Memoir on the Dodo (Didus ineptus, Linn.)Owen, Richard
History
Memoir on the Dodo (Didus ineptus, Linn.)
Owen, Richard
Dodo
The coracoid (ib. figs. 4, 5, 8 & 9, 52), averaging a length of 3
inches 7 lines, expands to a breadth of 1 inch 3 lines at its sternal
end (52), of which the articular surface (_e_) occupies an inch; the
non-articular part forms the outer angle (_m_), and extends in advance
of the pneumatic foramen (Pl. IV. fig. 4, _p_) at that part of the
breast-bone: the outer border which extends from this free angle to the
body of the bone, into which it subsides, at one-third of the extent
of the bone, is sharp; the inner border is obtuse to near the inner
angle (Pl. VIII. figs. 4 & 5, _n_). The outer surface of the expanded
sternal end is smooth and convex; the inner surface is flatter and
more irregular, perforated by pneumatic foramina; the diameter of the
subcylindrical part of the shaft is 4 lines: the extremes of difference
in the distal expansion of the coracoid are shown in figs. 4 & 8, 52,
Pl. VIII. A muscular ridge and rough surface (ib. fig. 9, _r_) mark
the back part below the middle of the shaft. The bone then expands
to its upper articular end, which is obliquely truncate from within
outward: it shows, first, the oblong surface for the scapula, which is
extended upon the inner prominence of that end; next, the larger and
full oval surface for the humerus (_h_), from which the thick, obtuse,
inner continuation of the scapular end projects inward, forward, with
a slightly upward curve, and shows the narrow oblong surface for the
articulation and ultimate confluence of the clavicle (58). The coracoid
unites with the scapula at an angle of 100°.
The clavicle (ib. figs. 4 & 5, 58), at its scapular end, is slightly
expanded, compressed, with an obtuse recurved termination articulating
with the above-named surface of the coracoid, and in one instance
coalescing therewith, and by extended ossification with the “acromion
scapulæ” (ib. figs. 8 & 9). As the clavicle descends it curves slightly
and contracts to a point. The angle at which the pair meet is shown in
figs. 4 & 5.
_Bones of the Wing._ (Pls. III. & VIII. figs. 12–17.)
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