently of _Dinornis giganteus_ and _D. ingens_,) were obtained
from the same locality; some of these indicate birds of eleven or
twelve feet in height; dimensions exceeding by one-third those of the
largest known existing species of Struthionidæ--the Ostrich.[2]
[Footnote 2: Even from this imperfect description (and further
anatomical details would be irrelevant in the present work), the
ornithologist cannot fail to observe the peculiar characters
exhibited by these extremities of the remarkable family of birds,
of which the diminutive Apteryx appears to be the only living
representative. But the Apteryx differs most essentially in the
structure of the cranium and mandibles, from the extinct types to
which Professor Owen has given the names of Dinornis, Palapteryx,
Aptornis, &c.
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