Extinct birds : $b An attempt to unite in one volume a short account of those birds which have become extinct in historical timesRothschild, Lionel Walter Rothschild, Baron
Science
Extinct birds : $b An attempt to unite in one volume a short account of those birds which have become extinct in historical times
Rothschild, Lionel Walter Rothschild, Baron
Birds; Extinct birds
The skull is either vaulted or flattened, with a sharp and narrow beak. The
paroccipital processes are shorter and more rounded, and the basi-occipital
tubercles more prominent than in _Anomalopteryx_, while the quadrate and
mandible resemble the same bones in that genus somewhat closely. The
sternum is flat and very broad and short, with no coracoidal facets, a very
small xiphisternal notch, broad and short costal processes, and widely
divergent lateral processes; while there are only two costal articulations.
The pelvis is extremely low and wide, with the anterior wall of the
acetabulum very deeply concave, the ventral surface of all the vertebrae
behind the true sacrals narrow and convex, and from which the very broad
sacral ribs ascend to join the ilium, of which the inferior postacetabular
border is very sharp, and descends far below the level of the ribs. There
is no pectineal process to the pubis. The tibio-tarsus is very short, with
the shaft curved outwards, the distal extremity markedly inflected, and the
fibular ridge much shorter than in the other genera. The fibular border
below the smooth space at the distal extremity of the fibular ridge is
extremely rough; and the distal extensor tubercle is very prominent, being
situated partly on the line of the upper half of the extensor groove,
instead of being altogether external to the same.
The tarso-metatarsus is still shorter and wider than in _Emeus_, the width
at the middle of the shaft being usually rather more than one third of the
length. The third trochlea is more prominent than in the other genera, and
rises very abruptly from the shaft, the outer border of the anterior
surface usually expanding suddenly at the proximal extremity, and the outer
ridge of this surface being always more prominent than the inner, whereas
in the other genera the opposite condition obtains. The femur, as compared
with that of _Dinornis_, is very much shorter and thicker, with a longer
neck, and the head rising and projecting very considerably, the linea
aspera mainly forming a rough nodule near the distal end of the shaft, the
outer surface of the distal extremity more suddenly expanded, and the
popliteal depression larger, more open, and leading to the inner surface of
the shaft by a more distinct channel. The profile of the inner condyle is
wider antero-posteriorly, and more rounded, the anterior intertrochlear
surface being deeply channelled.
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